Court requires Havenbrook Homes' landlord to remediate resident's exposure to lead paint
MINNEAPOLIS — A court approved the state's motion to require the landlord of Havenbrook Homes to stop exposing its tenants to lead paint in rental homes on Thursday.
Progress Residential Management Services LLC is the company that owns and operates Havenbrook Homes.
The company owns about 500 single-family residential properties throughout the Greater Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro area and are one of the largest landlords in the state of Minnesota.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has been spearheading the ongoing litigation against Progress.
According to a press release from the attorney's office, last Friday the attorney general alleged that Progress violated numerous state and federal laws regarding lead-paint hazards. This includes, "needlessly and recklessly exposing its tenants to lead-paint dust and chips by disturbing painted surfaces without taking safety precautions, such as putting up plastic sheeting to contain debris and using a HEPA-filtered vacuum to remove debris."
RELATED: AG Ellison Sues Landlord Over Alleged Profit-Maximization Scheme, Calling Homes 'Uninhabitable'
The court ordered Progress to comply with Minnesota and federal lead-paint hazard laws in hundreds of their rental properties.
The steps Progress must take to remediate this injunction are as follows:
- Hire certified professionals to inspect rental homes built prior to 1978 for the presence of lead paint before Progress begins any repairs.
- Draft lead-paint policies that comply with Minnesota and federal law and hire an independent expert to certify that Progress's policies and procedures comply with both Minnesota and federal law.
- Train employees on Progress's lead paint policies and procedures.
- Provide the Minnesota Attorney General's Office with proof of compliance with lead-paint laws every three months.
"It is critical that landlords follow lead paint laws put in place to reduce the risk of lead poisoning. Landlords who take shortcuts put the health and safety of Minnesota's renting families at risk, especially children, who are extremely vulnerable to the effects of lead exposure," said Ellison. "This is a positive step that provides immediate relief to hundreds of tenants who live in homes that have lead paint."
Children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning because their growing bodies absorb more toxins. Children with elevated blood-lead levels can exhibit behavioral and learning problems, have a lower IQ, hyperactivity, slowed growth, and hearing problems, many of which can be irreversible depending on the amount of exposure.
Lead-based paint was banned nationwide in 1978 but the Minnesota Department of Health estimates that nearly one million homes throughout Minnesota still have surfaces coated with lead paint.
Single-family homes in the Twin Cities are particularly likely to be coated in lead-based paint, with estimates placed around 43% of homes in Minneapolis built before 1939 and 41% of the homes in Saint Paul built before 1939.