Inspection, Repair & Cleaning (IRC) Practices

Only a certified person can perform IRC Practices on your property. We recommend that landlords and child care owners become certified. 

IRC Practices certification is valid for five years. You must retake the IRC training before your previous IRC certification expires.

How to become IRC Practices certified:

• Take a Health Department-approved IRC Practices training online or in person. The training and test take about three hours to complete.
• Pass the test with a score of 70% or higher.
• Get your certificate via email within two weeks of the training date.

Once certified, you can perform the IRC Practices for your rental property or child care facility.

Sign up for a training

If you don’t want to or can’t become certified, then you can hire someone who is. Look for a Vermont licensed Lead-Safe RRPM Firm. RRPM firms have staff who are IRC Practices certified.

Find a Lead-Safe RRPM Firm

• Inspect for chipping and peeling paint or coatings, and pick up any paint chips from the property grounds.
• Block access immediately to any areas that need paint repair.
• Have repairs done by Lead-Safe RRPM licensed workers within 30 days of finding out about them.
• Install window well inserts in all pre-1978 wooden sash windows.
• Perform a specialized cleaning in common areas, and when there is a new tenant.
• Give new tenants the Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home pamphlet, if you are a landlord. If you are a child care owner, post the pamphlet in your facility and give it to parents or caregivers if requested.
• Post a notice in a prominent place - in either a common area or in each unit - that asks occupants to report deteriorated paint to the owner of the building promptly.

If you are a landlord, you are also required to give your tenants this information before their lease starts:

• Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home
• A copy of the rental unit’s most recent IRC Practices Compliance Statement
• Any known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards

If you find chipping or peeling paint or stain that is more than 1 square foot total per interior room or exterior side of the building, a Lead-Safe RRPM licensed worker must make the repairs.

• If you hire a contractor, they must have the Vermont Lead-Safe Renovation, Repair, Painting and Maintenance (RRPM) Firm and Supervisor licenses. Find a contractor

• If you are a landlord, you can do the work yourself if you have a Lead-Safe RRPM Firm – Landlord license or the RRPM Firm and Supervisor licenses. Find out how to get licensed

• If you are a child care owner, you can apply for an Uncompensated Child Care Operator (UCCO) certificate to do repairs work at your facility only. Find out how to get certified

After you have inspected your property and made any repairs, you need to submit a compliance statement through the Health Department’s online system. Read the step-by-step instructions and frequently asked questions about how to submit your compliance statement. 

• If you are a landlord, give a copy of the IRC Practices compliance statement to your tenants and insurance carrier.
• If you are a child care owner, give a copy of the IRC Practices compliance statement to the Department for Children and Families, your insurance carrier, and the child care provider at your facility.

Vermont law requires you to perform IRC Practices and submit a compliance statement each year. You may be fined if you do not submit a compliance statement, or if you submit a false statement. To avoid fines, make sure you are honest when you submit your statement and submit it on time. 

• If you need more time to make repairs, you can request an extension.
• If you receive an IRC Practices enforcement notice, fill out the Response to Enforcement Notice Form.
• If you sold your property or no longer rent it, you can ask to be exempt from filing.

If you need to make repairs and can’t meet the filing deadline, you must request an extension.

To request an extension, fill out the IRC Practices Filing Extension Request Form. Once the repair work is done, you can submit your IRC Practices compliance statement. 

There are two types of extensions:

• 30-day extension: for IRC Practices inspections, specialized cleaning, window well insert installation, interior repairs, and exterior repairs during the warmer months.
• Up to six-month extension: for exterior repairs if you find deteriorated paint or stain during the winter. 

You must immediately block access to the deteriorated area (whether it is inside or outside) until repairs are made. The access must be blocked with a physical barrier, for example, putting up a fence around the area or stapling plastic over the area. Make sure you do not block access to exits needed for safety.

Only a Lead-Safe RRPM licensed person can do renovation, repair and painting work that will disturb an area greater than 1 square foot per room or exterior side of the building. The type of work that requires these licenses includes (but is not limited to) painting, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, weatherization and window replacement work. 

• If you hire a contractor, they must have the Vermont Lead-Safe Renovation, Repair, Painting and Maintenance (RRPM) Firm and Supervisor licenses. Find a contractor

• If you are a landlord, you can do the work yourself if you have a Lead-Safe RRPM Firm – Landlord license. Find out how to get licensed

• If you are a child care owner, you can apply for an Uncompensated Child Care Operator (UCCO) certificate to perform work on your child care facility only. Find out how to get certified

Lead-Safe Work Practices 

• Limiting access to work areas
• Enclosing the work area with plastic sheeting
• Wearing protective clothing
• Using water to dampen painted surfaces or debris before disturbing them
• Avoiding practices that create dust
• Keeping lead dust in the work area
• Cleaning up the area once work is done

Find more information on required lead-safe work practices.

Prohibited Practices

Under the law, the following practices are not allowed to be used:

• Dry scraping or sanding
• Use of power tools
• Using chemical strippers
• Open flame burning or torching
• Heat guns operating above 1100°F
• Hydroblasting or high pressure washing
• Abrasive blasting or sandblasting

If you have sold your property, or no longer rent it or use it as a child care facility, please fill out the Change in IRC Practices Filing Status Form to ask to be exempt from filing. 

The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board’s Lead-Based Paint Program provides financial and technical assistance to income-eligible landlords and property owners to reduce the risk of lead poisoning caused by lead-based paint hazards. Call 802-828-5064 or 800-290-0527 or email [email protected].

If your property is in Burlington or Winooski, the Burlington Lead Program of the City of Burlington provides similar assistance. Call 802-865-LEAD (5323).