ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A new report out from the General Assembly's Office of Legislative Audits suggests Maryland's Department of the Environment may have failed to inspect nearly 1000 rental units for lead.
The audit was conducted through April 30 of last year.
According to the report — auditors identified 25,054 rental units built prior to 1978 that changed tenants since December 2016.
Of those, 973 had no lead inspection certificate recorded in either the agency's Online Lead Rental Registration system or their lead inspection certification database.
As result, auditors could not verify whether those required inspections were performed or properly recorded.
Out of a sample of 10 units, the Department of the Environment was found to have not investigated four of them to determine whether an inspection was required or had even been performed.
Although not all registered rental units require an owner to have an inspection certificate, such as in the case of unoccupied properties, the agency is still tasked with investigating which properties inspections are required.
Despite the current high number, it's still an improvement since the last inspection which noted approximately 10,832 without inspection certificates on file.
Based on when it was constructed, state law requires a residential property owner to have it inspected prior to any new tenant moving in.
Violators can face fines of up to $500 per day.
In response to the audit, the Department of the Environment said it would review the 973 units and develop additional procedures to ensure compliance.
