Rhode Island Landlords Face Consequences For Lead Violations

PROVIDENCE, RI — Several Providence-area landlords are facing consequences after failing to address several instances of lead poisoning in their units, the Rhode Island Department of Health and Attorney General announced Thursday.

Mark O’Day and David Buda own a building built in 1900 that has had several cases of lead poisoning in children, officials said. The Department of Health inspected the property recently after a third child was diagnosed. Inspectors found several lead hazards that had not been addressed, including in bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and in the soil around the building. The owners were issued two violations to the owners for refusing to correct them.

"Every child in every home in Rhode Island deserves to be safe from lead paint poisoning," Attorney General Peter Neronha said. "While most are, the fact remains that far, far too many are not."

While correcting lead issues can often be fixed quickly and without great expense, "the failure of some to do so indicates one thing: they value their bottom-line rent receipts over the health of children."

The owners will be required to correct the hazards, have the property cleared by a licensed lead contractor, make sure the property is otherwise up to code and make sure the tenants are provided with or compensated if they must seek alternate accommodations during the remediation process. In addition, O'Day and Buda could face up to $5,000 per day in fines for each day that the hazards existed at the property.

"This Office will continue to stand up for children and hold these landlords accountable," Neronha said. "The law requires them to do the right thing. We’ll make sure they do."

In a separate case, Regent Place, LLC and Robert Riccardi were issued an injunction after failing to address lead hazards at their rental property in East Providence, the AG's Office said.

Last November, Neronha sued them for "long-standing" lead violations that led to the poisoning of a child who lived there. The following month, the Department of Health re-inspected the property, and found the hazards were still present.

As of Thursday, the issues still had not been addressed, Neronha's Office said.

Neronha called for the court to require that the landlords hire a licensed lead contractor within three days to correct the issues within two weeks, as well as make sure the tenants have adequate housing during the remediation process. The attorney general also asked that all rental payments be placed in an escrow account to be used to pay for the lead abatement.