HouseLogic.com - If you're planning renovations on a pre-1978 home with young children under six or pregnant women living on the premises, contractors say you soon could be paying more for the job.

A new set of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) federal rules went into effect April 22. They are designed to minimize the hazards of lead paint dust raised during renovation projects conducted by paid contractors.

Common renovation activities in a pre-1978 home like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint.

The EPA's new Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule dictates that renovation firms must be EPA certified. Before starting a project, the areas affected by renovation should be tested using an EPA-recognized lead test kit.

By EPA's estimate, the new regulations will add $35 to an average renovation job. That estimate makes contractor Dan Gehrig, who owns Creative Design Construction in Northvale, NJ., "laugh out loud."

Gehrig estimates "the extra labor might add 25 percent" to a siding job or at least a few thousand dollars for example.

For a typical siding job these regulations would "require workers to wear protective suits made of Tyvek, put down 20 feet of plastic sheeting on the ground around the home, keep a wall wet while working, put each load of siding into plastic bags and seal them before depositing the bags into a Dumpster," stated Gehrig.

The contractor must provide the EPA's information pamphlet Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools before starting work.

The rule does not apply to minor maintenance or repair activities where less than six square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed in a room or where less then 20 square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed on the exterior.

How does the RRP rule affect the real estate market in the St. Louis metro?

According to data from the MLS, there are a total of 6,185 homes built before 1978 listed for sale this week in the City of St. Louis (678), St. Louis County (3,123) and St. Charles County (2,384) combined. If any of these homes require repair or renovation that falls under the new EPA's RRP rule to fulfill a sales contract obligation or other condition, a certified contractor must now be engaged.

Rental property owners must adhere to the RRP mandate. The contractor or property owner is required to have tenants sign the EPA's pre-renovation disclosure form which indicates that the tenant received the Renovate Right lead hazard information pamphlet.

After April 22, 2010, rental property owners who perform renovation projects for compensation in pre-1978 rental housing must be certified and follow the lead-safe work practices.

Violating the EPA's RRP rules can result in a fine of up to $37,500 per day.

So far, Maria Doa, EPA director of the national program,chemicals division, estimated that only 6,500 renovators working at 1,300 firms nationwide have taken the certification training. More than 200,000 renovators in the U.S. handle work that would fall under the RRP rules but have not been certified.

Link: Renovations

Link: EPA's Rule