If you own or manage a pre-1960 building in New York City, you’ve probably heard the term “XRF testing” thrown around. Usually right after an HPD inspector leaves. Or right before a renovation permit gets held up.
Here’s what it actually is, and why it’s worth doing before someone makes you.
It’s basically a lead scanner
An XRF machine looks a bit like a price scanner at a grocery store. A certified technician points it at painted surfaces — window frames, doors, baseboards, radiators, walls — and it reads the lead content in the paint. No scraping, no damage. Just a number.
That number comes back in milligrams per square centimeter. Hit 1.0 mg/cm² or higher, and it’s officially lead-based paint under both federal and NYC rules.
Why you can’t skip this
Under NYC’s Local Law 1, any building built before 1960 (or 1960 to 1978, if the owner already knows there’s lead paint) is assumed to have lead-based paint if a child under six lives there. Assumed. Not “maybe.” Until you prove otherwise, the law treats it as a fact.
That’s a real problem if you’re an owner, because the burden is on you. An XRF test is the fastest way to either confirm the risk or rule it out. And if HPD ever comes knocking, or worse, there’s a lead poisoning case tied to a unit, having documented XRF results on file is what separates “we handled this the right way” from a much longer, much more expensive legal mess.
What actually happens when we test a unit
We test every painted surface, not just the ones that look bad. That’s the part people don’t expect. Peeling paint gets flagged first, sure, but paint that looks perfectly fine can still test positive for lead, and it can still become a hazard the moment someone sands it, scrapes it, or breaks it during a renovation.
You get a full report, component by component. That report becomes the starting point for whatever comes next — abatement, encapsulation, encasement, whatever the situation calls for.
Mistakes we see a lot
- Treating a visual inspection like it’s the same thing as an XRF test. It isn’t. A visual check catches obvious damage. It tells you nothing about paint that looks intact but still tests positive.
- Waiting for the violation to show up first. Testing ahead of time, especially before a renovation or a tenant move-out, is almost always cheaper than testing under an HPD deadline.
- Only testing the “problem” unit. If your building falls under Local Law 1, every apartment with a young child needs documentation. Not just the ones someone complained about.
If you’ve got a portfolio of older buildings across Manhattan, Brooklyn, or the Bronx, this is exactly the kind of thing that’s easy to put off. Until it isn’t. We test buildings across NYC and can usually get someone out within [Roy: add your typical turnaround here].
Questions about getting a building tested? Here’s more on our XRF testing, or you can just reach out directly.