HUD's
new Big Buy Reimbursement Program is designed to assist property
owners with meeting the financial impact of complying with the Lead
Safe Housing Rule. The Big Buy program reimburses owners of a limited
number of properties for some or all the cost associated with the
obtaining the required lead hazard risk assessment.
To
be considered for financial assistance, an owner must receive a
letter from HUD inviting the enrollment of a specific property in
the Big Buy Reimbursement Program. Owners receiving this letter
will be required to:
- Complete the required owner's
statement of interest, and property
profile verification form. Follow instructions on
the form for proper submission.
- Employ an independent certified risk assessor to perform the
required lead risk assessment.
- The risk assessment must be performed after September 30, 2008
in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 35.1320(b)
24 CFR. HUD's Guidelines
for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in
Housing (the HUD Guidelines) provides detailed discussion
regarding the process for performing a risk assessment and preparing
a risk assessment report.
- The risk assessment report must meet the technical requirements
set forth in the HUD Guidelines, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and state and local government requirements applicable
to the jurisdiction in which the property is located.
- The completed risk assessment report must be delivered as an
Adobe Acrobat PDF or Microsoft Word file to HUD's quality assurance
contractor, Consolidated
Safety Services, Inc. ("CSS"), no later than September 30,
2009.
- The owner must provide HUD's reimbursement contractor, Healthy
Resources Enterprises, Inc. ("HRE"), with a copy of the invoice
from the risk assessor at the same time that the risk assessment
report is submitted to CSS.
