Information on Vermont’s Lead Law and the Landlord Restoration Program

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The Landlord Restoration Program (Program) launched in 2017 by the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Health. The Program provided: (i) information and resources to landlords, (ii) extended time for repairs, and (iii) a waiver of state enforcement for past non-compliance. The Program, which concluded in 2018, was piloted in five Vermont towns that had elevated blood lead levels in children: Rutland, Bennington, Bellows Falls/Windsor, Barre, and St. Albans. Compliance rates suggest that the pilot program was effective in increasing property owner compliance. Compliance rates went up by an average of 14%, with several towns seeing around 20% increases. 

A copy of the complete report on the Landlord Restoration Program can be found here.

If you are EMP certified, or have an inspector who is EMP certified, you can comply right away by completing your EMPs and filing your statement immediately:

File your annual EMP Compliance Statement

I can’t complete the EMPs right now. What can I do to get in compliance?

Here are steps you can take to get in compliance with Vermont’s Lead Law:

  1. Get EMP certified or hire an EMP contractor
  2. Do your EMPs
  3. File your EMP compliance statement

When do I perform EMPs?

EMPs are annual obligations.  Each year you must inspect your rental property and safely repair deteriorated paint. If you receive a letter to comply within 30 days from the Department of Health, you can request an extension by completing the Department of Health’s Extension of Time form.

How do I perform EMPs?

You can become EMP certified yourself, or hire an EMP contractor, visit: www.leadsafevermont.org. Beware of shortcuts! Make sure your EMP statement is accurate before you file. There are significant penalties for falsely certifying EMP compliance.

My property has been gutted and renovated. Does the law still apply to me?

Yes! If your building has been restored, it still may contain lead. To exempt you from annual EMP filings, a third-party contractor must perform an inspection and prepare a report. This generally costs $500-$1000, and you may be eligible for financial assistance if you rent to low or moderate-income tenants.

You can find information here on hiring a lead contractor, and here is information for lead contractors.

What if a tenant makes a complaint against me for a lead violation?

If you come into compliance voluntarily, there will be no State enforcement for past noncompliance. However, the state cannot waive a private claim a tenant may have.

What if I don’t file an EMP statement?

Failure to comply with the lead law, may leave you exposed to a complaint or future enforcement action. Our goal is to support the efforts of Vermonters who wish to comply with the law.

Questions?

Contact the Vermont Dept. of Health, Asbestos & Lead Regulatory Program, by phone at 802-863-7220 or online at www.healthvermont.gov

Disclaimer

Navigating Health Care Can Be Tough: CAP Has You Covered!

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Have you ever felt stressed out by the health care system? You’re not alone. Figuring out your health care options can be confusing. Here’s the good news—there are FREE programs available to help!

Dog with stethoscope

Here’s a list of common questions CAP gets about health care and the FREE resources available to Vermonters:

Overcharged by your doctor’s office?

  • File a complaint with our office. CAP provides a complaint mediation service, we can you help fix billing problems. To get help, call our office at 1-800-649-2424 (toll-free in Vermont) or submit a complaint on our website.

Not sure why you can’t get Medicaid?

  • Vermont Legal Aid has a Health Care Advocate Office. They have a helpline that all Vermonters can use. They can help you learn about coverage options offered on Vermont Health Connect. They can help you figure out what care plans cover. To get help, call the HelpLine at 1-800-917-7787 or fill out their online help request form.

Confused about Medicare?

  • Contact the Agency on Aging. Their State Health Insurance Assistance Program can help you with Medicare, Choices for Care, and Social Security. Call their HelpLine at 1-800-642-5119 or call your local Agency on Aging.

Need help paying a dental bill?

  • Vermont 2-1-1 can help you find local resources to help. 2-1-1 is a program of United Ways of Vermont. They provide information and referrals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also call about emergency food and shelter, counseling, and child care. To get help, dial 2-1-1 (or 802-652-4636 – from outside of Vermont) or visit their website.

Have an insurance complaint?

  • Contact the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation’s Insurance Division. The Insurance Division regulates insurance in Vermont. To get help with filing a complaint, call 1-800-964-1784 or file a complaint online.

Still not sure who can help? Call CAP at 1-800-649-2424. Our team of consumer advisors are dedicated to helping Vermonters get the support they need. If CAP can’t help you, we’ll figure out who can.

Contributing Writer:  Lauren Jandl
Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin
Photo Credit:  Annalee Beaulieu

Congratulations, You’re A Winner!

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Have you received a letter, email, or even a Facebook message telling you that you have won a sweepstakes or lottery prize, such as thousands of dollars and a car? Have you been asked to send money to cover taxes or registration fees so that you can receive your prize? If so, you are being targeted by a common scam – no real sweepstakes prize would ask you to pay taxes or fees.

Sweepstakes Scam example

Scammers may pretend to be legitimate businesses such as Publisher’s Clearing House or Reader’s Digest, or may use a similar sounding name. You may even receive a check in the mail that looks legitimate. The scammers claim they have sent you some of your prize so you can use the money to cover the cost of fees or taxes. Do not deposit the check – it is fake! Scammers hope that you will send them real money from your account before the bank realizes that the check has bounced.

You may be instructed to not tell anyone about “winning” to protect your prize. This is an attempt to isolate you so your friends and family can’t warn you about the scam. Don’t take the scammer’s advice – call CAP at 1-800-649-2424 and we can help you determine if you are being scammed.

Remember: if you won a real sweepstakes prize, you would never need to pay a fee to claim your winnings. Never send money to get money!

Contributing Writer:  Annalee Beaulieu
Content Editor:  Crystal Baldwin

Buying and Selling on Online Listing Sites

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Most Vermonters love a good deal.  So, we know how appealing it can be to search for discounted products through online listing sites.  And, when the deal of the century is finally located, we know how easy it is to want to act quickly, rather than question if the deal is too good to be true. But sometimes the most important thing you can do is stop and verify an online offer before you pay.

At CAP, we typically hear about the times people get scammed online, rather than the times they found a great deal.  Vermonters report scams to our office so we can assist them if there is a way to recoup their money and so that other consumers are made aware that there are scammers lurking online, looking to take your money without earning it.  A couple of weeks ago, we heard from a gentleman hoping to close a deal on purchasing an excavator.  He fulfilled his end of the deal by wiring more than $16,000.  After receiving the funds, the scammer went dark.  This Vermonter was lured into the scam through a blatant lie; from a Craigslist post, he was connected to a realistic-looking eBay site to fulfill his order.  The site however, was not eBay.  The money that was wired was gone within a few moments.

Last year (2016) 122 Vermont consumers reported online listing scams to our office. And, fourteen people reported monetary loss due to wire transferring funds in response to an online listing. The year before (2015) nineteen people reported loss by wire transfer.

Listing scams take on many forms.  Sometimes the scammer responds to a seller post, overpays with a check, and asks for the remainder to be wired back.  Sometimes the post is for a fictitious rental property and the scammer is looking for the deposit and first month’s rent to be sent.  Sometimes the item being sold is a used car, riding lawnmower, or construction equipment.

Scams even happen when you are looking for that perfect puppy or pet to expand your family, but the transport of the animal is held up at the airport or elsewhere.  People have reported trying to buy wedding dresses, only to be bilked of their wedding budget due to scam activity.  The point here is, listing scams can happen with any kind of product or service when you least expect it.  The key to prevention is knowing the signs, taking an extra moment to verify an online offer before you pay, and if you are the victim of a scam report it to our office.

The Attorney General will continue to alert Vermonters about new and ongoing scams.  In the meantime, here are some helpful tips to help you avoid online scams:

Tips to prevent Online Listing scams

Contributing Writer:  Crystal Baldwin

VT Scam Alert System is Live

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Last week our office sent out the first scam alert through the VT Alert System to warn Vermonters about an active utility disconnection phone scam (listen to the alert here).

This exciting program started three weeks ago when the Attorney General’s Office partnered with Vermont Emergency Management to use their existing “VT Alert” emergency notification system. The system lets you get instant alerts by email, text message, or a phone message. We’ll be using this system to alert Vermonters about scams going around the state. You must sign up to get these alerts.  So far, 677 people have signed up through our website and over 3100 signed up through the VT Alert portal!

We don’t want to send out too many alerts, so we’ll only use the system to let you know about scams that are new, have changed, or are happening most often. We also might send you alerts about scams that are happening in your town or county specifically.

Signing up is free and easy. Call us at 802-656-3183 or 1-800-649-2424 (toll-free from a VT phone). You can also visit our website consumer.vermont.gov and click on “Sign Up for Scam Alerts!”  You can choose to get alerts by text message, email, or a prerecorded telephone message from Attorney General Donovan.

We want to help you stay informed and stay ahead of scammers trying to defraud Vermonters.  Once you sign up for the Scam Alert System, we encourage you to spread the word by sharing the alert message with your friends, family, neighbors, and communities.  Together we can get informed, spread the word, and stop the scams.

Example of an email alert:

VT Alert Scam Alert Example

Our office would like to extend a special thank you to our partner at the Vermont Department of Pubic Safety, Emergency Management System–and in particular Director Erica Bornemann, Public Information Officer Mark Bosma, and Administrator Randy Bronson.

VT Alert Logo

 

 

 

Contributing Writer: Crystal Baldwin