The classic Essex County rental is a two- or three-family house built long before the federal lead ban: Newark's wards, East Orange, Irvington, Orange, parts of Bloomfield and Montclair. Original trim, original windows, generations of paint layers. Exactly the housing NJ's lead-safe certification law was written for.
The prewar share is striking. 29% of all Essex housing went up before 1940. In Montclair it's 59%, older than Newark on paper, even though Montclair rents far less.
Four Essex County municipalities are on NJ DCA's 2025-26 dust wipe list, and three of them border Newark. Newark itself, with 85,720 renter households, is a visual inspection town. An owner with a building on each side of the East Orange line is dealing with two different inspection methods.
| Town | Method | Renter households | Share renting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newark | Visual | 85,720 | 76% |
| East Orange | Dust wipe | 19,537 | 69% |
| Irvington | Dust wipe | 16,570 | 70% |
| Bloomfield | Visual | 10,466 | 49% |
| Orange | Dust wipe | 9,042 | 74% |
| Montclair | Visual | 6,773 | 43% |
| South Orange | Dust wipe | 2,107 | 35% |
Sources: NJ DCA 2025-26 Lead-Based Paint Inspection Methodology list; N.J.A.C. 5:28A (inspection cycle, tenant turnover and exemptions); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
$125 to $150 per unit, lab included, visual or dust wipe. An Irvington three-family with lab-tested dust wipes is $375 to $450. Portfolios of five units or more get bulk pricing.
What certificate you end up with, and when it renews, is covered in Lead Safe vs. Lead Free.
Newark, East Orange, Irvington, Orange, Bloomfield, Montclair, Belleville, Nutley, Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange, and the rest of the county. Single-family rentals through multi-family buildings.
Statute details, penalties, and renewal cycles: NJ lead law reference. Neighboring counties: Hudson, Passaic, Union and Morris.
Two-families, three-families, or larger buildings. Send the list.