San Rafael has been a city since 1874, and it shows in the housing. Novato Lead Paint Removal brings lead paint testing, removal, abatement and encapsulation here for houses and apartment buildings built before 1978, from Victorian streets to the postwar neighborhoods that surround them. California’s Title 17 shapes each step.
San Rafael skews older and more rented than Novato. By the 2020-2024 ACS, 71.2% of its housing is pre-1980, 32.0% pre-1960 and 15.4% pre-1950; 47% of households rent, and buildings of five or more units hold 31.6% of the housing.
Lead paint stripped from the front and one side of a Victorian house
Example project
Home
1890s Victorian house in San Rafael, two stories with painted wood siding and ornate trim
Original request
Strip the lead paint from the front and one side before the house is repainted
Testing
Lead paint on the front and one side wall
Surfaces
The front and one side wall, about 1,650 sq ft
Notice
CDPH Form 8551 posted and sent at least five days ahead; neighbors told in writing
Estimated cost
$26,000
In this example, the owners of an 1890s Victorian in San Rafael are repainting the house and learn that its many layers of paint contain lead. A test shows lead paint on the siding, the porch, the bay and the trim on the front and one side wall.
About 2,300 San Rafael homes date from 1939 or earlier and roughly 1,300 more from the 1940s. A century of repainting can sit on their siding, porch parts and window casings, and the paint has outlasted several owners. Test before stripping, because sound paint may be better sealed or left alone. The exterior page covers methods.
Apartments and multi-unit buildings
Almost a third of San Rafael homes (31.6%) are in buildings with five or more units, so lead questions return at every tenant change. Paid repainting between tenants of a pre-1978 unit is renovation under the EPA rule, and an inspector’s lead-free certificate exempts a unit from the federal disclosure. Lead-safe renovation and remodeling gives the details.
Inspection and testing
In a San Rafael building with several units, a risk assessment can show which apartments hold hazards today, so repairs follow a ranking instead of a hunch. The assessor files the report on CDPH Form 8552. Our page on lead paint inspection and testing explains what each report type covers.
Windows and doors
Old painted sashes and doors in a San Rafael house or flat grind paint with every use. Replacing them is EPA renovation at any size; restoring the originals is the alternative. Lead paint window and door work compares the two.
Encapsulation
Sound interior paint can stay if it is sealed or covered. California separates abatement from interim control by design life, 20 years or more against less, with barriers and cleanup either way. The choice is explained under lead paint encapsulation.
San Rafael’s historic survey and landmarks
The city’s Historical/Architectural Survey lists 305 sites and was last updated in 1986. San Rafael says a listed structure is presumed to be a significant resource unless evidence shows otherwise. Chapter 2.18 of the Municipal Code, the Historic Preservation Ordinance, requires Planning Commission review before exterior changes to designated Landmarks or to buildings in a Historic District, and state environmental law brings potential historic resources into planning reviews.
Sixteen sites are designated Landmarks, including the Falkirk Mansion, the Mulberry House and the Flatiron Building, and three small districts are designated: the Victorian Village on Fifth Avenue, the French Quarter on Irwin Street and a group on Grand Avenue. Planning staff can tell you whether the 1986 survey lists a given house. We found no lead paint rule in the ordinance.
Before stripping original woodwork
If a house is on the survey or is a Landmark, talk to Planning before removing or replacing exterior wood. Testing first means the scope covers only what contains lead, which protects detail nobody can recreate.
A repaint without a permit is still lead work
Scraping or sanding painted surfaces for a paid repaint in a pre-1978 house is EPA renovation, with or without a permit. Title 17 barriers apply to any lead activity.
San Rafael sits in Marin County, where the Health and Human Services department runs a childhood lead poisoning prevention program at (415) 473-4163. Ask the county about current programs and eligibility.
Begin by asking whether the property is on the historic survey. Next, get a certified inspector to sample the surfaces your project will affect. Then file whatever permits the work needs. If you chose permanent abatement, the contractor delivers Form 8551 five days or more before starting. The last step is clearance, and the report joins the building file.
In an apartment building, bring in the neighbors early: CDPH guidance has abatement notices go in writing to residents of adjoining dwellings, and EPA guidance puts the duty on abatement firms to keep occupants out of the work area.
We found no San Rafael lead paint ordinance of its own. Title 17, the State Housing Law and the federal EPA rules cover lead here. The city’s preservation ordinance governs exterior changes to Landmarks and Historic Districts, a separate matter.
Who is allowed to test a San Rafael building for lead?
Inspections and risk assessments go to certified Inspector/Assessors, while clearance alone can go to a Project Monitor. Names can be checked against the CDPH lists. Sampling your own home is allowed, though it never replaces a certified report.
Must landlords here disclose lead paint?
Landlords of pre-1978 San Rafael buildings must hand tenants the EPA pamphlet, a Lead Warning Statement and a summary of known lead paint information whenever a lease starts or renews. Units certified lead-free by an inspector are one of the exceptions.
Can I replace windows in a landmark house?
Planning staff decide what review applies, so ask them before ordering windows. As for lead, replacing windows in a pre-1978 home is EPA renovation work, and the contractor needs EPA firm certification.
Do you work in San Rafael as well as Novato?
San Rafael lies about 11 road miles from Novato. Tell us the address and we will let you know if we can take the work.
North of Novato, across the county line, our Petaluma page covers river-town housing and a different county lead program.
Request a free lead paint removal quote
Where is the building, when was it built, how many units does it have and are they occupied? Say whether it is on the historic survey, and name the peeling surfaces. We'll get back to you soon with an estimate or any questions we have. Estimates are free and there's no obligation.
