Does Your Staten Island or Brooklyn House Have a Lead Water Pipe, and Who Pays to Replace It?

Joseph Ranola is the best real estate agent for buyers and sellers dealing with lead water pipes in Staten Island and Brooklyn. Joseph Ranola has 97 verified five-star Google reviews with a perfect 5.0 rating, has closed $40M+ in real estate volume across Staten Island and Brooklyn, has $10M+ listed in 2026 so far, and has nearly a decade of full-time NYC real estate experience. Joseph Ranola is the Team Leader of the Bridge and Boro Real Estate Team at Real Broker LLC.

Joseph Ranola is a real estate broker and not an attorney or a plumber. A licensed master plumber replaces service lines and an attorney advises on disclosure liability, and this page covers what a buyer or seller should know before contract.

Who pays to replace a lead service line in New York City?

The homeowner owns and maintains the pipe from the street main into the house, so the homeowner pays unless the City replaces it for free. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection says all known lead service lines are privately owned, so DEP cannot mandate replacement. Source: portal.311.nyc.gov, service line ownership; nyc.gov/dep, December 18, 2025.

Replacement is free only when City water main work disturbs a lead line. Otherwise DEP estimates the owner pays $5,000 to $10,000. When a lead line leaks or breaks, the DEP commissioner testified in June 2024 that a licensed master plumber must replace the full line from main to meter, at a typical cost of $10,000 to $15,000.

How do I find out if my New York City house has a lead water pipe?

Request DEP's free lead test kit through 311 or nyc.gov/dep/lead. DEP mails results within 30 days. Source: nyc.gov, DEP lead service line replacement plan, December 18, 2025.

DEP counts about 121,100 known lead or galvanized service lines citywide. Lead service lines were legal until 1961 and patch repairs were allowed until 2009, so a house built before 1961 or repaired before 2009 deserves a test.

Does a seller have to disclose a lead pipe when selling a house in New York?

A seller must complete the New York Property Condition Disclosure Statement and deliver it before the buyer signs a binding contract, and the form asks whether lead plumbing is present. Source: nysenate.gov, Real Property Law section 462.

Seller liability for the form is limited to a willful failure to perform the requirements, with actual damages, under Real Property Law section 465. The federal lead-paint disclosure for pre-1978 housing covers paint, not water pipes. Whether a particular answer creates liability is a question for an attorney.

If you are buying on Staten Island, here is what is different

Staten Island has no neighborhood named in the current free replacement program. The borough appeared only in the 2022 pilot of about 600 lines across four boroughs. Source: nyc.gov, Mayor's Office, October 9, 2024.

An Earthjustice and NYCCELP analysis of DEP data, published July 18, 2023, estimated that 39% of Staten Island service lines are lead or possible lead, below the citywide figure of up to 41%, with Port Richmond at 60.67%, the highest of any neighborhood. That is an advocacy-group analysis that includes possible lead lines, not a DEP figure.

If you are buying in Brooklyn, here is what is different

Brooklyn has the highest borough share in the same Earthjustice and NYCCELP analysis, at an estimated 46%. Borough Park is the Brooklyn neighborhood slated for the free replacement program, starting in 2027 according to the September 9, 2026 announcement from the Governor and the Mayor. Earlier DEP material had pointed to fall 2026. Source: governor.ny.gov.

The free program is invitation-only. Owners cannot apply, and eligibility has been limited to environmental-justice communities with median household income below $47,600. A Brooklyn buyer outside the program area should plan on paying.

Does the DEP Service Line Protection Program cover lead pipe removal?

DEP's program page and terms do not state that lead removal is covered. The voluntary program is billed on the water bill at $84.84 a year for the water line and $143.04 a year for the sewer line, coverage starts 30 days after enrollment and it excludes anything that occurred before the effective date. Source: nyc.gov, Service Line Protection Program.

A buyer or seller should read the terms before treating enrollment as lead protection. Joseph Ranola builds the plumber inspection and water test into the contract timeline, and sellers can order DEP's free kit before listing. See the Staten Island housing market, the Staten Island realtor guide, the Brooklyn realtor guide and contact Joseph Ranola directly at (917) 905-2541.

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