What the lead law is
Philadelphia's lead law lives in Chapter 6-800 of the Philadelphia Code. Bill 180936-A removed the former child-under-six trigger and phased the current framework citywide, but scope still turns on the Code's definition of "Targeted Housing" and its specified exclusion; do not reduce the rule to "every pre-March-1978 property without exception."
The core rule sits in Phila. Code §6-803(3)(a), which conditions rental-license issuance or renewal and lease signing or renewal for covered "Targeted Housing" on the required certification and submissions. eCLIPSE uses the lead record in the license workflow. This describes the statutory and administrative gate; it is not a conclusion about a particular lease's enforceability or a case-specific remedy.
One more thing worth knowing: §6-802(14) creates a rebuttable presumption that a rental property was built before March 1978. An owner claiming later construction should preserve and submit the supporting construction-date documentation through the City's exemption workflow.
Who it applies to, and the exemptions you still have to file
Section 6-802(14) defines Targeted Housing as property built before March 1978, even if renovated later, that is currently used as housing. It excludes dwelling units developed by or for an educational institution for the exclusive residential use of that institution's students where non-student family members are not permitted to reside. In a covered multi-unit building, certification is handled per unit, not as one blanket building certificate.
The statute and the City's published workflow should be read together:
- Post-February-1978 construction. The City's workflow requires supporting construction-date documentation through the Lead Certification Submission System; do not assume the exemption records itself automatically.
- Specified educational housing. The Code excludes housing developed by or for an educational institution exclusively for its students where non-student family members may not reside.
- City FAQ treatment. The City's current FAQ separately says qualifying college, university, and other exclusively student educational housing, as well as hotels that obtain rental licenses, are not subject to this certification rule. Preserve the applicable record and confirm the exemption in the City's system.
Lead-safe vs. lead-free, and the every-4-years clock
The two certificates are not interchangeable. Lead-safe means an EPA-certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician or a Pennsylvania-certified risk assessor tested the unit (dust-wipe sampling) and it passed. Lead-safe certificates issued on or after February 1, 2020 are valid for 4 years: the Code frames it as an inspection no more than 48 months before license issuance (Phila. Code §6-802(15)). Lead-free means a Pennsylvania-certified lead inspector or risk assessor certified the unit free of lead paint, and a lead-free certificate never expires.
The practical upshot: if you hold lead-safe certificates, you are on a recurring 4-year cycle, and an expired certificate must be redone before your next rental license renewal. Since the rental license itself renews annually (Phila. Code §9-3902), the smart move is to calendar your lead-safe expiration dates alongside your license renewals so a stale certificate never surprises you at renewal time.
The exact steps
Here is the full sequence, in order:
- Hire the right professional: an EPA-certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician or PA-certified risk assessor for lead-safe; a PA-certified lead inspector or risk assessor for lead-free.
- Test every unit: each rental unit needs its own certificate.
- Give the tenant a copy at lease signing and preserve delivery evidence. The Code and the Health Department's FAQ do not describe the signature question identically: the FAQ says a tenant signature is not required, while the Code text at §6-803(3)(a)(.2) refers to acknowledgment by signing a copy and §6-803(3)(c)(.1) refers to submission of the signed certification. Our cautious recommendation is to obtain and retain the signature pending official clarification; that recommendation is not a settled legal interpretation.
- Submit to the Health Department portal: upload the certificate and the dust-wipe results or inspection report at leadcertification.phila.gov (a mail/fax fallback exists). License issuance and renewal are blocked until results for each unit are submitted.
- Give tenants written notice to periodically check painted surfaces, and promptly repair any deteriorated paint they report.
- If a tenant refuses testing access, document your written notice to them and submit that proof to the Health Department.
What it costs
Testing is priced by the certified professional, not the City: you pay whatever they charge per unit, so get more than one quote. Beyond the tester's fee, the recurring cost is mostly calendar discipline: a lead-safe portfolio needs re-testing every 4 years, unit by unit, while lead-free certification is a one-time expense that never recurs. If the City ends up inspecting because you did not comply, §6-803(3)(i) makes you liable for the City's inspection costs too. Compare all of that against the downside numbers in the next section and the certificate is cheap insurance.
What happens if you skip it
The license check is automated, and the consequences stack:
- License consequences. The Code ties lead-certification submissions to rental-license issuance and renewal, and §9-3902(2) authorizes suspension for specified §6-803(3) violations. Section 9-3901(4)(e) (renumbered §9-3901(4)(h) effective November 1, 2026) describes rent-recovery and possession limits during a covered suspension; apply those provisions to a particular period or claim only with case-specific legal review.
- Rent, possession, and filing records. Section 6-809 describes remedies for specified noncompliance and certificate-related attachments for covered eviction or rent actions. The exact certification duty, property coverage, period, claim, and defenses matter in a particular case.
- Separate lead-law remedies. Section 6-809(3) lists exemplary damages up to $2,000, abatement and refund language, damages for harm, and attorney's fees for specified lead-law noncompliance. Coverage, proof, period, and the remedy ordered remain case-specific.
- Fines. §6-811 authorizes fines up to $2,000 per offense, and each day counts as a separate offense.
- Hazard orders follow another provision. If the Health Department issues a lead-hazard elimination order, §6-403(6)(c)-(d) directs L&I to revoke the unit's rental license until the hazard is certified removed. Section 6-403(6)(b) separately describes damages and attorney's fees for specified conduct after noncompliance with such an order. Apply those express lead-law remedies only to the covered order, conduct, and case record.
- None of this can be waived in a lease: §6-812 makes the protections non-waivable.
The separate federal duty, and the 10-day clause every lease needs
Even with a valid certificate on file, these lease-signing duties still apply.
Federal law (42 U.S.C. §4852d; 40 CFR Part 745, Subpart F) requires, for most pre-1978 "target housing" rentals: the EPA "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" pamphlet, disclosure of known lead-based paint and hazards, and a Lead Warning Statement. Exclusions: zero-bedroom units (studios, efficiencies, dorms, single-room rentals) and housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities, in both cases unless a child under six lives or is expected to live there; leases of 100 days or less with no renewal; housing certified lead-free by a certified inspector; and foreclosure sales. A lease renewal needs no new disclosure if the earlier one was complete and nothing new is known. This applies regardless of your City certification status: a lead-safe certificate does not substitute for the federal paperwork. Note that the federal 10-day inspection window applies only to sales, not leases.
The lease-side 10-day right is Philadelphia's own. Under §6-804(2)-(3), every residential lease, regardless of the building's age, must contain a written clause giving the tenant a 10-day window to obtain an independent lead inspection. If lead paint hazards are found in pre-1978 housing, the tenant can terminate: within 2 business days after the report on a new lease, or on renewal with 10 days' notice and up to 90 days to vacate, with a refund of monies paid. Separately, §6-803(3)(a.1) requires giving every tenant the City's lead service line pamphlet and disclosing any known lead service line at lease signing, and that duty applies to all rentals, whatever the construction year, and is itself a license-suspension ground.
Philadelphia also requires its own lead warning statements in the lease itself (Phila. Code §6-805(2)): in large type, the Code's lead-paint warning for housing built before 1978 and, for every rental whatever its age, the Code's lead water service line warning. Copy both from §6-805(2) rather than paraphrasing them.
What's changing, what's only proposed, and how it all connects
Enacted and future-effective: the Safe Healthy Homes Act (Bills 250329-AA and 250330-AA, signed May 7, 2026) states a November 1, 2026 effective date. Bill 250330-AA would add a repair-timing duty addressing exposure to lead paint and dust, mold, and asbestos, while Bill 250329-AA would amend the rental-licensing chapter. Verify current implementation and any later court orders; if those provisions become operative, a particular delay or remedy would still depend on the governing provision and facts.
Proposed only, not law: Bill 250064 would clarify the deadline for tenants to file §6-809 lead claims. It was introduced February 6, 2025 and was still in the Committee on Public Health and Human Services on September 19, 2026 (Legistar file 250064). It creates no duty today; just watch it.
How this connects: the lead certificate is one of the prerequisites checked when a rental license (Phila. Code §9-3902) is issued or renewed, sits alongside the Certificate of Rental Suitability delivered at tenancy inception, and has separate filing and remedy provisions in §6-809. A certificate lapse can affect multiple workflows, but it does not by itself let this guide calculate a rent, possession, refund, or filing outcome for a property.