Philadelphia Lead Paint Law for Rentals: Lead-Safe Certificate Rules

What the lead law is

Philadelphia's lead law lives in Chapter 6-800 of the Philadelphia Code. It was overhauled by Bill 180936-A in 2019, and the big change is that the requirement is now universal: there is no longer a "child under six lives here" trigger, and the ZIP-code phase-in wrapped up in 2022 — every pre-March-1978 rental citywide is now covered.

The core rule sits in Phila. Code §6-803(3)(a): no rental license can be issued or renewed, and no lease can be signed or renewed, for "Targeted Housing" — pre-March-1978 rentals — without a valid lead-safe or lead-free certification. The city treats this as a hard gate, not a suggestion: the check is built into eCLIPSE, the city's licensing system, so a missing certificate automatically blocks your rental license application or renewal.

One more thing worth knowing: the Code presumes a property is pre-1978. That presumption is rebuttable, but the burden is on you to prove otherwise.

Who it applies to — and the exemptions you still have to file

The law covers all residential rentals built before March 1978, in every ZIP code. In a multi-unit building, you need a certificate for each unit, not one for the building.

Two exemptions exist, and both require action:

• Built after February 1978. You are exempt from certification, but you must file documented proof of the exemption with the Health Department. Treat this as a filing task, not a free pass.
• College or university student housing, but only if it is exclusively student-occupied.

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(14)-(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, with a signed acknowledgment. Here the Code and the Health Department's FAQ diverge: the FAQ says a tenant signature is not required, but the Code's text (Phila. Code §6-803(3)(a)(.2)) conditions compliance on the tenant acknowledging receipt by signing a copy, and §6-803(3)(c)(.1) requires giving the Department a copy of the signed certification. Do it the Code's way: get the signature.
• 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 block and suspension. No certificate, no rental license — issuance and renewal are blocked automatically. On top of that, §9-3902(2) lets the city suspend an existing rental license for any violation of §6-803(3), and a suspended license triggers the §9-3901(4)(e) bar: no rent collection and no right to recover possession for the entire suspension period.
• Rent bar and eviction bar. Under §6-809(4), a noncompliant landlord is denied the right to collect rent or recover possession, and you must attach the certificate (or proof the property is not Targeted Housing) to any eviction or rent action.
• Tenant lawsuits. Under §6-809(3), a tenant can win exemplary damages up to $2,000, abatement plus a refund of all rent paid for the uncertified period, damages for harm, and attorney's fees.
• Fines. §6-811 authorizes fines up to $2,000 per offense — and each day counts as a separate offense.
• Hazard orders escalate further. 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. And under §6-403(6)(b), a landlord who retaliates or collects rent after failing to comply with such an order within 30 days owes actual damages plus at least triple the monthly rent per violation, plus attorney's fees.
• 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, two disclosure duties apply at lease signing.

Federal law (42 U.S.C. §4852d and 24 CFR Part 35, Subpart A) requires, for every pre-1978 rental: the EPA "Protect Your Family" pamphlet, disclosure of any known lead hazards, and a Lead Warning Statement. This applies regardless of your 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.

What's changing, what's only proposed, and how it all connects

Enacted and upcoming: the Safe Healthy Homes Act (Bills 250329-AA and 250330-AA, signed May 7, 2026, effective November 1, 2026 — subject to pending litigation in the HAPCO federal suit). Bill 250330-AA adds a duty to perform repairs in a reasonably timely manner specifically to minimize exposure to lead paint and dust (along with mold and asbestos), and Bill 250329-AA amends the rental-licensing chapter itself. If those provisions survive the litigation, lead-related repair delays will carry new remedies starting November 1, 2026.

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 remains in committee. It creates no duty today; just watch it.

How this connects: the lead certificate is one of the prerequisites checked when your rental license (Phila. Code §9-3902) is issued or renewed, sits alongside the Certificate of Rental Suitability you must deliver at lease inception, and follows you into court, since eviction filings must include it. A lapse in this one document can freeze rent collection across an entire building — which is exactly why it deserves a permanent spot on your renewal calendar.