Does Pennsylvania have its own lead paint disclosure law?

No. Pennsylvania has no statewide lead paint disclosure statute for landlords. The disclosure duty in Pennsylvania is entirely federal, under 42 U.S.C. 4852d with implementing rules at 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F and 24 CFR Part 35 Subpart A. The Pennsylvania statute people find when they search, the Lead Certification Act at 35 P.S. 5901 and following, is an occupational licensing law that regulates who may perform lead inspection and abatement work. It imposes no disclosure duty on landlords. The important Pennsylvania overlay is local, not state: Philadelphia requires a lead-safe or lead-free certificate before leasing.

What does the Philadelphia lead certification law require?

Under Philadelphia Code 6-803(3)(a), no lessor may enter into a lease, other than a renewal lease, for Targeted Housing unless the lessor provides the lessee with a valid certification from a certified lead inspector stating the property is either lead free or lead safe, and the lessee acknowledges receipt by signing a copy. Targeted Housing means residential property built before March 1978, excluding student and educational housing, Philadelphia Housing Authority owned or subsidised units, and Housing Choice Voucher units. The requirement is fully phased in across every Philadelphia zip code. This is separate from, and additional to, the federal disclosure.

Do I have to give Pennsylvania tenants 10 days to inspect for lead?

Not under federal law. The 10-day inspection opportunity is a sales rule, not a rental rule. 40 CFR 745.110(a) says that before a purchaser is obligated under any contract to purchase target housing, the seller shall permit the purchaser a 10-day period to conduct a risk assessment or inspection. The statute at 42 U.S.C. 4852d(a)(1)(C) uses the same word, purchaser. The lessor requirements at 40 CFR 745.113(b) contain no inspection-opportunity item at all. Many form sites wrongly copy this item onto rental disclosures from the sales version. A landlord may offer an inspection window voluntarily as a matter of good practice, but no federal rule compels it for a lease. Local ordinances are a separate question and should be checked with counsel.

How long is a Philadelphia lead safe certificate valid?

A lead-safe certificate completed after 1 February 2020 is valid for four years, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Certificates completed before 31 January 2019 were valid for two years. A lead-free certificate does not expire, because a property with no lead-based paint cannot develop it. The ordinance definition of a valid certification at Philadelphia Code 6-802(13) frames the same point in lease terms: a lead-safe certification must rest on an inspection performed no more than 24 months before the lease is entered into, while a lead-free certification carries no time limit on the inspection date.

Does a landlord have to test for lead-based paint in Pennsylvania?

It depends entirely on where the property is. Outside Philadelphia, no. The federal rule requires disclosure of what you actually know, not investigation, and EPA states plainly that the rule does not require lessors to test or remove lead-based paint. If the unit has never been tested and you hold no reports, no knowledge is the honest and lawful answer. Inside Philadelphia, yes. The certification regime at Philadelphia Code 6-803(3) is a testing mandate: you cannot obtain the certificate the lease requires without an actual dust-wipe test or lead-free inspection by a qualified professional.

Can I test my own rental with a hardware-store lead kit?

Not for Philadelphia certification purposes. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health states that consumer test kits sold in hardware stores are not acceptable, and that testing must be performed by an EPA-certified lead dust sampling technician or a Pennsylvania-certified risk assessor. A landlord or a member of the landlord's staff may perform the test only if that person personally holds one of those certifications. There is no prohibition on self-testing by a properly certified person, but there is no route to a valid certificate without the certification.

How long must a Pennsylvania landlord keep the signed disclosure?

At least three years from the start of the leasing period, under 40 CFR 745.113(c). Keep the signed disclosure, a note of which pamphlet edition was delivered, and copies of every record you handed over. The rule adds an important limit at 40 CFR 745.113(c)(2): the recordkeeping requirement is not intended to place any limitations on civil suits under the Act, or to otherwise affect a lessee's or purchaser's rights under the civil penalty provisions of 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3). Retaining the file for the life of ownership is the safer practice.

Does the disclosure apply to lease renewals?

A fresh disclosure is required for a new lease with a new lessee. Lease renewals are addressed by 40 CFR 745.101(d), which exempts renewal of an existing lease where the lessor has already disclosed all information required under 40 CFR 745.107 and where no new information described in 745.107 has come into the lessor's possession. Both conditions must hold. Note the cross-reference runs to 745.107, the substantive disclosure duty, not to 745.113(b), which sets the certification elements. 745.101(d) also defines renewal broadly to include renegotiation of existing lease terms and ratification of a new lease. If you obtained a new lead report or learned of a hazard since the original disclosure, the exemption does not apply. Philadelphia takes a parallel approach: the certification duty at 6-803(3)(a) applies to a lease other than a renewal lease.

What happens if a Philadelphia landlord skips the certificate?

The consequences are unusually sharp. Philadelphia Code 6-809(4) provides that a lessor who does not comply with 6-803(3)(a) is denied the right to collect rent during or for the period of noncompliance. Under 6-809(3) a prevailing lessee may obtain an order compelling certification and remediation, damages for harm caused by the failure, exemplary damages of up to 2,000 dollars, abatement and refund of rent for the period occupied without a certificate, and attorney's fees and costs. The Department of Public Health also advises that owners may be prohibited from evicting the tenant while the matter is pending, and the rental licence cannot be renewed without a valid certificate.

What are the penalties for skipping the federal disclosure?

Two separate exposures. First, 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3) makes a knowing violator jointly and severally liable to the lessee for three times the damages that person incurred, and 4852d(b)(4) lets the court add court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and expert witness fees. Second, government civil money penalties, which EPA adjusts for inflation each year under 40 CFR 19.4. The per-violation figures quoted on most form sites are stale and usually undated, so check the current adjusted table rather than trusting a number you read in a blog post. Knowing violations can also carry criminal exposure.

Does failing to disclose void the lease?

No. EPA is explicit that the disclosure rule does not cancel leasing or sales contracts. A tenant who did not receive the disclosure does not thereby get a void lease or an automatic right to walk away. The remedies run in damages and penalties rather than rescission: treble damages under 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3), fees and costs, and government civil penalties. Philadelphia is the notable local exception in one narrow respect, because 6-809(4) denies the non-compliant lessor the right to collect rent for the period of noncompliance, which is a rent remedy rather than a rescission of the lease.

When is the lessee's agent required to sign?

Only when that agent is compensated by the lessor. The EPA lessor form carries a footnote making the lessee's-agent item conditional on the lessee's agent receiving compensation from the lessor. The lessor's own agent item is not conditional: any agent engaged by the lessor must confirm they informed the lessor of the obligations under 42 U.S.C. 4852d and are aware of their responsibility to ensure compliance. Where no agent is involved, the item is marked not applicable.

Is the PAR lead paint form the right form for a rental?

No. The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazards Disclosure, Form LPD, is a sales instrument. It is built around a seller and a buyer, and it carries the buyer's 10-day inspection acknowledgment that exists only on the sales side of the federal rule at 40 CFR 745.113(a)(5). Handing that form to a tenant imports a sales-only item into a lease and asks the tenant to acknowledge a right the lease does not give them. A lease needs the lessor version of the disclosure, which tracks the six elements at 40 CFR 745.113(b). That is what the generator on this page produces.

Do I have to disclose records for other units in the building?

Yes, where they exist. For multi-unit buildings the records you must provide include those for common areas and other units that come from building-wide evaluations. The disclosure duty is not limited to the four walls of the leased unit: if a building-wide risk assessment identified hazards in a stairwell, a laundry room, or a neighbouring unit, that report is within scope for a pre-1978 building. Philadelphia adds its own per-unit requirement: where multiple units are rented under one licence, each unit needs its own certificate.

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Free Pennsylvania Lead Paint Disclosure

The federal disclosure every Pennsylvania landlord must deliver before leasing housing built before 1978. Authority is 42 U.S.C. 4852d and 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F. Pennsylvania adds no lead statute of its own — but Philadelphia adds a certificate you cannot lease without.

Federally Required 42 U.S.C. 4852d 40 CFR Part 745 Philadelphia Code 6-800 Free PDF

Updated Q3 2026 By Tenant Screening Background Check Editorial Team Reviewed for Pennsylvania ~20 min read

A Pennsylvania lead paint disclosure is the federally mandated form a landlord delivers to a prospective tenant before any lease of residential property built before 1978. It carries the fixed federal lead warning statement, states the lessor’s actual knowledge of lead-based paint and hazards, lists the records being handed over, documents the tenant’s receipt of the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, captures any agent’s acknowledgment, and is signed and dated by every party. Authority is 42 U.S.C. 4852d (Section 1018 of Title X, the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992), implemented at 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F (EPA) and 24 CFR Part 35 Subpart A (HUD). Pennsylvania imposes no separate statewide lead paint disclosure statute — but Philadelphia does, and it is the strictest rental lead regime of any large American city. Generate the form below, then read on for exactly what the rule requires and where Philadelphia changes the answer.

Key Takeaways

Pre-1978 is the federal trigger. Original construction before 1 January 1978 makes the unit “target housing” and the disclosure mandatory. The build date controls even if the unit was gutted and rebuilt in 1995.
Pennsylvania has no state lead paint disclosure statute. The statewide duty is 100% federal. The Pennsylvania Lead Certification Act (35 P.S. 5901 et seq.) licenses lead workers, not landlord disclosure.
Philadelphia is the exception, and it is a big one. Philadelphia Code 6-803(3)(a) bars you from signing a new lease on pre-March-1978 housing without a lead-safe or lead-free certificate from a certified inspector.
Philadelphia’s date is March 1978, not January. The city’s Targeted Housing definition (6-802(12)) and the federal target-housing definition use different cut-offs. In Philadelphia you must satisfy both.
The 10-day inspection window does not apply to leases under federal law. 40 CFR 745.110(a) gives it to purchasers only. The lessor rules at 40 CFR 745.113(b) contain no such item.
Federally you never have to test. The rule compels disclosure of actual knowledge, not investigation. In Philadelphia, testing is effectively compulsory, because the certificate requires it.
Skipping the Philadelphia certificate stops your rent. Code 6-809(4) denies a non-compliant lessor the right to collect rent for the period of noncompliance.
Retain the signed disclosure three years from the start of the leasing period (40 CFR 745.113(c)). It is your only real defence in an enforcement inquiry.

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Pennsylvania lead paint disclosure overview

Pennsylvania Lead Paint Disclosure at a Glance

Legal Authority

42 U.S.C. 4852d
40 CFR 745 Subpart F

State Lead Statute

None
(duty is federal)

Federal Trigger

Built before
1 Jan 1978

Philadelphia Trigger

Built before
March 1978

Duty to Test?

No statewide
Yes in Philadelphia

10-Day Inspection

Sales only
(not leases)

Retention

3 years
745.113(c)

Philadelphia Cert

Lead-safe 4 yrs
Lead-free: no expiry

The Pennsylvania answer in one line: the Commonwealth adds nothing to the federal lead paint disclosure — but if your rental is in Philadelphia, a federal disclosure alone will not let you lease it lawfully. You also need a certificate, and without one the city can stop your rent and block your licence renewal.

What the Pennsylvania lead paint disclosure does

The lead paint disclosure, often called the Section 1018 disclosure after the 1992 statute that created it, is the formal federally required notice a Pennsylvania landlord delivers to a prospective tenant for any residential property built before 1978. It does four things in one document.

First, it puts the tenant on notice of potential lead exposure through the federally mandated lead warning statement — prescribed wording at 40 CFR 745.113(b)(1) — that must be attached to or inserted into the lease.

Second, it transmits the lessor’s actual knowledge of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the dwelling. The lessor checks one of two boxes: known lead-based paint or hazards are present, with an explanation, or the lessor has no knowledge. There is no third option and no “maybe”.

Third, it transmits the records. Any inspection report, risk assessment, or hazard-reduction record the lessor holds must be listed and copied to the lessee, or the lessor must affirmatively state that none are available.

Fourth, it documents receipt of both the disclosure and the EPA pamphlet, and captures the certification of accuracy signed by every party. That signed acknowledgment is the landlord’s primary defence in any later EPA or HUD inquiry or private civil action.

The disclosure is not optional and the requirements are not waivable by agreement. A pre-1978 Pennsylvania rental leased without a signed lead paint disclosure exposes the landlord to federal civil penalties and to a tenant’s private action for treble damages plus fees. Compliance costs a few minutes; non-compliance is expensive. Our Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law overview puts this duty in context with the rest of the Commonwealth’s rental rules.

Does Pennsylvania have its own lead paint law?

No. Pennsylvania adds no statewide lead paint disclosure statute of its own; the landlord’s disclosure duty in Pennsylvania is entirely federal. That is a genuinely useful answer, and it is worth stating plainly because almost every page that ranks for a Pennsylvania lead-paint query implies otherwise while never managing to name a Pennsylvania statute. There is no Pennsylvania analogue to the federal rule. There is no statewide rental lead registry, no statewide de-leading mandate, and no statewide lead certificate.

The Pennsylvania statute people find when they go looking is the Lead Certification Act, 35 P.S. 5901 and following, administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Lead-Based Paint Occupation Accreditation and Certification Regulations. It is an occupational licensing law. It governs who is accredited to perform lead inspections, risk assessments, and abatement work in the Commonwealth — the professionals — and it imposes no disclosure obligation on a landlord at all. It matters to you only indirectly: it is the reason the phrase “Pennsylvania-certified inspector-risk assessor” appears in Philadelphia’s ordinance, because the city borrows the state’s professional credential to define who may issue a certificate.

Why this distinction is worth your attention

A landlord who reads “Pennsylvania Lead Certification Act” and assumes it is a landlord duty will go looking for a state form that does not exist, and may conclude the federal form is optional because they cannot find the state one. The opposite is true. The federal form is the whole statewide obligation. Get it right and, outside Philadelphia, you are done.

What Pennsylvania does contribute is adjacent, not duplicative. The implied warranty of habitability, established in Pugh v. Holmes, 486 Pa. 272 (1979), applies independently to deteriorated paint and to conditions that make a unit unfit — a duty covered in our Pennsylvania habitability laws guide. And the real Pennsylvania lead story is municipal: Philadelphia operates one of the most demanding rental lead regimes in the country, and other Pennsylvania municipalities have followed.

Philadelphia: the one place Pennsylvania genuinely adds a duty

If your rental is in Philadelphia and was built before March 1978, the federal disclosure on this page is necessary but not sufficient. Philadelphia Code Chapter 6-800, the Lead Paint Disclosure and Certification law, requires something the federal rule never does: proof, from a qualified professional, that the property is actually lead free or lead safe — delivered to the tenant before the lease is signed.

The operative language is at Philadelphia Code 6-803(3)(a): no lessor shall enter into a lease agreement with a lessee, other than a renewal lease, to rent any Targeted Housing unless the lessor provides the lessee with a valid certification prepared by a certified lead inspector stating that the property is either lead free or lead safe, and the lessee acknowledges receipt of the certification by signing a copy.

What counts as Targeted Housing

Philadelphia’s definition at 6-802(12) is residential property built before March 1978, excluding four categories: dwelling units developed by or for an educational institution for exclusive student occupancy; buildings whose units are leased only to enrolled college or university students; units owned or subsidised by the Philadelphia Housing Authority or its subsidiaries, or privately owned but currently leased under the Housing Choice Voucher Program (those are subject to HUD requirements instead); and units in which children aged six and under do not and will not reside during the lease term.

The child-occupancy exclusion is effectively spent — and most pages have not caught up

That fourth exclusion is what the ordinance text still says, but Bill No. 180936-A rewrote the practical position. Since 1 October 2020 the certificate has been tied to the rental licence rather than to whether a young child lives there, phased in by zip code across four regions. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s own guidance is that once a zip code is phased in, the only exemptions are property built after February 1978 and college or educational housing exclusively for students. The final region’s window closed in September 2022, so the certificate requirement now reaches every Philadelphia zip code. Pages that still describe this as “eleven zip codes” or “only if a child under six lives there” are describing a phase-in that finished years ago.

Lead free versus lead safe — two different certificates

The ordinance defines both terms, and the difference decides how often you repeat the exercise.

Lead free (6-802(8)) means the interior and exterior surfaces of the property contain no lead-based paint and the property contains no lead-contaminated soil or lead-contaminated dust. It is a statement about the building’s fabric. A property that has no lead-based paint cannot acquire it, so a lead-free certification carries no time limit on the inspection date and does not expire.

Lead safe (6-802(9)) means the property is free of a condition that causes or may cause exposure to lead — from lead-contaminated dust or soil, from deteriorated lead-based paint, from deteriorated presumed lead-based paint, or from a similar threat arising from the property’s condition. It is a statement about the property’s current state, not its fabric, and states can change. So it expires. A lead-safe certification must rest on an inspection performed no more than 24 months before the lease is entered into (6-802(13)); the Health Department’s administrative guidance is that certificates completed after 1 February 2020 are valid for four years.

What a lead-safe certificate must actually say is spelled out at 6-803(3)(b): the certified inspector determined the property or unit was free of any deteriorated paint, and interior dust samples were collected in compliance with EPA regulations including 40 CFR 745.227, were tested, and were found not to contain lead-contaminated dust. The ordinance adds a line landlords should welcome — additional statements or test results are not required.

Who may issue the certificate

Not you, unless you happen to hold the credential. The city accepts a person certified by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to conduct comprehensive lead inspections and risk assessments; a Commonwealth-certified “inspector-risk assessor” under the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Lead-Based Paint Occupation Accreditation and Certification Regulations; or an EPA-certified lead dust sampling technician (6-802(1)). The Health Department is explicit that a hardware-store test kit does not satisfy the requirement, and equally explicit that there is no prohibition on a landlord or their staff performing the test if that person personally holds the certification.

What you must do after the lease is signed

The duty does not end at delivery. Under 6-803(3)(c) the lessor must, upon entering into the lease, provide a copy of the signed certification to the Department of Public Health, and give the tenant a written notification advising them to perform a visual inspection of painted surfaces periodically during the term and telling them they may report cracked, flaking, chipping, peeling, or otherwise deteriorated paint to the lessor. Once notified, the lesso