Vanderburgh County, IN Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Lead threshold
- 1.0 mg/cm² or 0.50% by weight
- Facilities named
- dwellings and child/day care facilities
- Sign-off agency
- Vanderburgh County Health Department
- First violation fine
- at least $100.00
- Repeat violation cap
- up to $5,000.00 court penalty
- Correction window
- minimum 10 calendar days
Summary
The County Property Maintenance Code singles out child and day care facilities alongside dwellings for lead-based paint control, requiring peeling or flaking lead paint above set thresholds to be repaired, removed or covered under a plan on file with the Health Department.
Lead-Based Paint. Interior and exterior painted surfaces of dwellings and child and day care facilities, including fences and outbuildings, which contain lead levels equal to or greater than 1.0 milligram per square centimeter or in excess of 0.50 percent lead by weight shall be maintained in a condition free from peeling, chipping and flaking paint or removed or covered in an approved manner on file with the Vanderburgh County Health Department.
Full Breakdown
50 percent lead by weight must be kept free of peeling, chipping and flaking paint, or must be removed or covered in a manner approved and filed with the Vanderburgh County Health Department, with the covered surface first marked by an approved warning of its lead content. 340), all of which a licensed child care center occupies a structure subject to as well. 360, which makes it unlawful to maintain, fail to maintain, or occupy a structure in violation of the Property Maintenance Code, or to ignore a lawful correction order.
Because the county's zoning and special-use rules for day cares apply only in the unincorporated area, this property-maintenance chapter's lead paint and building-safety requirements are the operative building-safety layer for a county-area child or day care facility's physical structure, separate from the Board of Zoning Appeals' Special Use 27 process.
Violations & Fines
A first Property Maintenance Code violation notice carries a civil penalty of at least $100.00, rising to $250.00 for a second violation and $500.00 for a third or later violation on the same property within a calendar year, plus additional court-assessed civil penalties of up to $5,000.00 for continued noncompliance under Section 15.15.360(B). Violators get a minimum 10 calendar days after a notice to correct the condition or pay before further notices, liens or legal action follow, and may appeal notices and penalties as set out in that same section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the county's property maintenance code cover child care buildings specifically?
What lead level triggers a repair obligation?
What are the penalties for an uncorrected violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Vanderburgh County
Compare Vanderburgh County to another location·View the Indiana building safety overview
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