Gary, IN Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Under Gary Municipal Code § 105-703, no person may apply lead paint to toys, furniture, or the interior surfaces, including window sills, window frames, doors, door frames, walls, ceilings, stair rails, and spindles, of any dwelling, dwelling unit, roominghouse, rooming unit, or facility occupied or used by children; selling, transferring, or delivering already lead-painted toys or furniture is likewise prohibited. Section 105-702 defines lead paint as any pigmented liquid coating whose nonvolatile ingredients contained more than 0.5 percent lead by weight through the end of 1972 and 0.06 percent thereafter, or whatever the FDA requires.

Where the health commissioner finds that lead paint on a premises creates a hazard to children, § 105-704 requires the commissioner to notify the owner or occupant to eliminate it; in an emergency the health commissioner alerts the Building Commissioner, who can take whatever measures are needed, while the health commissioner may also seek injunctive relief in court. Any lead paint that is cracked, chipped, blistered, or peeling, or that a child could chew or eat, must be completely removed down to the base surface under commissioner-approved safety conditions, or covered with an approved durable material; simply repainting over the old lead paint does not satisfy the section.

Removal methods themselves cannot create a health hazard from fumes, dust, or vapors and must follow city, state, and federal safety standards. The health commissioner enforces this article under § 105-705, working with the Building Commissioner on emergency orders.