Washington County, MD Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Article 2, Section 2-209(h) of the Code of Public Local Laws' Livability Code covers "Lead paint abatement" as part of the county's interior structure maintenance standards. The rule defines "surface" broadly to include walls, ceilings, doors, trim molding, window frames, radiators and stair banisters, so the requirement reaches far more than just wall paint. Any surface that presents a potential health hazard due to lead paint must have the painted surface abated using procedures established by the Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management or the Washington County Health Department, giving property owners two agencies whose protocols satisfy the code.

The code carves out an exception for surfaces that are intact and in good condition, which need not be abated at all, unless they present a potential biting surface for children, in which case abatement is required regardless of the surface's outward condition. This dual test, hazard-based abatement plus a separate biting-surface trigger for children, means a landlord cannot rely on a surface simply looking fine if young occupants could reach and mouth it. The Livability Code sits inside the Code of Public Local Laws (2019) and is enforced by the county's Code Official under the same Article 2 framework that governs premises maintenance, exterior and interior structure, plumbing, mechanical systems and fire safety.

Because the lead-paint provision is one subsection of the broader property-maintenance article, a violation is processed the same way as any other Livability Code violation described in Section 2-215.