Reading, PA Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Reading's lead-hazard ordinance is Chapter 328 (Lead Poisoning Prevention), which was adopted by City Council on October 23, 2000 and is enforced concurrently with federal and state lead-paint regimes. Section 328-102 prohibits any person from applying lead paint to toys, furniture, kitchen utensils, or the interior surfaces of any dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming house, rooming unit, or facility where children live or enter. Children's products and furniture cannot contain a lead concentration greater than 0.009 percent (90 parts per million) in paint or similar surface coatings. Section 328-103 (Determination of Lead Hazard) gives the City Health Officer or designated codes inspector authority to test, inspect, and order abatement. Three larger frameworks overlap: (1) Federal - the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (Title X, 42 U.S.C. Sections 4851 et seq.) and EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (40 CFR Part 745) require lead-safe certified renovators for any disturbance of more than 6 square feet interior or 20 square feet exterior of painted surface in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities; lead disclosure under 24 CFR Part 35 (the Lead Disclosure Rule) is mandatory in any sale or lease of pre-1978 housing. (2) State - the Pennsylvania Lead Certification Act of 1995 (35 P.S. Sections 5901 et seq.) requires lead inspectors, risk assessors, and abatement contractors to be Pennsylvania-certified. (3) Local - Reading's Property and Codes Enforcement office incorporates lead-hazard inspection into rental housing inspections and may issue an order to abate under Chapter 328 if peeling, chipping, or deteriorated paint is found in a unit with a child under age six. Reading is a high-priority city for lead because much of its housing stock predates 1950 - Reading was a 19th-century industrial center and most row houses contain pre-1978 lead-based paint.