Seattle, WA Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger threshold
- damage over 2 sq ft/room or 10% of a component
- Applies to
- structures built before 1978
- Governing rule
- RCW 70.103 & WAC 365-230 work practices
- Enforcing agency
- Seattle Dept. of Construction and Inspections
- RRIO link
- checked under SMC 22.214.050.M.5.d rental inspections
Summary
Seattle's housing code requires anyone repairing painted surfaces in a pre-1978 rental building to follow state lead-based paint rules, and lets the Department of Construction and Inspections demand proof a certified renovator did the work once damage exceeds set thresholds.
Painted interior surfaces must be maintained free from peeling and chipping and other deterioration. In any structure built before 1978, removal, repair, or other disturbance of painted surfaces must comply with the lead-based paint provisions of Revised Code of Washington, Chapter 70.103 RCW, and associated regulations in the Washington Administrative Code, Chapter 365-230 WAC, including appropriate management and disposal of dust and debris and use of a certified individual qualified to paint, renovate, and repair areas containing lead-based paint. In any structure built before 1978, if a damaged surface is more than 2 square feet in area per room or equivalent or more than 10 percent of the total surface area of a component such as a windowsill or window frame, the Director may require documentation that any work was done by a certified individual. Use of a certified individual for repairs to a surface with deteriorated paint is not required if a report from a laboratory accredited under the National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program certifies that lead levels do not exceed maximum allowable levels under state and federal law.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
206), painted interior surfaces in every rental housing unit must be kept free of peeling, chipping, and other deterioration. 103 and the associated rules in WAC Chapter 365-230, including proper containment and disposal of dust and debris and the use of a certified individual qualified to paint, renovate, and repair areas containing lead-based paint. The rule sets a specific damage trigger: if a damaged painted surface covers more than 2 square feet per room (or an equivalent area) or more than 10 percent of a component's total surface, for example a windowsill or window frame, the Director of Construction and Inspections may require documentation proving a certified individual performed the repair.
Owners can avoid the certified-individual requirement only if a laboratory accredited under the National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program certifies, with a report identifying the exact tested locations, that lead levels at the site do not exceed the maximum allowable levels under state and federal law. D part of what a qualified rental housing inspector checks before issuing a certificate of compliance for a registered rental property.
Violations & Fines
Failing to follow the certified-repair and documentation rules under 22.206.080.D is enforced like any other Chapter 22.206 maintenance violation: the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections can issue a notice of violation setting a compliance deadline, and a rental unit that fails this checklist item under the RRIO program (SMC 22.214.050.M.5.d) fails its inspection, blocking issuance of a certificate of compliance until the certified work and documentation are supplied.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this rule require lead paint testing before every repair in an older rental?
How can an owner avoid hiring a certified renovator?
What happens if a rental unit fails an RRIO inspection over this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Seattle
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Lead Paint in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle lead paint.