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

Section BR 3-106(f)(4) of the Worcester County Rental Housing Code sets a paint-content standard for residential rental property in the unincorporated areas of Worcester County, Maryland. Lead-based paint with a lead content of more than five-tenths percent shall not be applied to any interior or exterior surface of a dwelling, dwelling unit or child-care facility. The ban reaches fences and outbuildings at those locations, so a rental lot's detached garage or yard fence is covered along with the house.

The second sentence is the remediation duty. Existing interior and exterior painted surfaces of dwelling units and child-care facilities that contain an excess of five-tenths percent lead shall be removed or covered with paneling or other suitable covering approved by the code official. The approval step matters: the code official, not the owner, decides whether a covering is suitable. The provision is a paint-content and remediation rule inside the property maintenance title, and it does not print a disclosure form or a testing schedule.

The duty sits with the owner. Under § BR 3-106(b), the owner must maintain structures and premises in compliance, and no person may let to another for occupancy premises that do not comply. Related surface rules point the same direction: § BR 3-106(f)(3) requires interior floors, walls, ceilings, windows and doors to be kept in good repair and in a clean, safe and sanitary condition, and § BR 3-106(e)(5) requires exterior surface materials to be properly surface-coated when required to prevent deterioration. The next paragraph, § BR 3-106(f)(5), separately requires dwellings with radon or asbestos above recommended EPA levels to be abated using EPA-approved methods and contractors. The Rental Housing Code does not apply inside Ocean City, Berlin, Snow Hill or Pocomoke City.