Youngstown, OH Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Chapter 1755, "Residential Lead-Based Paint," of the Youngstown Codified Ordinances declares in Section 1755.04(a) that any residential rental unit originally constructed before January 1, 1978 is presumed to have lead-based paint, and commits the City to requiring lead-safe certification of every such unit no later than March 1, 2028. Section 1755.04(b) phases that requirement in on a quarterly schedule set by the Superintendent, beginning March 1, 2023, with certificates issued by the Commissioner of the Youngstown City Health District. To obtain a certificate, Section 1755.05 requires the owner to submit a "Lead-Safe Report" from a licensed "Local Lead Inspector" documenting a visual assessment and dust-wipe sampling of at least four rooms (a minimum of twelve samples) showing the unit is free of a Deteriorated Paint Condition, Lead Dust Condition or Bare Soil Condition.

Under Section 1755.04(h), a certificate that passes only the visual and dust-wipe inspection expires after five years, while one issued after a complete lead abatement is valid for twenty years; Section 1755.04(i) lets a new owner obtain an updated certificate for a $10.00 re-issue fee. An owner is exempt while a unit sits vacant and unrented if the owner files an annual notarized affidavit under Section 1755.04(e), and Section 1755.04(d) exempts units abated of lead hazards within the prior twenty years. Section 1755.03 extends the same obligations to a Family Child Care Home and requires rental units to be registered with the Superintendent of the Division of Code Enforcement and Blight Remediation under Property Maintenance Code Section 546.11; Section 1755.03(e) sets escalating penalties of $100 after the first month of noncompliance, $500 after the second month and $1,000 after the third.

Section 1755.07 gives the Health Commissioner and Code Enforcement the right to inspect the premises, and Section 1755.08 bars an owner from retaliating against a tenant who reports a missing certificate.