Building Safety in Pennsylvania (2026)

Bethlehem's Article 1167 Lead Poison Control ordinance lets the Bureau of Health inspect any dwelling for lead hazards…

Allentown's Bureau of Health can enter and test any dwelling for lead paint on probable cause, and must post a warning…

Philadelphia's Health Department can order landlords to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in rental units, and…

Pittsburgh requires lead hazard inspections for rental housing built before 1978, covering bare soil, deteriorated…

Scranton bans applying lead paint or any lead-bearing substance over 0.5% lead by weight to interior surfaces, or to…

Pennsylvania requires annual elevator inspections under 34 Pa. Code Chapter 405. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor…

Pittsburgh's Property Maintenance Code requires every elevator, dumbwaiter, and escalator in the city to be kept in…

Erie's own code hands elevator regulation to the Commonwealth: Section 1503.72 adopts the Uniform Construction Code's…

Scaffolding must be approved under the building code and removed within 30 days of finishing the repair work it…

Upper Darby requires an NFPA 13D fire sprinkler system and an NFPA 72 fire alarm system throughout any group living…

Renovating a Pittsburgh apartment, hotel, or institutional building triggers mandatory sprinklers under Code § 1002.02…

Philadelphia does not mandate fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes. Builders must instead offer buyers the…

Pennsylvania DHS regulates childcare centers under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3270 (centers), 3280 (group homes), and 3290…

Before anyone builds, remodels, or converts a building into an Allentown child-care center, the Bureau of Health must…

Bethlehem's Bureau of Health licenses and inspects every day care center in the city under Article 1165, which sets…

Since March 1, 2020, Erie has required every child-care facility to hold a certificate of occupancy from the Building…

Large nonresidential buildings in Pittsburgh must set aside on-site child day care space once they exceed set…

Reading zoning sets minimum outdoor play area and occupancy standards for child care centers as a special exception use.

Scranton requires anyone operating a child or adult day-care center to pass a City inspection and hold an annual $250…

Philadelphia requires every rented dwelling, rooming or housekeeping unit door to have a deadbolt lock with at least a…

Every commercial and residential building permit in Philadelphia has to satisfy the 2021 International Energy…

Pittsburgh lets non-residential developers earn up to a 20 percent floor-area-ratio and height bonus by committing to…

Pottstown Borough Council adopted the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code by reference under Borough Code §§…

Reading doesn't mandate green construction, but it rewards LEED-certified buildings with extra building coverage…

Upper Darby has no mandatory green building code. Instead, § 550-23G(1) of the zoning ordinance dangles up to 40 feet…

Every Allentown child-care facility must keep working carbon monoxide detectors on site, not just smoke alarms. Section…

A Bethlehem Short Term Lodging License application must include a floor plan showing the location of every carbon…

Existing dwelling and sleeping units in Philadelphia must have carbon monoxide alarms whenever a hazard condition like…

Pottstown's Fire Code amendment, Section 603.4.2, requires a permit before installing any unvented, gas-fired space…

Reading's Property Maintenance Code requires carbon monoxide alarms in dwellings per the International Fire Code and…

Upper Darby requires carbon monoxide alarms outside bedrooms in any dwelling unit that has fuel-fired appliances or an…

Allentown requires a permit for construction, alteration, enlargement, repair or demolition of any building, plus…

Bethlehem requires a permit under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code for erecting, altering, repairing, moving…

Before constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, demolishing or changing the occupancy of a residential…

Franklin Township administers building permits through the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code rather than a…

Penn Hills requires a building permit for any construction or improvement costing more than $2,000; smaller jobs are…

Most interior and exterior renovations in Philadelphia require a building permit from the Department of Licenses and…

Pittsburgh's Bureau of Building Inspection requires a Building Permit for any work covered by the International…

Pottstown requires a zoning permit before you build or install any structure, including signs, fences and storage…

Reading requires permits under the 2009 International Building Code, but the city stripped out the code's exemptions…

Scranton requires a Bureau of Code Enforcement permit before any construction, alteration, addition, removal or…

Upper Darby requires a separate permit for every structure on a parcel, with building, mechanical, electrical…

Electrical work in Allentown falls under the adopted Uniform Construction Code, and every electrician working in the…

Any electrical work in Erie regulated by the Uniform Construction Code needs a permit from the Building Code Official…

Penn Hills requires a permit and District Inspector approval before any electrical wiring, machinery, or apparatus is…

Philadelphia requires an electrical permit for any installation, alteration, replacement or repair of electrical or…

Pittsburgh requires a separate Electrical Permit from the Bureau of Building Inspection for work covered by the adopted…

Pottstown adopted the ICC Electrical Code, Administrative Provisions, as its Electrical Code under Section 501 of…

Reading requires a permit from the Electrical Code Official before any electrical installation, alteration, or repair…

Scranton has adopted the 2008 National Electric Code as part of its Uniform Construction Code, and every electrical…

Upper Darby enforces the ICC Electrical Code as part of its adopted Uniform Construction Code, and only a licensed…

Allentown enforces plumbing work under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, and anyone doing plumbing in the…

Bethlehem issues plumbing permits only to licensed Master Plumbers. Under Codified Ordinances § 1705.08(b), an…

Plumbing work in Erie regulated by the Uniform Construction Code needs a permit from the Building Code Official before…

Before installing, enlarging, altering, repairing or replacing plumbing systems, Philadelphia owners need a plumbing…

Pittsburgh adopts the International Plumbing Code as part of its Uniform Construction Code, but plumbing permits aren't…

Pottstown adopted the 2009 International Plumbing Code as its Plumbing Code under Section 401 of Chapter 5, Part 4, and…

Reading's Plumbing Code lets only a licensed master plumber apply for a plumbing permit, caps each shop at one…

Scranton requires a permit before any plumbing installation, adopted under the 2009 International Plumbing Code, and…

Upper Darby enforces the International Plumbing Code as part of its adopted Uniform Construction Code, with plumbing…

Before a Pottstown dwelling changes hands, Section 113 requires a Property Transfer Use and Occupancy Certificate: a…

Reading requires a certificate-of-transfer inspection before any residential, nonresidential or mixed-use property…

Bethlehem requires a City inspection before issuing any certificate of occupancy, and the outcome of that inspection…

Erie requires a construction code official, or a Fire Inspector for fire code items, to inspect permitted work at each…

Penn Hills, Pennsylvania requires permit holders doing grading, excavation, or fill work to schedule inspections at…

Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections runs permit work through staged inspections under Code Sec…

Pittsburgh requires owners of buildings other than one- and two-family homes and townhouses to hire a…

Scranton runs a two-stage building inspection process before a certificate of occupancy issues: a general inspection…

Before any property in Upper Darby changes hands, it must pass a municipal inspection, and the outcome sets which…