What the numbers mean for Northeast landlords
Mayfair (19149) has more licensed rentals than any other ZIP code in Philadelphia: 5,501 by the City’s count. It also has the city’s biggest renewal wave: 1,166 lead-safe certificates there run out in 2027. If yours is one of them, you can test up to a few months early and avoid the rush before lease dates.
Much of the Northeast was built out after World War II, in rowhomes and twins, and nearly all of it still predates 1978. That’s why nearly every licensed rental in Mayfair, Tacony, Holmesburg and Rhawnhurst falls under the law. The far Northeast is the exception: Somerton and Bustleton (19115, 19116) and Torresdale (19114) include later construction, so more owners there register an exemption instead of testing.
The “Expired” column counts rentals that still hold an active license while the City shows their lead-safe certificate as expired. A rental license renewal, or a new or renewed lease, needs a current certificate. If that’s your property, testing now gets you back in order.
What a test involves here
Many Northeast rentals are a single rowhome or one side of a twin, sometimes split into two apartments. For each unit we wipe one floor and one windowsill in every bedroom and in one common room, plus a blank control. A 3-bedroom rowhome is 9 samples and usually takes well under an hour. Testing a duplex or a few units in one visit takes 20% off every unit.
Older wood windows are the usual reason a unit fails under the 2026 limits (floors 5, sills 40, troughs 100 µg/ft²). Wet-wipe the sills and floors before the visit, and use the prep checklist.
After you pass
You get the certificate and lab report by email, with the exact steps for filing on the City’s lead certification portal. The certificate is good for four years, and we remind you before it expires.