What the numbers mean for landlords here
This is one of the oldest housing stocks in Philadelphia’s rental market: 4,670 of 4,688 licensed rentals were built before 1978, and not one rental in East Oak Lane (19126) is registered exempt. Plan on testing every rental unit.
Olney and Feltonville (19120) hold most of the area’s rentals, 2,925, and 444 of them show an expired lead-safe certificate in the City’s records. A new lease, a lease renewal or a rental license renewal needs a current certificate.
Certificates come due in waves. Here the biggest is 2029, when 1,625 expire. Booking a few weeks before your expiry date means standard lab turnaround instead of paying for rush.
What a test involves here
Most rentals here are rowhouses and twins, 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 rowhouse is 9 samples and usually takes well under an hour.
Old wood windows and painted sills are the usual reasons a unit fails the 2026 limits (floors 5, sills 40, troughs 100 µg/ft²). The prep checklist covers what to do first.
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.