By Josh McKnight | The McKnight Team
Upper Darby Township Council introduced an ordinance creating a Lead Poisoning Prevention and Lead Hazard Control Program, built around inspection and certification requirements for older properties. Representatives from the Delaware County Health Department spoke in support at the August 5 meeting.
Upper Darby PA real estate transactions are what this actually touches. A public hearing and final consideration are set for Tuesday, August 18, which gives owners under two weeks.
How the Program Actually Works
The proposal is modeled largely on Norristown’s lead ordinance, which means the shape of it is already known. Older properties fall under inspection and certification requirements, and the certificate becomes a document that has to exist before certain transactions can close. That is the part sellers feel.
The Suburban Realtors Alliance has been working with township officials to keep the measure aligned with Pennsylvania’s Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act, known as MCOCA, and to keep it from becoming an unnecessary barrier to residential transactions. The Alliance is also collecting the supporting documents, forms and guidance so agents, owners and municipal staff understand the requirements before they take effect rather than after.
What the Ordinance Actually Does to Upper Darby PA Real Estate
Add a required certificate to a transaction and you add a date to the calendar. Not a large cost. A schedule risk. Inspections have to be booked. Findings have to be cured. Certificates have to be issued. In a market where deals are already moving quickly, the ordinance mostly threatens timelines rather than prices.
Set that against what the numbers show right now. Upper Darby Township recorded 74 closed sales in July at a median sale price of $274,000, with a median 21 days on market and 25 cumulative days, per Bright MLS data through July 31, 2026. Inventory stood at 189 units and 2.6 months of supply. In August 2025 the township carried only 135 units, so supply is up 39.3 percent year over year.
More competition on the shelf. Less patience for a deal that stalls on paperwork.
Why Owners of Older Homes Should Move First
Look at the six month picture and the direction is clear. From February through July, Upper Darby closed 381 sales at a $265,000 median. Days on market fell from 35 in February to 21 in July, and months of supply tightened from 3.0 to 2.6. Buyers are moving faster than they were in late winter, and the median sale price climbed from $250,000 in February to $274,000 in July, a 9.6 percent move in five months.
Set against that, the August median list price of $254,250 sits below where homes are actually closing. Sellers who price to the old number leave money on the table.
Now layer the ordinance on top. If it passes on August 18, the owners who get hurt are the ones who list in September without knowing the requirement exists, discover it during the transaction, and lose two or three weeks curing something they could have handled in advance. Reasonable people disagree about whether municipal inspection programs help or hinder housing. Both positions have merit. Neither changes what you should do about your own calendar. If you know an owner planning a fall listing, tell them to watch the August 18 vote.
What This Means for You
If you own an older Upper Darby property and expect to sell in the next year, get ahead of it. Find out now what the certification will require, book any inspection early, and treat remediation as a pre listing item rather than a contingency fight. If you are buying in the township, read the ordinance status before you write, because a requirement that lands mid transaction becomes your delay too. Ask your agent to confirm where the vote stands.
Upper Darby PA real estate turns on township level detail like this, and that is exactly what separates a clean closing from a messy one. Our Havertown market page shows how a neighboring Delaware County market is behaving right now, which is useful context when you are setting expectations for your own price and your own timeline.
Thinking about buying or selling in Upper Darby? Let’s talk.
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