Handyman services in Montgomery County, PA: township rules, lead help and complaints
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Montgomery County homeowners know first?
That the township is the authority you will deal with most. Montgomery County lists 62 townships, boroughs and municipalities, and with 350,351 homes in the Census Bureau's survey it has the most housing of the four suburban counties in this directory. State rules on registration, contracts and permits apply across all 62; the trade licenses, permit forms and inspections are local.
What does a township rule look like in practice?
Lower Merion's published answers are a clear example. Asked whether a property owner may do their own plumbing and electrical work, the township answers "generally, no", though an owner may make minor repairs to an electrical or plumbing system if they can show some knowledge of the trade. Asked whether a permit is needed when the homeowner does the work, it answers yes. Frontage fences, and repair or replacement of a fence that does not conform to zoning, need a zoning permit.
The township also licenses its plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning and alarm contractors on the basis of experience, testing and licensure in their trade, and says this is not the same as state registration. It adds that a home improvement contractor registered with the state does not need a township contractor's license. For a handyman, that splits the work neatly: general repairs under state registration, trade work only by the licensed trades.
Two more Lower Merion points are worth knowing wherever you live in the county. Its office will not recommend contractors, but it keeps a public file of what residents report about them, without checking it. And it tells residents to ask anyone working on their home for a current certificate of insurance.
Has the Attorney General acted against a contractor here?
Yes. In March 2025 the Attorney General announced that a Montgomery County contractor was sentenced to three to six years in state prison for failing to complete work for customers who lost more than $156,000. The office said he took payments up front while using another contractor's license information and had no registration of his own. Its advice afterwards: be wary of pressure, get more than one estimate, get a written contract, check registration, and do not sign a completion certificate until the work is done.
How old is the housing, and does lead matter?
By the Census measure of old housing, older than Chester's and newer than Delaware's. The Census Bureau's survey puts 16.0 percent of Montgomery County homes, about one in six, in the "first built in 1939 or earlier" group, and 8.1 percent built since 2010. Any home built before 1978 falls under the EPA's lead-safe rule when someone is paid to disturb its paint, beyond six square feet per room inside or 20 square feet outside.
The county runs a Lead Hazard Control Program, paid for by a $1.8 million federal grant awarded in October 2024. For eligible households, a certified inspector tests the home and a certified abatement contractor repairs the hazards at no cost to the owner, making the home lead-safe rather than lead-free. A separate Healthy Homes inspection can add work a handyman might otherwise be called for, such as stair repairs and railings, exhaust fans and minor structural repairs. To qualify, you must own or rent in the county, the home must predate 1978, a child under 6 must live there or visit regularly or a pregnant woman must live there, and income must fall under the limits ($68,750 for one person). The program's number is 610-278-5117.
Is there county help with other repairs?
Not now. The county says it is not accepting new home repair applications or adding to its waitlist, and that its Whole-Home Repairs program was a one-time grant that will not reopen. Its page links a list of other federal, state, local and non-profit repair resources.
What about registration?
A handyman business that did $5,000 or more of home improvement work last year must register with the Attorney General and print the number on its estimates and contracts. Contracts for jobs over $500 must be in writing. Labor and Industry's municipal table gives the building code official for most of the 62 municipalities.
Where can you complain?
No county consumer office page was found for Montgomery County, so complaints go to the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, at 1-800-441-2555. The checks to make before you hire are in how to choose a handyman, and handymen serving the county are on the Montgomery County handyman services page.
Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Contractor Licensing, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Contractors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- AG Sunday Warns Consumers of Potential Scams Following Storms and Flooding, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Municipal Elections and Contact Information, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Montgomery County Numbers, Montgomery County
- Building FAQs, Lower Merion Township
- Licensed Contractor List, Lower Merion Township
- Pottstown-Based Home Improvement Contractor Jailed at Least 3 Years for Taking More than $156K for Jobs he did not Complete, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Lead Hazard Control Program, Montgomery County
- Home Repairs Program, Montgomery County