Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Abington, PA?

Roofing questions: Township of Abington, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Abington, PA?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Abington, PA. Abington Township names roof work as permit work in its code and on its permit pages, and states no size threshold for it. Section 67-5 of the Abington Township Code says "The Township hereby removes the following types of work/construction from the list of exemptions set forth in §§ 403.42 and UCC 403.62 of the Act, and accordingly, a permit will still be required for the following," and lists for residential work "Replacement of existing roofing material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any twelve-month period" and "Replacement of existing siding." Read October 5, 2026: the Township's Residential Applications & Forms page lists a Roofing / Siding permit, "Required to install or replace roofing or siding on any building," and says "Abington has removed the 2018 IRC Exemption for roofing permits, and therefore requires roofing and siding permits for all roof/siding work"; its Building Permits, Use and Occupancy Permits and Inspections Policies sheet says "Permits are required for Roofing, Siding, Fencing, and Retaining Walls." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Abington Township's own code department administers the code, and Section 67-5 of its Code and its roofing permit statements are quoted at the start of this entry. Chapter 62, Building Construction, was not read for this record.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Abington, PA?

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Abington Township's own code department administers the code; its permit pages and policies sheet say nothing on roof layers. Chapter 67 of the Township Code, its Uniform Construction Code ordinance, read for this record, changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions; Chapter 62, Building Construction, which holds the Township's older amendments to the model building code, was not read.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Abington, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Abington, PA use?

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Abington Township administers the code through its own department. Its Community Development page says "The Community Development Department administers the building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, accessibility, energy, property maintenance, and zoning ordinances of the Township," and its permit pages, which call the office the Fire and Code Services Department, take residential applications through the Township's portal and schedule inspections at 267-536-1000, ext. 4. Those pages name no third-party agency for residential work; for commercial projects they say "Applicants must use a state-approved third-party agency." The Codes and Regulations page says "Abington Township is a PA UCC Opt-In Municipality with Amendments," and for residential projects contracted and applied for on or after January 1, 2026 it names the "2021 International Residential Code (IRC) as adopted and amended by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," covering "the construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, renovation, and demolition." The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, Chapter 67 of its Code (Ordinance No. 1916, adopted July 29, 2004), adopts the state code by reference "as the municipal building code of the Township." Section 67-5 of the Abington Township Code says "The Township hereby removes the following types of work/construction from the list of exemptions set forth in §§ 403.42 and UCC 403.62 of the Act, and accordingly, a permit will still be required for the following," and lists for residential work "Replacement of existing roofing material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any twelve-month period" and "Replacement of existing siding." Chapter 62, Building Construction, which holds the Township's older amendments to the model building code, was not read for this record.