Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Akron, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Akron, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Akron, PA?

No, Borough of Akron, PA does not require a permit to replace a roof. Akron Borough says replacing shingles on a roof needs no permit, where no rafters are replaced. The Borough's Building Permits page says "A building permit is required for constructing, remodeling and renovation of any building or accessory structure thereof" and "Except for replacing shingles on roofs, painting (exterior or interior), carpet replacement and other improvements classified as cosmetics, Akron Borough residents are required under the Pennsylvania Law, UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE, to obtain a permit for all other work." Chapter 5, Part 2 of the Borough Code (Permit for Erecting, Altering or Razing Any Building, Ord. 00008, November 12, 2001) agrees. Section 5-203 says "Work not requiring a permit shall be limited to: installing or replacing siding, down spouts and gutters; painting; replacing or repairing roofing material, where there is no replacement of rafters; replacing doors/windows where existing openings are not enlarged; driveway replacement, overlay or sealing; and installing insulation in existing homes." Section 5-202's list of work needing a permit names roof work only as "install roofing when all old roofing is removed and joist/rafters are replaced or the roofline is changed," and Section 5-201 defines an alteration to include "replacement of any exterior or interior wall or roof, floor or support, or any part thereof." So the line the Borough draws is replacement of rafters or a change to the roofline. Section 5-105 keeps in force Borough ordinances that are consistent with the Uniform Construction Code or contain provisions in excess of it, and this record does not decide how that section bears on Part 2. The Borough's 2025 fee schedule has no roofing line and lists no building permit fees; its Zoning Permit Application Package lists sheds, low decks, patios, fences, walkways and small detached garages as needing a zoning permit and names no roof work. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "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." 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, Akron Borough takes building permit applications at its Borough Office, 117 S. Seventh St.: its Building Permits page says "All applications must be returned to the Borough Office for processing" and "The Borough Building Code Official is responsible for approving permit applications and conducting the required inspections," and the Borough's Application for Residential Permit names the third-party agency Code Administrators, Inc. as having "the authority to enter areas covered by this permit at any reasonable hour to enforce the provisions of the codes applicable to this permit." Section 5-101 of the Borough Code (Ord. 00021, May 10, 2004) says "Akron Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and Section 5-102 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as "the Municipal Building Code of Akron Borough." Its line is the one in Section 5-203 quoted at the start: replacing or repairing roofing material needs no permit where no rafters are replaced, and no Borough text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Akron, 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, Akron Borough takes building permit applications at its Borough Office, 117 S. Seventh St.: its Building Permits page says "All applications must be returned to the Borough Office for processing" and "The Borough Building Code Official is responsible for approving permit applications and conducting the required inspections," and the Borough's Application for Residential Permit names the third-party agency Code Administrators, Inc. as having "the authority to enter areas covered by this permit at any reasonable hour to enforce the provisions of the codes applicable to this permit." Section 5-101 of the Borough Code (Ord. 00021, May 10, 2004) says "Akron Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and Section 5-102 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as "the Municipal Building Code of Akron Borough." Chapter 5 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, Section 5-203 says replacing or repairing roofing material where no rafters are replaced needs no permit, and the Borough's pages say nothing on roof layers.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Akron, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Akron, 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, Akron Borough takes building permit applications at its Borough Office, 117 S. Seventh St.: its Building Permits page says "All applications must be returned to the Borough Office for processing" and "The Borough Building Code Official is responsible for approving permit applications and conducting the required inspections," and the Borough's Application for Residential Permit names the third-party agency Code Administrators, Inc. as having "the authority to enter areas covered by this permit at any reasonable hour to enforce the provisions of the codes applicable to this permit." Section 5-101 of the Borough Code (Ord. 00021, May 10, 2004) says "Akron Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and Section 5-102 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as "the Municipal Building Code of Akron Borough." Chapter 5 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions; Section 5-108 adopts the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, and the Borough's pages name no construction code edition.