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

Roofing questions: Borough of Downingtown, PA

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

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Borough of Downingtown, PA. Downingtown Borough requires a permit for the replacement or reshingling of more than 25% of a roof. Section 120-8 of the Borough Code (added by Ord. No. 2013-07, December 4, 2013, amended by Ord. No. 2025-03, August 6, 2025; read October 9, 2026) says that, "In addition to all types of construction, placement of structures, repairs, and alterations for which the Uniform Construction Code requires a permit, the Borough pursuant to the authorization of Act 92 of 2004 shall require persons to obtain permits under the Borough of Downingtown Construction Code" for, among other work, "The replacement or reshingling of more than 25% of the total existing roof square footage." A full reroof is above that line. The Borough's Code Enforcement page (read October 9, 2026) says "Examples of work requiring building permits to the exterior of an existing building include replacement of roof shingles," and the Borough publishes a dedicated Roof Permit Application (revised January 2025) whose addendum "must be completed by every applicant seeking a permit to replace or repair a roof in Downingtown Borough," with a residential application fee of $75, a residential permit fee of $110.00 and a PA State L&I fee of $4.50. 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). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Downingtown Borough filing that included "Requiring a permit for the replacement or re-shingling of any residential roof"; some of its changes were found not to be in compliance and a disapproval letter was mailed September 5, 2013, and after it was "Resubmitted with revision" the changes were found to be in compliance with an approval letter mailed October 24, 2013. In practice, expect the Borough to require a permit for a reroof of more than 25% of the roof. The Roof Permit Application says "All permits must be obtained prior to the start of work and must be posted in a conspicuous place where they can be seen from a public way," and Section 120-10 sets a fine "of not more than $1,000 plus court costs" on conviction, with each day a violation continues a separate offense. 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, Downingtown Borough administers the Uniform Construction Code itself: Section 120-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Downingtown hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's Code Enforcement Office at 4-10 W. Lancaster Avenue, staffed by a Director of Building, code enforcement officers and a building code official, issues the permits. Its threshold is the one in Section 120-8C quoted at the start: replacement or reshingling of more than 25% of the total existing roof square footage needs a permit. The Roof Permit Application also asks whether any portion of the roof decking is being replaced and says that if the existing roof is removed the applicant will "replace all decayed sheathing that may exist."

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Downingtown, 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, Downingtown Borough administers the Uniform Construction Code itself: Section 120-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Downingtown hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's Code Enforcement Office at 4-10 W. Lancaster Avenue, staffed by a Director of Building, code enforcement officers and a building code official, issues the permits. Chapter 120 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions. The Borough's Roof Permit Application says "In compliance with the Borough's building code, a maximum of two layers of shingles are permitted to be installed on a roof," that over an existing wood shingle roof with one or more roofs above "all roof layers must be removed and new sheathing applied," and that a new roof may not be installed over wood shake, slate, clay, and cement or asbestos-cement tile. That is the office's own statement; this record does not classify the Borough's layer rule from it.

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

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Downingtown, 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, Downingtown Borough administers the Uniform Construction Code itself: Section 120-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Downingtown hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's Code Enforcement Office at 4-10 W. Lancaster Avenue, staffed by a Director of Building, code enforcement officers and a building code official, issues the permits. Section 120-1 (amended by Ord. No. 2023-02) adopts the Act and "its regulations now contained in 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401 to 405, as amended from time to time," and names no residential code edition; the Borough's Code Enforcement page names none either. Chapter 120 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions.