Permitting Authorities / East Lansdowne Borough - Municipal Building
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of East Lansdowne, PA?
Adopted code
East Lansdowne Borough - Municipal Building
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Borough of East Lansdowne, PA, issued by East Lansdowne Borough - Municipal Building. East Lansdowne Borough's Code requires permits for residential alterations and repairs, and the Borough has published no exemption for a reroof. Section 5-1001 of the Borough Code, in Part 10, Supplemental Standards (Ord. 586, December 12, 2016, read October 12, 2026), says "In addition to the minimum standards contained within the Act, the Borough shall also enforce the International Residential Code of 2015, as it applies to the alteration and repair of residential buildings, and property owners shall be required to obtain permits for all such alterations and repairs." It names no roof work and states no exemption. The clause reaches both words, "alterations and repairs," and the Borough has published no statement on reroofing, no exemption for it and no cap that a reroof stays under; the state regulation's "ordinary repair" relief (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)) is undefined and uncapped, and the Borough has said nothing about applying it to a reroof. Where an office has published nothing on reroofs, the general clause supplies the answer, so a permit is shown as needed. The Borough's Application for Plan Review and Building Permit (read October 12, 2026, transcribed from the rendered page image) lists "Repair, replacement" and "Alteration" among its boxes for Type of Improvement and has no roofing line; its fee schedule reads "$50.00 - The First $1,000 of Permitted Work Cost." The Borough's Forms/Applications and Contact pages say nothing on reroofing or on work that needs no permit. 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 an East Lansdowne Borough filing that "Requires a building permit for renovations / repairs consistent with the 2015 International Residential Code" with the status "Under review by L&I as of 7 / 15 / 2016" and a public meeting listed for 9/12/2016; the register shows no approval letter and no "Enacted" entry for it. In practice, expect to need a permit for a reroof; the sections read state no penalty for work done without a permit. East Lansdowne Borough administers the code itself: Section 5-901 of the Borough Code says "This Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's own Application for Plan Review and Building Permit, posted on its Forms/Applications page and headed "Municipal Building," carries a Borough permit fee schedule and tells applicants "TO SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTION" to call a code agency's number given on the form. Part 1 of the Borough Code adopts "the building code known as the "BOCA Basic Building Code, 1987 Edition,"" and Part 5 adopts the CABO "One and Two Family Dwelling Code, 1983 Edition"; Section 5-902 keeps building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code" in effect. This record has not read either older code's text and does not decide how they bear on a reroof. Read for this answer: Part 9, Uniform Construction Code, Part 10, Supplemental Standards, Part 1, Building Code and Part 5, One and Two Family Dwelling Code of Chapter 5, Code Enforcement, and Chapter 4, Buildings, of the Borough Code; Section 27-1203 of the zoning chapter; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" (17 results, none a permit provision for roof work) and for "reroofing" (none); the Borough's Forms/Applications and Contact pages; and the Building Permit and Plan Review Application. The Borough Municipal Building is open 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday, at 610-623-7131; the code agency's inspection-scheduling number on the Borough's form is 610-566-7044.
Roof code checklist: Borough of East Lansdowne, PA
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
Borough of East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania
Address
155 Lexington Avenue, East Lansdowne, PA 19050
Contact
- url: https://eastlansdowne.org/formsapplications/
- phone: 610-623-7131
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
East Lansdowne Borough's Code requires permits for residential alterations and repairs, and the Borough has published no exemption for a reroof. Section 5-1001 of the Borough Code, in Part 10, Supplemental Standards (Ord. 586, December 12, 2016, read October 12, 2026), says "In addition to the minimum standards contained within the Act, the Borough shall also enforce the International Residential Code of 2015, as it applies to the alteration and repair of residential buildings, and property owners shall be required to obtain permits for all such alterations and repairs." It names no roof work and states no exemption. The clause reaches both words, "alterations and repairs," and the Borough has published no statement on reroofing, no exemption for it and no cap that a reroof stays under; the state regulation's "ordinary repair" relief (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)) is undefined and uncapped, and the Borough has said nothing about applying it to a reroof. Where an office has published nothing on reroofs, the general clause supplies the answer, so a permit is shown as needed. The Borough's Application for Plan Review and Building Permit (read October 12, 2026, transcribed from the rendered page image) lists "Repair, replacement" and "Alteration" among its boxes for Type of Improvement and has no roofing line; its fee schedule reads "$50.00 - The First $1,000 of Permitted Work Cost." The Borough's Forms/Applications and Contact pages say nothing on reroofing or on work that needs no permit. 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 an East Lansdowne Borough filing that "Requires a building permit for renovations / repairs consistent with the 2015 International Residential Code" with the status "Under review by L&I as of 7 / 15 / 2016" and a public meeting listed for 9/12/2016; the register shows no approval letter and no "Enacted" entry for it. In practice, expect to need a permit for a reroof; the sections read state no penalty for work done without a permit. East Lansdowne Borough administers the code itself: Section 5-901 of the Borough Code says "This Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's own Application for Plan Review and Building Permit, posted on its Forms/Applications page and headed "Municipal Building," carries a Borough permit fee schedule and tells applicants "TO SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTION" to call a code agency's number given on the form. Part 1 of the Borough Code adopts "the building code known as the "BOCA Basic Building Code, 1987 Edition,"" and Part 5 adopts the CABO "One and Two Family Dwelling Code, 1983 Edition"; Section 5-902 keeps building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code" in effect. This record has not read either older code's text and does not decide how they bear on a reroof. Read for this answer: Part 9, Uniform Construction Code, Part 10, Supplemental Standards, Part 1, Building Code and Part 5, One and Two Family Dwelling Code of Chapter 5, Code Enforcement, and Chapter 4, Buildings, of the Borough Code; Section 27-1203 of the zoning chapter; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" (17 results, none a permit provision for roof work) and for "reroofing" (none); the Borough's Forms/Applications and Contact pages; and the Building Permit and Plan Review Application. The Borough Municipal Building is open 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday, at 610-623-7131; the code agency's inspection-scheduling number on the Borough's form is 610-566-7044.
Adopted code
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, East Lansdowne Borough administers the code itself: Section 5-901 of the Borough Code says "This Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's own Application for Plan Review and Building Permit, posted on its Forms/Applications page and headed "Municipal Building," carries a Borough permit fee schedule and tells applicants "TO SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTION" to call a code agency's number given on the form. Section 5-902 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code. Section 5-1001 of the Borough Code, in Part 10, Supplemental Standards (Ord. 586, December 12, 2016, read October 12, 2026), says "In addition to the minimum standards contained within the Act, the Borough shall also enforce the International Residential Code of 2015, as it applies to the alteration and repair of residential buildings, and property owners shall be required to obtain permits for all such alterations and repairs." It names no roof work and states no exemption. Part 1 of the Borough Code adopts "the building code known as the "BOCA Basic Building Code, 1987 Edition,"" and Part 5 adopts the CABO "One and Two Family Dwelling Code, 1983 Edition"; Section 5-902 keeps building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code" in effect. This record has not read either older code's text and does not decide how they bear on a reroof. Section 5-1001 names the 2015 International Residential Code and the Borough's pages name no other edition; this record has not read the 2015 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.
Repair permit threshold
East Lansdowne Borough's Code requires permits for residential alterations and repairs and names no exemption for a reroof. Section 5-1001 of the Borough Code, in Part 10, Supplemental Standards (Ord. 586, December 12, 2016, read October 12, 2026), says "In addition to the minimum standards contained within the Act, the Borough shall also enforce the International Residential Code of 2015, as it applies to the alteration and repair of residential buildings, and property owners shall be required to obtain permits for all such alterations and repairs." It names no roof work and states no exemption. The Borough's Application for Plan Review and Building Permit (read October 12, 2026, transcribed from the rendered page image) lists "Repair, replacement" and "Alteration" among its boxes for Type of Improvement and has no roofing line; its fee schedule reads "$50.00 - The First $1,000 of Permitted Work Cost." The Borough's Forms/Applications and Contact pages say nothing on reroofing or on work that needs no permit. The clause reaches both words, "alterations and repairs," and the Borough has published no statement on reroofing, no exemption for it and no cap that a reroof stays under; the state regulation's "ordinary repair" relief (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)) is undefined and uncapped, and the Borough has said nothing about applying it to a reroof. Where an office has published nothing on reroofs, the general clause supplies the answer, so a permit is shown as needed. 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 an East Lansdowne Borough filing that "Requires a building permit for renovations / repairs consistent with the 2015 International Residential Code" with the status "Under review by L&I as of 7 / 15 / 2016" and a public meeting listed for 9/12/2016; the register shows no approval letter and no "Enacted" entry for it. In practice, expect to need a permit for a reroof: Section 5-1001 reaches "all such alterations and repairs" and the Borough has published no roofing exemption. The sections read state no penalty for work done without a permit. 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, East Lansdowne Borough administers the code itself: Section 5-901 of the Borough Code says "This Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's own Application for Plan Review and Building Permit, posted on its Forms/Applications page and headed "Municipal Building," carries a Borough permit fee schedule and tells applicants "TO SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTION" to call a code agency's number given on the form. Section 5-1001, quoted at the start, sets no area, percentage or cost threshold and the Borough's application draws no line for roof work.
Roof layer limit / recover
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, East Lansdowne Borough administers the code itself: Section 5-901 of the Borough Code says "This Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's own Application for Plan Review and Building Permit, posted on its Forms/Applications page and headed "Municipal Building," carries a Borough permit fee schedule and tells applicants "TO SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTION" to call a code agency's number given on the form. Section 5-1001 requires permits for residential alterations and repairs; the Borough's pages say nothing on roof layers. Section 5-1001 names the 2015 International Residential Code and the Borough's pages name no other edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2015 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels "shall be identified for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). 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)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, East Lansdowne Borough administers the code itself: Section 5-901 of the Borough Code says "This Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's own Application for Plan Review and Building Permit, posted on its Forms/Applications page and headed "Municipal Building," carries a Borough permit fee schedule and tells applicants "TO SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTION" to call a code agency's number given on the form. Section 5-1001 requires permits for residential alterations and repairs and draws no separate line for roof sheathing. Section 5-1001 names the 2015 International Residential Code and the Borough's pages name no other edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2015 edition's sheathing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.
Sales & use tax
6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. East Lansdowne Borough is in Delaware County. The Borough's pages and permit application say nothing on sales tax.
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East Lansdowne Borough's Municipal Building, at 155 Lexington Avenue, issues building permits, and Section 5-1001 of the Borough Code says "property owners shall be required to obtain permits for all such alterations and repairs" to residential buildings. The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code applies statewide, but Act 45 section 104(b) lists "Repairs to residential buildings" and alterations that make no structural or egress change among work it 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."
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