Permitting Authorities / City of Garden City - Building Department (Community Development)
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Garden City, MI?
Adopted code
City of Garden City - Building Department (Community Development)
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Garden City, MI, issued by City of Garden City - Building Department (Community Development). Plan on a building permit for a reroof in Garden City. The Building Department's FAQ lists "Building - roof, windows, exterior doors, siding and gutters" among the permits required, and says "Anytime you are paying a contractor, you should require the contractor to pull the permit. The cost is the same." A homeowner may pull the permit only where "the property is your primary address." The FAQ says some building permits "are issued on the spot, while other building permits requiring plan review take up to a week or more to be issued," and answers "How much will a permit cost?" with "Please contact the Building Department." The city's comprehensive fee schedule (last amended 11-03-25) prices residential permits "Based on valuation/cost." Inspections are scheduled by leaving a voicemail on the inspection line with the address, inspection type, permit number and a call-back number; the department's roof forms list the 24 hour inspection line as 734.793.1656. When a house is sold, the city's certificate of occupancy process has a separate "Affidavit - Accepting the Current Condition of the Roof" for a buyer who accepts the roof "AS-IS"; that is a resale form, not a reroof permit. The Building Department is at 6000 Middlebelt Road, Garden City, MI 48135, phone 734-793-1650, open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Roof code checklist: Garden City, MI
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
City of Garden City, Michigan
Address
6000 Middlebelt Road, Garden City, MI 48135
Contact
- url: https://www.gardencitymi.org/154/Building
- phone: 734-793-1650
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Michigan licenses residential maintenance and alteration contractors under the Occupational Code, and that licence "includes the following crafts and trades" among which it names roofing (MCL 339.2404(3)); "A person shall not engage in or attempt to engage in the practice of an occupation regulated under this act" without the licence (MCL 339.601(1)). MCL 339.2403 lists who may work without one, including a project whose "aggregate contract price for the labor, material, and any other items for the undertaking or project is less than $600.00". This record does not decide whether a given roofer falls inside an exemption.
- city_level: The Building Department pages and FAQ read for this record name no city contractor registration; the city code was not read for one.
Permit process note
Plan on a building permit for a reroof in Garden City. The Building Department's FAQ lists "Building - roof, windows, exterior doors, siding and gutters" among the permits required, and says "Anytime you are paying a contractor, you should require the contractor to pull the permit. The cost is the same." A homeowner may pull the permit only where "the property is your primary address." The FAQ says some building permits "are issued on the spot, while other building permits requiring plan review take up to a week or more to be issued," and answers "How much will a permit cost?" with "Please contact the Building Department." The city's comprehensive fee schedule (last amended 11-03-25) prices residential permits "Based on valuation/cost." Inspections are scheduled by leaving a voicemail on the inspection line with the address, inspection type, permit number and a call-back number; the department's roof forms list the 24 hour inspection line as 734.793.1656. When a house is sold, the city's certificate of occupancy process has a separate "Affidavit - Accepting the Current Condition of the Roof" for a buyer who accepts the roof "AS-IS"; that is a resale form, not a reroof permit. The Building Department is at 6000 Middlebelt Road, Garden City, MI 48135, phone 734-793-1650, open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Adopted code
2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City of Garden City as its own building code enforcer, and its Building Department says it "issues all Building, Electrical, Mechanical, and Plumbing permits for new construction and existing structures." Garden City's codified ordinances, Chapter 151 Building Regulations, contain no local roofing provision.
Drip edge
Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). Garden City's codified ordinances, Chapter 151 Building Regulations, contain no local roofing provision.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). Garden City's codified ordinances, Chapter 151 Building Regulations, contain no local roofing provision.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." Garden City's codified ordinances, Chapter 151 Building Regulations, contain no local roofing provision.
Repair permit threshold
The City of Garden City's own words: its Building Department FAQ answers "What type of permits are required?" with "Building - roof, windows, exterior doors, siding and gutters, bathroom & kitchen remodel," and adds "If you are not sure if a permit is required, contact the Building Department at (734) 793-1650"; it states no area, percentage or dollar floor below which roof work needs no permit. State law says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure" and does not define ordinary repairs, so a small roof patch is a question for the Building Department before work starts.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Garden City's codified ordinances were read for this record: Chapter 151 Building Regulations adopts the state codes and sets fees and applicant rules, and contains no local reroofing or layer rule, so the state rule stands. The Building Department's pages state no layer rule.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. 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 must 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 may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "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" (R908.2). Garden City's codified ordinances, Chapter 151 Building Regulations, contain no local roofing provision.
Sales & use tax
6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." The City of Garden City adds no sales tax of its own, so 6% is the whole rate on a job there.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Garden City's Building Department, at 6000 Middlebelt Road, issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits and inspects the work in the city, and its FAQ lists the roof first among the work that needs a building permit. LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City of Garden City as its own building code enforcer. Michigan applies one residential code statewide, the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, so the roofing rules below are state law that the city enforces.
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