Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Geneva, MI?

Roofing questions: Township of Geneva, MI

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Geneva, MI?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Geneva, MI. Geneva Township's posted Building Permit Fee Schedule, amended April 9, 2002 and listed in the Van Buren County website's Township Inspectors & Permits library when read October 12, 2026, prices roof work as its own item: "10. Strip and Re-roof $ 35.00". The same schedule says "Building permits shall be obtained from Geneva Township Building Inspector for all new construction, additions to existing structures, moving of and demolition of structures. A permit must be obtained before starting work." Its notice "Building Permit Fees after Construction has started" says "Geneva Township requires proper permits must be obtained prior to work starting." The township has published no size, area or dollar point below which a reroof needs no permit, and no ordinary-repairs exemption. Under state law: "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Geneva, MI?

Not stated here as a single layer count, because the record does not settle which of two code editions answers the question in Geneva Township, and the two differ. 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. Under that code, Section R908.3.1.1 bars a new roof over an existing one in three cases, 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." Locally, Geneva Township's Township Inspectors & Permits page, read October 12, 2026, says "We follow the 2009 Michigan Codes for Building, Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Residential, International Building, and Fire Code, along with all future updates." The base 2009 text, Section R907.3 (Recovering versus replacement), carries the same three conditions, its second also naming wood shake, and a fourth: "For asphalt shingles, when the building is located in an area subject to moderate or severe hail exposure according to Figure R903.5." Under that text a single existing layer of asphalt shingles can call for a tear-off where the hail condition is met, so no layer count states the 2009 rule. The 2009 Michigan amendments to that code were not read, no township text adopting a 2009 edition was read, and whether that reference has any effect today is not decided here (see adopted_code). The township's posted ordinances that deal with building were read in full: Housing Ordinance No. 17 and its amendments, Floodplain Ordinance No. 35, Plumbing Code Enforcing Agency Ordinance No. 40 and Set Back Ordinance No. 15; none has a reroofing provision. The township's Michigan Construction Code Ordinance #7, named in its fee schedule, is not posted and was not read, and the township's page and fee schedule state no layer rule. Ask the township's building inspector, through Michigan Township Services at 1-800-626-5964, before planning an overlay.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Geneva, MI?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Geneva, MI use?

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 Township of Geneva (Van Buren County) as a local enforcer for building, electrical and mechanical work and lists plumbing under the state. Geneva Township's Township Inspectors & Permits page, read October 12, 2026, says "We follow the 2009 Michigan Codes for Building, Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Residential, International Building, and Fire Code, along with all future updates." The township's Housing Ordinance No. 17 (Amendment No. 5, October 14, 2003) says single family dwellings "shall conform to all codes currently in effect and adopted in Geneva Township" and names no edition. Its Plumbing Code Enforcing Agency Ordinance No. 40, adopted January 11, 2022, designates the township building department and its plumbing inspector as the enforcing agency for the state plumbing code as amended from time to time, and describes that code as the International Plumbing Code, 2015 edition, with the state's changes. No township text adopting a 2009 edition is posted, and the township's Michigan Construction Code Ordinance #7, which its fee schedule names, is not posted; that text was not read, and whether the page's reference to a 2009 edition has any effect today is not decided here. This record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state construction code act applies throughout the state. Geneva Township has published no statement that it enforces the 2015 edition.