Borough of Hanover - Department of Code Enforcement

Borough of Hanover, Pennsylvania (York County)

city

33 Frederick Street, Hanover, PA 17331

Required

Hanover Borough's Department of Code Enforcement has published no statement on whether a house reroof needs a permit. The department's Permitting Policy (updated May 1, 2024, read October 7, 2026) says "A Building Permit is required for any residential and/or commercial new construction, remodel and/or renovation that involves structural change, electrical and/or plumbing work," and lists among other permit work "Structural changes that include but are not limited to walls, floors, trusses and/or decking." The Borough's online permit portal says "A Residential Building Permit is required any time an owner or applicant wants to construct, alter or otherwise modify a building and/or improvement." Neither names roof work; the portal's residential application has no roofing type (its commercial application lists "Commercial Roof"), and the Borough's fee resolution, Resolution No. 1481, revised effective April 22, 2026 and read in full, has no roofing line. Section 150-1A of the Borough Code, first enacted in 1921 and amended through 2015, makes it unlawful "to materially change, renew or enlarge any existing building" without "a permit from the Borough Secretary"; whether a reroof is a material change or a renewal of a building is a reading this record does not make. Section 170-4A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code, and the Borough's Codes page says these include "the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1990 Edition"; that adoption is not published with the Borough Code and was not read for this record. So this record does not state whether a house reroof needs a permit in Hanover Borough. 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." Read for this answer: Chapter 170 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, in full; Chapter 150, Building Regulations, in full; Article III of Chapter 215, Floodplain Management, whose permit clause reaches construction and development under that chapter; every page of searches of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Codes, Permitting and Fee Schedule pages; the Permitting Policy; Resolution No. 1481; and the permit portal's residential and commercial building permit applications. The fee resolution's unpermitted work penalty fee is "20% of base permit fee," and "The minimum cost of this penalty for residential permits is $150." All permit applications are filed through the Borough's online portal, and permits are paid for and picked up at the department's office on Tuesdays and Fridays, 9 am to 3:30 pm; the Borough's telephone is 717-637-3877.

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, Hanover Borough administers the code itself: Section 170-1 of the Borough Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes page says "It is the responsibility of the Borough Code Enforcement to administer the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) adopted by the Borough of Hanover," and its Permitting page says the Department of Code Enforcement "contracts a Third-Party for plan review and inspection services." The department is in the Administration Building, 33 Frederick Street, Hanover. Section 170-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code, and Chapter 170 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Borough's pages name no edition of the International Residential Code, and they say the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1990 Edition, continues in force where it meets or exceeds the code; that older code is not published with the Borough Code, and this record has not read it and does not decide which text the Borough applies to roof work.

Hanover Borough's Department of Code Enforcement has published no statement on reroofing. The department's Permitting Policy (updated May 1, 2024, read October 7, 2026) says "A Building Permit is required for any residential and/or commercial new construction, remodel and/or renovation that involves structural change, electrical and/or plumbing work," and lists among other permit work "Structural changes that include but are not limited to walls, floors, trusses and/or decking." The Borough's online permit portal says "A Residential Building Permit is required any time an owner or applicant wants to construct, alter or otherwise modify a building and/or improvement." Neither names roof work; the portal's residential application has no roofing type (its commercial application lists "Commercial Roof"), and the Borough's fee resolution, Resolution No. 1481, revised effective April 22, 2026 and read in full, has no roofing line. Section 150-1A of the Borough Code, first enacted in 1921 and amended through 2015, makes it unlawful "to materially change, renew or enlarge any existing building" without "a permit from the Borough Secretary"; whether a reroof is a material change or a renewal of a building is a reading this record does not make. Section 170-4A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code, and the Borough's Codes page says these include "the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1990 Edition"; that adoption is not published with the Borough Code and was not read for this record. So this record does not state whether a house reroof needs a permit in Hanover Borough. 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, Hanover Borough administers the code itself: Section 170-1 of the Borough Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes page says "It is the responsibility of the Borough Code Enforcement to administer the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) adopted by the Borough of Hanover," and its Permitting page says the Department of Code Enforcement "contracts a Third-Party for plan review and inspection services." The department is in the Administration Building, 33 Frederick Street, Hanover. No Borough text read for this record sets a roof area or cost threshold.

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, Hanover Borough administers the code itself: Section 170-1 of the Borough Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes page says "It is the responsibility of the Borough Code Enforcement to administer the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) adopted by the Borough of Hanover," and its Permitting page says the Department of Code Enforcement "contracts a Third-Party for plan review and inspection services." The department is in the Administration Building, 33 Frederick Street, Hanover. Chapter 170 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the department's pages say nothing on roof layers. The Borough's pages name no edition of the International Residential Code, and they say the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1990 Edition, continues in force where it meets or exceeds the code; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and this record has not read the 1990 BOCA code's roofing text.

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, Hanover Borough administers the code itself: Section 170-1 of the Borough Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes page says "It is the responsibility of the Borough Code Enforcement to administer the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) adopted by the Borough of Hanover," and its Permitting page says the Department of Code Enforcement "contracts a Third-Party for plan review and inspection services." The department is in the Administration Building, 33 Frederick Street, Hanover. Chapter 170 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions. The department's Permitting Policy lists "Structural changes that include but are not limited to walls, floors, trusses and/or decking" as permit work, without saying whether roof decking is meant. The Borough's pages name no edition of the International Residential Code, and they say the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1990 Edition, continues in force where it meets or exceeds the code; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and this record has not read the 1990 BOCA code's text.

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. Hanover Borough is in York County. The Borough's permit pages and fee resolution say nothing on sales tax.