Permitting Authorities / Township of Keeler - Building and Zoning
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Keeler, MI?
Adopted code
Township of Keeler - Building and Zoning
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Keeler, MI, issued by Township of Keeler - Building and Zoning. In Keeler Township building permits are taken online: the Building & Zoning page says "Building Permits are available online via" the township's online permit portal, and says "Building and Permit officials are available every Wednesday from" 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Keeler Township Hall. Plumbing and mechanical permits and payment go to the township's plumbing and mechanical inspection firm, and electrical permits and payment may be dropped off in the secure drop box in the township hall vestibule. Driveway permits come from the Van Buren County Road Commission, and zoning compliance is a separate township form. The township hall is at 64151 Territorial Rd W, Hartford, phone 269-621-4427. The page posts no fee schedule. The page publishes nothing on reroofing, so the general permit clause of the state construction code act, which says "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit" (MCL 125.1510), supplies the requirement for a reroof.
Roof code checklist: Township of Keeler, 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
Township of Keeler, Van Buren County, Michigan
Address
64151 Territorial Rd W, Hartford, MI 49057
Contact
- url: https://keelertownshipmi.gov/building/
- phone: 269-621-4427
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
In Keeler Township building permits are taken online: the Building & Zoning page says "Building Permits are available online via" the township's online permit portal, and says "Building and Permit officials are available every Wednesday from" 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Keeler Township Hall. Plumbing and mechanical permits and payment go to the township's plumbing and mechanical inspection firm, and electrical permits and payment may be dropped off in the secure drop box in the township hall vestibule. Driveway permits come from the Van Buren County Road Commission, and zoning compliance is a separate township form. The township hall is at 64151 Territorial Rd W, Hartford, phone 269-621-4427. The page posts no fee schedule. The page publishes nothing on reroofing, so the general permit clause of the state construction code act, which says "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit" (MCL 125.1510), supplies the requirement for a reroof.
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 Township of Keeler as its own enforcer for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work. Keeler Township's codified Residential Code, Ordinance Number 08-13-2013-07 (adopted October 1, 2013), is an ordinance "adopting the 2009 Michigan Residential Code" and "incorporating the 2012 edition of the International Residential Code"; this directory has not read that code text, and whether the codified reference 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 ("This act and the code apply throughout the state," MCL 125.1508a) and which LARA says remains in effect while the Court of Claims order of July 7, 2025 stands. Keeler Township has published no statement naming the edition it enforces; its Building & Zoning page, read October 15, 2026, names none. Its codified 2012 International Building Code, 2012 International Existing Building Code and 2012 International Property Maintenance Code ordinances (all adopted October 1, 2013) are not dwelling-code editions and were read for adoption terms only.
Repair permit threshold
Keeler Township's Building & Zoning page, read October 15, 2026, publishes nothing on roofing or on ordinary repairs. It says "Building Permits are available online via" the township's online permit portal, and lists a building inspector, an electrical inspector and a plumbing and mechanical inspector. The township's posted building ordinances were read for a roofing rule and have none. The township has published no size, area or dollar point below which a reroof needs no permit. 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.
Roof layer limit / recover
Not stated here as a single layer count, because the record does not settle which of two code editions answers the question in Keeler 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, Keeler Township's codified Residential Code, Ordinance Number 08-13-2013-07, adopts the 2009 Michigan Residential Code. 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, and whether that reference has any effect today is not decided here (see adopted_code). The township's posted building ordinances (Residential Code, 2012 International Building Code, 2012 International Existing Building Code and 2012 International Property Maintenance Code) were read for their adoption terms, and none has a reroofing provision of its own; the township's other posted codes were not read, and its Building & Zoning page states no layer rule. Ask the township's building inspector before planning an overlay.
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). Keeler Township's Building & Zoning page and its posted ordinances were read for a local rule on roof sheathing and state nothing further. Keeler Township's codified Residential Code, Ordinance Number 08-13-2013-07, adopts the 2009 Michigan Residential Code; this field states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state act applies throughout the state; Keeler Township has published no statement naming the edition it enforces; the 2009 Michigan Residential Code text was not read (see adopted_code).
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." Nothing on the Keeler Township Building & Zoning page changes this.
Local roofing hub
Roof permits nearby: Van Buren County
Related guides
Keeler Township in Van Buren County, whose hall is at 64151 Territorial Rd W in Hartford, lists a township building inspector, an electrical inspector and a plumbing and mechanical inspector on its Building & Zoning page, and takes building permit applications through an online permit portal. The State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the Township as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
Working an insurance claim in Township of Keeler, MI? Everything on this page (drip edge, ice & water shield, inspections, Class 4 rules) formatted as a claim-ready evidence pack: verbatim ordinance quotes, code section cites, verification dates, and official source links, ready to attach to a supplement. See a real sample pack (PDF, 4 pages, free).
Buy this jurisdiction's pack: $12 Delivered by email within minutes. Digital download: all sales are final once delivered, except for a failed delivery, a defective file, a duplicate purchase, or a pack materially different from its description. See Section 6 of our Terms of Use.
Questions about the Township of Keeler, MI pack?
Not ready to buy, or need a different jurisdiction? Tell us and we’ll reply directly.