Leelanau County - Department of Building Safety

Leelanau County, Michigan (3 villages and 11 townships on the county building program)

county

8527 E. Government Center Drive, Suite 109, Suttons Bay, MI 49682

Required

Required

The Leelanau County Department of Building Safety has published no page, handout or form that says when a reroof does or does not need a permit. Its monthly permit reports, posted on the department's page, list a permit type named "Residential Windows-Doors-Roofing-Siding". Its building permit application, revised 8-26-25, lists "Alteration" and "Repair" among the purposes of work and its description-of-work examples include "replace 5 exterior windows and 2 doors". The residential requirements sheet says "The following permits MUST ACCOMPANY the application for a building permit" and asks for "Base Payment - $125 to enter application in for Plan Review", with the remaining balance due before the permit is issued. The application says "A permit shall become invalid if the authorized work is not commenced within 180 days after issuance of the permit", sets a minimum fee of $100.00 for a new permit after one is closed, and says "AFTER-THE-FACT PERMIT FEE: a fee of $150 may be assessed to individuals who have been found by the Building Official to have proceeded with construction without obtaining required permits." The frequently asked questions say "You must contact our office 24 hours in advance when ready for an inspection" and that "Homeowner permits do not cost any less than contractor permits". Applications go in through the county's online permit portal, or by fax or e-mail from the department's printable form. The office is at 8527 E. Government Center Dr., Suite 109, Suttons Bay, MI 49682, (231) 256-9806, with hours of Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM on its page and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for phone contact in the frequently asked questions. The state's jurisdiction list assigns every village and township in the county to the county.

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 assigns building code enforcement in every village and township of Leelanau County to the county. The Department of Building Safety's building permit application, revised 8-26-25, labels residential buildings as "Buildings regulated by the Michigan Residential Code" and names no edition, and the department's Important Notices page, read October 11, 2026, repeats LARA's statement that the 2015 versions of the residential code standards "will remain valid and in effect" while the Court of Claims order stands.

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). The Leelanau County Department of Building Safety pages, frequently asked questions, residential requirements sheet and building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge. About drip edge

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). The Leelanau County Department of Building Safety pages, frequently asked questions, residential requirements sheet and building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier. About ice & water barrier

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." The Leelanau County Department of Building Safety pages, frequently asked questions, residential requirements sheet and building permit application state no impact rule.

No size, square or dollar point below which roof work needs no permit is published by the Leelanau County Department of Building Safety. Its permit reports for June 2025, January 2026 and March 2026 list a permit type named "Residential Windows-Doors-Roofing-Siding", and its building permit application lists "Alteration" and "Repair" among the purposes of a project without a box for roofing. The state part: Michigan's construction code act says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure" and does not define ordinary repairs. For a small roof repair, ask the department (231-256-9806) before starting.

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." Locally, the department's pages, frequently asked questions, residential requirements sheet and building permit application state no layer rule. The Leelanau County Clerk's ordinances page lists no building ordinance: the county's construction code ordinances there are Ordinance 81-1 for mechanical and Ordinance 81-2 for plumbing, each a one-section designation of an enforcing agency that was read in full and says nothing about roofing, and the other ordinances listed concern addresses, animal control, crowd control, off-road vehicles, parks, planning, snow removal, soil erosion, solid waste, tobacco and a budget fund. Nothing local read amends Section R908.

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). The Leelanau County Department of Building Safety pages, frequently asked questions and building permit application state no sheathing rule; its residential requirements sheet asks new-construction plans for a wall section that shows "roof preparation" and for truss design data, and sets no sheathing requirement.

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 same 6% applies throughout Leelanau County.