Jurisdiction
Borough of Lehighton, Pennsylvania
Address
One Constitution Avenue, Lehighton, PA 18235
Contact
- url: https://www.lehightonborough.org/zoning
- phone: 610-377-4002
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
The Borough of Lehighton's fee schedule lists a residential permit fee for a non-structural re-roof. The Borough's Fee Schedule (Revised 5/6/24), posted on its Forms and Documents page (a scanned document, transcribed from the rendered page images and read October 9, 2026), prices building permits from the "attached BIA Schedule," and that attached Barry Isett and Associates Building/General Permit Fee Schedule lists, under "Residential" and "One & Two Family Dwellings," a line "Roof" for "Re-roof, non-structural $75.00." The Zoning Building and Code page says "Permits are issued for Use and Occupancy, repairs, replacements, additions and new installations." The Borough's "WHAT TYPE OF PERMIT(S) DO I NEED?" sheet, which calls itself "a brief overview," does not name roofs; it lists a building permit for "Alterations that involve structural changes" and says "If you are uncertain, always contact the Building Code Official (BCO) and the Zoning Officer to confirm permitting requirements prior to proceeding with your project." Chapter 78 of the Borough Code, Construction Code, Uniform (Ord. No. 527-2004), adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and names no roof work. Chapter 63, Building Permits and Flood Damage Prevention, whose stated intent includes to "prevent or minimize flood damage," says in Section 63-2 that a building permit is needed for "any construction or development anywhere within the Borough of Lehighton" and that "A building permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures," defining a minor repair as "The replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep"; it names no roof work. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Lehighton Borough filing that "Requires a building permit for all residential utility and miscellaneous use structures with a building area of 250 square feet or greater," found in compliance with an approval letter mailed November 17, 2014; it does not name roof work. In practice, expect the Borough to require a building permit for a non-structural reroof, priced on the attached schedule's $75.00 re-roof line, with the Borough's fee schedule adding a $4.50 UCC surcharge. The permit sheet says "doing work regulated by the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) without a permit will result in an enforcement action being taken against you by the municipality, and upon conviction, you may be subject to fines and penalties up to and including $1,000 per day of each violation." The Borough office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm, at 610-377-4002, and the page says "An appointment to see the zoning officer is highly recommended, as there is no guarantee they will be inside the Borough Office when you arrive." Read for this answer: Chapter 78 of the Borough Code (Sections 78-1 to 78-6) and Articles I and II of Chapter 63, in full; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Zoning Building and Code and Forms and Documents pages; the Borough's Fee Schedule with its attached Barry Isett and Associates schedules; the permit-types sheet; the Application for PA UCC Construction Permit; and the Residential plan submittal guide.
Adopted code
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, The Borough of Lehighton's Zoning Building and Code page says "The Borough of Lehighton contracts with Barry Isett and Associates for third party administration of our Zoning, Building and Code Enforcement Programs," and Section 78-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Lehighton hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act"; applications go to the Borough's Codes and Zoning Department at One Constitution Avenue, Lehighton. Section 78-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code, and Chapter 78 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Chapter 78 names no edition, and the Borough's Residential plan submittal guide points energy designs to the "2009 International Residential Code, chapter 11"; this record has not read the 2009 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.
Repair permit threshold
The Borough of Lehighton's fee schedule prices a residential permit for a non-structural re-roof. The Borough's Fee Schedule (Revised 5/6/24), posted on its Forms and Documents page (a scanned document, transcribed from the rendered page images and read October 9, 2026), prices building permits from the "attached BIA Schedule," and that attached Barry Isett and Associates Building/General Permit Fee Schedule lists, under "Residential" and "One & Two Family Dwellings," a line "Roof" for "Re-roof, non-structural $75.00." The Zoning Building and Code page says "Permits are issued for Use and Occupancy, repairs, replacements, additions and new installations." The Borough's "WHAT TYPE OF PERMIT(S) DO I NEED?" sheet, which calls itself "a brief overview," does not name roofs; it lists a building permit for "Alterations that involve structural changes" and says "If you are uncertain, always contact the Building Code Official (BCO) and the Zoning Officer to confirm permitting requirements prior to proceeding with your project." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Lehighton Borough filing that "Requires a building permit for all residential utility and miscellaneous use structures with a building area of 250 square feet or greater," found in compliance with an approval letter mailed November 17, 2014; it does not name roof work. In practice, expect the Borough to require a building permit for a non-structural reroof, priced on the attached schedule's $75.00 re-roof line, with the Borough's fee schedule adding a $4.50 UCC surcharge. The permit sheet says "doing work regulated by the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) without a permit will result in an enforcement action being taken against you by the municipality, and upon conviction, you may be subject to fines and penalties up to and including $1,000 per day of each violation." 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, The Borough of Lehighton's Zoning Building and Code page says "The Borough of Lehighton contracts with Barry Isett and Associates for third party administration of our Zoning, Building and Code Enforcement Programs," and Section 78-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Lehighton hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act"; applications go to the Borough's Codes and Zoning Department at One Constitution Avenue, Lehighton. Chapter 78 of the Borough Code, Construction Code, Uniform (Ord. No. 527-2004), adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and names no roof work. Chapter 63, Building Permits and Flood Damage Prevention, whose stated intent includes to "prevent or minimize flood damage," says in Section 63-2 that a building permit is needed for "any construction or development anywhere within the Borough of Lehighton" and that "A building permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures," defining a minor repair as "The replacement of existing work with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep"; it names no roof work. No Borough text read sets an area, percentage or cost threshold for roof work; the re-roof fee line is a flat fee for a non-structural re-roof.
Roof layer limit / recover
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, The Borough of Lehighton's Zoning Building and Code page says "The Borough of Lehighton contracts with Barry Isett and Associates for third party administration of our Zoning, Building and Code Enforcement Programs," and Section 78-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Lehighton hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act"; applications go to the Borough's Codes and Zoning Department at One Constitution Avenue, Lehighton. Chapter 78 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Borough's pages and fee schedule say nothing on roof layers. Chapter 78 names no edition, and the Borough's Residential plan submittal guide points energy designs to the "2009 International Residential Code, chapter 11"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2009 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.
Deck & sheathing requirements
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, The Borough of Lehighton's Zoning Building and Code page says "The Borough of Lehighton contracts with Barry Isett and Associates for third party administration of our Zoning, Building and Code Enforcement Programs," and Section 78-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Lehighton hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act"; applications go to the Borough's Codes and Zoning Department at One Constitution Avenue, Lehighton. Chapter 78 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions. The Borough's re-roof fee line is for a "Re-roof, non-structural"; the permit-types sheet lists a building permit for "Alterations that involve structural changes," and the plan submittal guide asks plans to show "Roof sheathing – size, type, thickness." Chapter 78 names no edition, and the Borough's Residential plan submittal guide points energy designs to the "2009 International Residential Code, chapter 11"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2009 edition's sheathing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.
Sales & use tax
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. The Borough of Lehighton is in Carbon County. The Borough's permit pages and fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.