Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Macungie, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Macungie, PA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Borough of Macungie, PA?

Macungie Borough's UCC sheet lists replacing existing roof material that does not involve structural elements among residential work exempt from permit requirements. The Borough's "Uniform Construction Code: When the UCC Requires Permits and Inspections" sheet, posted on its Forms page and read October 10, 2026, says "(A Zoning Certificate may be required even though the project does not require a UCC Building Permit.)" and "A property owner should not assume that work is exempt without first making appropriate inquiry," and lists under "Residential Construction Exemptions from permit requirements include:" the line "Replacing existing roof material that does not involve structural elements." 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." Resolution 2024-10 lists "Building Permits: (includes occupancy permit)" with "Residential (initial permit): $90.00" and "PA UCC Filing Fee $4.50" and names no roof work, and the Borough's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code was not read. The Borough's Code of Ordinances is published on American Legal Publishing's site, which answered an automated read with a security check page, and the Borough's Ordinances & Resolutions page lists no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so the Borough's ordinance adopting the code and any permit chapter were not read for this record. 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, Macungie Borough's Borough Hall at 21 Locust Street, Macungie (610-966-2503, Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm) accepts the Borough's "ZONING & UCC PERMIT APPLICATION," whose fee table has borough fee and inspection fee columns, and the Borough's Administration page lists a Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer who works for a consulting firm. Resolution 2024-10, the Borough's 2025 fee schedule, lists "Inspection Fees and Plan Review: See attached BIA Fee Schedule," and the page attached to the posted copy is a table of the consulting firm's hourly rates. The Borough's Code of Ordinances is published on American Legal Publishing's site, which answered an automated read with a security check page, and the Borough's Ordinances & Resolutions page lists no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so the Borough's ordinance adopting the code and any permit chapter were not read for this record. The Borough's pages read set no area or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Macungie, PA?

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, Macungie Borough's Borough Hall at 21 Locust Street, Macungie (610-966-2503, Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm) accepts the Borough's "ZONING & UCC PERMIT APPLICATION," whose fee table has borough fee and inspection fee columns, and the Borough's Administration page lists a Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer who works for a consulting firm. Resolution 2024-10, the Borough's 2025 fee schedule, lists "Inspection Fees and Plan Review: See attached BIA Fee Schedule," and the page attached to the posted copy is a table of the consulting firm's hourly rates. The Borough's Code of Ordinances is published on American Legal Publishing's site, which answered an automated read with a security check page, and the Borough's Ordinances & Resolutions page lists no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so the Borough's ordinance adopting the code and any permit chapter were not read for this record, and the Borough's pages read say nothing on roof layers. The sheet's only edition reference is "International Residential Code of 2003," for coal-fired boilers, and the Borough's pages name no edition for roofing; this record has not read the 2003 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies; the text above is the 2021 edition's.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Macungie, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Macungie, PA use?

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, Macungie Borough's Borough Hall at 21 Locust Street, Macungie (610-966-2503, Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm) accepts the Borough's "ZONING & UCC PERMIT APPLICATION," whose fee table has borough fee and inspection fee columns, and the Borough's Administration page lists a Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer who works for a consulting firm. Resolution 2024-10, the Borough's 2025 fee schedule, lists "Inspection Fees and Plan Review: See attached BIA Fee Schedule," and the page attached to the posted copy is a table of the consulting firm's hourly rates. The Borough's Code of Ordinances is published on American Legal Publishing's site, which answered an automated read with a security check page, and the Borough's Ordinances & Resolutions page lists no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, so the Borough's ordinance adopting the code and any permit chapter were not read for this record. The sheet's only edition reference is "International Residential Code of 2003," for coal-fired boilers, and the Borough's pages name no edition for roofing; this record has not read the 2003 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.