Milford Township - Building Department

Township of Milford, Pennsylvania (Bucks County)

city

2100 Krammes Road, Quakertown, PA 18951

Required

Required

Milford Township's building code ordinance exempts from its permit requirement only roof material replacement of 25% or less of the roof in 12 months. Ordinance No. 130 (adopted June 22, 2004, read October 9, 2026 from the Township's Ordinances page) adopts the Uniform Construction Code as the Township's building code and, in its Schedule A, rewrites the code's residential permit section. Its 403.62(a) says an owner or agent who intends to "construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a residential building" "shall first apply to the building code official and obtain the required permit," and the work its 403.62(c) lists as needing no permit includes "Replacement of existing roof material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any 12-month period," where no structural elements are involved. A full reroof is above that line. The same 403.62(c) opens "A permit not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope)." Resolution 2026-14, the Township's fee schedule enacted September 1, 2026, lists in its residential Building/General Permit Fee Schedule a "Roof" fee for "Re-roof, non-structural" of $100.00. The Building Permits page (read October 9, 2026) answers "Do I need a permit to just replace roof shingles?" with "No, only if you are replacing the plywood decking or if the construction involves structural work such as replacing rafters." 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). In practice, the Township's enacted ordinance and fee schedule treat a non-structural reroof of more than 25% of the roof as permit work while its web page says shingle replacement alone needs no permit; ask the Township at 215-536-2090 before work starts. The Residential Building & Zoning Permit application asks the contractor to certify the work is authorized by the owner and to give a contractor's registration number, and says "Certificates of Insurance are not required if the homeowner is the contractor." Read for this answer: Ordinance No. 130, Uniform Construction Code, in full, with its Schedule A; the Ordinances page's list of the Township's ordinances; the Building Permits page and its FAQ; the Residential Building & Zoning Permit application; and Resolution 2026-14.

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, Milford Township issues building permits from the Township Building at 2100 Krammes Road, Quakertown. Ordinance No. 130 says "Milford Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building Permits page says most construction must "have a permit issued and be inspected and approved by the Code Enforcement Officer." Section 02 of Ordinance No. 130 adopts "the Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code of Milford Township; the ordinance changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Ordinance No. 130's amendments are drafted against the 2003 International Residential Code and the 2003 International Building Code, and the Township's pages name no edition; this record has not read the 2003 editions' text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.

Milford Township's building code ordinance exempts only roof material replacement of 25% or less of the roof in 12 months, and its fee schedule has a non-structural re-roof fee. Ordinance No. 130 (adopted June 22, 2004, read October 9, 2026 from the Township's Ordinances page) adopts the Uniform Construction Code as the Township's building code and, in its Schedule A, rewrites the code's residential permit section. Its 403.62(a) says an owner or agent who intends to "construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a residential building" "shall first apply to the building code official and obtain the required permit," and the work its 403.62(c) lists as needing no permit includes "Replacement of existing roof material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any 12-month period," where no structural elements are involved. A full reroof is above that line. The same 403.62(c) opens "A permit not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope)." Resolution 2026-14, the Township's fee schedule enacted September 1, 2026, lists in its residential Building/General Permit Fee Schedule a "Roof" fee for "Re-roof, non-structural" of $100.00. The Building Permits page (read October 9, 2026) answers "Do I need a permit to just replace roof shingles?" with "No, only if you are replacing the plywood decking or if the construction involves structural work such as replacing rafters." 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). In practice, the Township's enacted ordinance and fee schedule treat a non-structural reroof of more than 25% of the roof as permit work while its web page says shingle replacement alone needs no permit; ask the Township at 215-536-2090 before work starts. 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, Milford Township issues building permits from the Township Building at 2100 Krammes Road, Quakertown. Ordinance No. 130 says "Milford Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building Permits page says most construction must "have a permit issued and be inspected and approved by the Code Enforcement Officer." Its threshold is the one in Ordinance No. 130 quoted at the start: replacement of roof material on no more than 25% of the roof within 12 months, with no structural elements involved, needs no permit, and a larger reroof does.

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, Milford Township issues building permits from the Township Building at 2100 Krammes Road, Quakertown. Ordinance No. 130 says "Milford Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building Permits page says most construction must "have a permit issued and be inspected and approved by the Code Enforcement Officer." Ordinance No. 130 changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers. Ordinance No. 130's amendments are drafted against the 2003 International Residential Code and the 2003 International Building Code, and the Township's pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2003 edition's text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.

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, Milford Township issues building permits from the Township Building at 2100 Krammes Road, Quakertown. Ordinance No. 130 says "Milford Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building Permits page says most construction must "have a permit issued and be inspected and approved by the Code Enforcement Officer." Ordinance No. 130 changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions. The Building Permits page says a permit is needed to replace shingles "only if you are replacing the plywood decking or if the construction involves structural work such as replacing rafters." Ordinance No. 130's amendments are drafted against the 2003 International Residential Code and the 2003 International Building Code, and the Township's pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2003 edition's text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.

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. Milford Township is in Bucks County. The Township's permit pages and 2026 fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.