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

Roofing questions: Borough of Mount Penn, PA

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

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Borough of Mount Penn, PA. Mount Penn Borough's Ordinance No. 771 (April 8, 2008), which amends its Uniform Construction Code ordinance (Ordinance No. 738) and is posted on the Borough's Ordinances page, read October 10, 2026 from the scanned page images, says the Borough "shall require persons to obtain permits under the Borough of Mt. Penn Construction Code for all of the following," and the third item is "All alterations or repairs to residential buildings which are exempt from the UCC by Act 92 of 2004; provided, however, that the following types of alterations and repairs shall continue to e exempt and no permit will be required." The nine exceptions that follow include "Re-roofing of less than 25% of the total existing roof square footage"; no other line of the ordinance names roof work, and a reroof of the whole roof is more than the 25% the ordinance exempts. The Borough's Building Permits page says "A quick list of common projects that do not require permits is included below" and the list, which names fences, retaining walls, water tanks, sidewalks and driveways, pools, playground equipment, window awnings, uncovered decks and communications wiring, names no roof work, and its Building Code Permit Application (posted on the page) has no roofing line among its types of work. The Borough's comprehensive fee schedule (Resolution No. 66-24, as posted, which sets fees for the 2025 calendar year) lists under Uniform Construction Code Permit Fees "Alteration, Repair, or Addition to Primary Structure" as a residential application item and a residential review fee of "1% of Cost Estimate," and names no roof line. 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 Mt. Penn Borough filing that "Requires a building permit for all residential alterations and repairs and establishes 9 exceptions," with "approval letter mailed 3 / 07 / 08" and "Enacted 4 / 08 / 08." Ordinance No. 738, Section 7, says "Any individual violation the provision of this ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each and every violation and for each and every day," so a reroof of 25% or more without a permit risks that fine; ask the Borough office (610-779-5151) before starting. 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, Mount Penn Borough's Building Permits page (read October 10, 2026) says "The Borough of Mount Penn has adopted the Uniform Construction Code," its FAQ says "Borough of Mt Penn issues a wide range of permits including building permits, zoning permits, and special event permits," and Ordinance No. 738 (June 29, 2004), posted on the Borough's Ordinances page and read from the scanned page images, says "The Borough of Mount Penn hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as the municipal building code of the Borough of Mount Penn"; the Borough office is at 200 North 25th Street, Mount Penn (610-779-5151). The only area threshold for roof work in the Borough's ordinances read is the 25% line quoted above.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Mount Penn, 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, Mount Penn Borough's Building Permits page (read October 10, 2026) says "The Borough of Mount Penn has adopted the Uniform Construction Code," its FAQ says "Borough of Mt Penn issues a wide range of permits including building permits, zoning permits, and special event permits," and Ordinance No. 738 (June 29, 2004), posted on the Borough's Ordinances page and read from the scanned page images, says "The Borough of Mount Penn hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as the municipal building code of the Borough of Mount Penn"; the Borough office is at 200 North 25th Street, Mount Penn (610-779-5151). Ordinance Nos. 738 and 771 change nothing in the code's reroofing provisions and say nothing on roof layers. The Borough's Building Permits page says the Borough "uses the International Residential Code 2018, International Building Code 2018," while Ordinance No. 738 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time"; this record has not read the 2018 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 Mount Penn, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Mount Penn, 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, Mount Penn Borough's Building Permits page (read October 10, 2026) says "The Borough of Mount Penn has adopted the Uniform Construction Code," its FAQ says "Borough of Mt Penn issues a wide range of permits including building permits, zoning permits, and special event permits," and Ordinance No. 738 (June 29, 2004), posted on the Borough's Ordinances page and read from the scanned page images, says "The Borough of Mount Penn hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as the municipal building code of the Borough of Mount Penn"; the Borough office is at 200 North 25th Street, Mount Penn (610-779-5151). Section 5 of Ordinance No. 738 keeps in force building code ordinances adopted before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code"; this record has not read any such ordinance. The Borough's Building Permits page says the Borough "uses the International Residential Code 2018, International Building Code 2018," while Ordinance No. 738 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time"; this record has not read the 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.