Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of New Britain, PA?

Roofing questions: Township of New Britain, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of New Britain, PA?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of New Britain, PA. New Britain Township's fee schedule lists a permit fee for residential roof replacement. The Township's current fee schedule (Resolution 2024-02, adopted January 2, 2024, read October 9, 2026) lists, under "Chimneys, Fireplaces & Roofs," a residential "Roof Replacement" permit fee of $50.00. Section 5-111 of the Township Code (Ord. 2004-11-01, November 8, 2004, read October 9, 2026) requires building permits for "All residential roof repairs requiring structural changes," and says "structural changes include all roof repairs which require replacement of plywood. Replacement of only shingles and roofing paper does not constitute a structural change." The Township's own answer to "Is a permit required for roofing?" (read October 9, 2026) is: "A construction permit is required only if replacing the plywood or rafters. For shingles only, no permit is required." Its "Does My Project Need a Permit?" sheet (revised July 29, 2021) lists "Roofs – only structural/plywood" under work needing a building permit, and also lists "Repairs (i.e. water/sewer lateral, roof repairs)." Section 5-105 also keeps in force, where stricter than the Uniform Construction Code, Ordinance 99-06-01 of June 28, 1999, which adopted the BOCA National Building Code; this record has not read that ordinance's permit text. 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 New Britain Township filing that requires a building permit for "all residential roof replacements that involve replacement of sheathing," found in compliance with an approval letter mailed October 7, 2004, "Enacted 11 / 8 / 04." In practice, expect the Township to charge its residential roof replacement permit fee on a reroof, and check with the Township before starting even where no plywood will be replaced. The fee schedule charges "Double the standard permit fee" for "Work Without Permit - Applies to permits issued after work has started," and the Township's answer to "Can you start work before a permit is issued?" is "No." 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, New Britain Township administers the Uniform Construction Code itself: Section 5-101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Zoning Department, at 207 Park Avenue, Chalfont, says it is responsible for enforcing "the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code for Residential and Commercial construction" and lists its own residential building code inspector. The Township's texts quoted at the start set no area or percentage threshold for roof work: the fee schedule's residential roof replacement line is unqualified, Section 5-111 draws its line at roof repairs that require replacement of plywood, and the department's answer draws its line at replacing the plywood or rafters.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of New Britain, 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, New Britain Township administers the Uniform Construction Code itself: Section 5-101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Zoning Department, at 207 Park Avenue, Chalfont, says it is responsible for enforcing "the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code for Residential and Commercial construction" and lists its own residential building code inspector. Part 1 of Chapter 5 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers. Section 5-106 of the Township Code makes its insertions into the International Residential Code 2003, while the Township's own answer to "Which version of the residential/commercial building codes should I use?" names the "2021 International Residential Code (IRC)" and the "2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC)"; this record has not read the 2003 edition's reroofing text.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of New Britain, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Township of New Britain, 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, New Britain Township administers the Uniform Construction Code itself: Section 5-101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Zoning Department, at 207 Park Avenue, Chalfont, says it is responsible for enforcing "the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code for Residential and Commercial construction" and lists its own residential building code inspector. Section 5-102 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the Township's municipal building code, and Section 5-106 fills in Table R301.2, including "Ice shield underlayment: yes" and a roof snow load of 30 pounds per square foot; Part 1 of Chapter 5 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 5-106 of the Township Code makes its insertions into the International Residential Code 2003, while the Township's own answer to "Which version of the residential/commercial building codes should I use?" names the "2021 International Residential Code (IRC)" and the "2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC)". Section 5-105 keeps in force, where stricter, Ordinance 99-06-01, which adopted the BOCA National Building Code in 1999; this record has not read that ordinance.