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

Roofing questions: Borough of New Hope, PA

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

New Hope Borough's Construction Code Ordinance names no roof work, and the Borough has published no permit list for reroofs. Chapter 112 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Ord. No. 2004-2, June 8, 2004, read October 12, 2026), says in Section 112-2 "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal building code of New Hope Borough," fills in blanks for "Uniform Construction Code 2003 Edition" items, names no roof work and adds no permit clause of its own for house repairs, and its Section 112-5 keeps in force "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by this municipality on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code"; this record found no such earlier building ordinance in the chapters it read. Every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing" found no permit provision naming roof work. The Borough's Building, Permitting and Licensing page says "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure" "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and names no roofing. Its 2026 Fee Schedule, under "CONSTRUCTION PERMITS AND CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY," "RESIDENTIAL," has a line "ALTERATIONS, REPAIRS, REMODLING, DEMOLITION (CHIMNEY, FIRE PLACE, ROOFING)" at "$75 PLUS ADD'L fee equiv to 1.5% of construction costs. MINIMUM $100" (read from the rendered page), and its Building Code Permit Application lists "ROOFING" among the boxes under "ADDITIONAL PERMITS REQUIRED OR OTHER JURISDICTION APPROVALS." This record does not decide whether a house reroof is work that fee line prices as a construction permit. For the Historic District, the Borough's flowchart lists "installing a new roof in the same color and materials as the old one" among its examples of a "replacement in kind" (a letter to the Borough) and "changing roofing materials" among its examples of projects needing a Certificate of Appropriateness; this record does not decide whether a given house is in the Historic District. 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." 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 Hope Borough administers the code itself: Section 112-1 of the Borough Code says "New Hope Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," its Building, Permitting and Licensing page tells owners to "make application to the building official and obtain the required permit" and posts a Building Code Permit Application on Borough letterhead (123 New Street), and its FAQ says "For building and zoning inspections, please call 48 hours in advance for scheduling at 215-862-3347." No Borough text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of New Hope, 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 Hope Borough administers the code itself: Section 112-1 of the Borough Code says "New Hope Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," its Building, Permitting and Licensing page tells owners to "make application to the building official and obtain the required permit" and posts a Building Code Permit Application on Borough letterhead (123 New Street), and its FAQ says "For building and zoning inspections, please call 48 hours in advance for scheduling at 215-862-3347." Chapter 112 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Borough's pages say nothing on roof layers. Chapter 112 refers to the "Uniform Construction Code 2003 Edition," and no Borough page names a current edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, this record has not read the 2003 edition's text, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies to a house.

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

Yes.

What building code does Borough of New Hope, 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 Hope Borough administers the code itself: Section 112-1 of the Borough Code says "New Hope Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," its Building, Permitting and Licensing page tells owners to "make application to the building official and obtain the required permit" and posts a Building Code Permit Application on Borough letterhead (123 New Street), and its FAQ says "For building and zoning inspections, please call 48 hours in advance for scheduling at 215-862-3347." Chapter 112 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Ord. No. 2004-2, June 8, 2004, read October 12, 2026), says in Section 112-2 "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal building code of New Hope Borough," fills in blanks for "Uniform Construction Code 2003 Edition" items, names no roof work and adds no permit clause of its own for house repairs, and its Section 112-5 keeps in force "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by this municipality on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code"; this record found no such earlier building ordinance in the chapters it read. Every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing" found no permit provision naming roof work. Chapter 112 refers to the "Uniform Construction Code 2003 Edition," and no Borough page names a current edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, this record has not read the 2003 edition's text, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies to a house.