Salt Lake City Building Services

Salt Lake City, Utah

city

451 South State Street, Room 215, Salt Lake City, UT

Required

Required

Salt Lake City's own municipal code, Section 18.04.040, adopts "The International Residential Code, as promulgated by Title 15A of the Utah State Code" by a floating reference rather than a named edition, per the City Council's own administrative transmittal for its November 2025 ordinance. Utah Code 15A-2-103(1)(b) currently names that as the 2021 edition of the International Residential Code (the International Building Code, a separate subsection, is the 2024 edition; the two are not the same edition). Utah Code 15A-1-204(1)(a) makes this "the construction codes ... that the state and each political subdivision of the state shall follow," and 15A-1-204(1)(b) extends that to an owner "voluntarily engaged in ... the repair, renovation, remodeling, alteration ... of the building," reaching an ordinary reroof. Under 15A-1-204(8), Salt Lake City may not adopt or enforce a requirement "more restrictive than, the State Construction Code" on a subject the code addresses, except where Title 15A Chapter 4 expressly authorizes a named local amendment; that chapter's own registry of every codified local Utah IRC amendment is closed at two jurisdictions, Park City and Sandy City, and Salt Lake City is neither. Salt Lake City's own Building Services "Design Criteria" document (effective 7/1/2023) states it enforces the "2021 International Residential Code (including Appendices AE and AQ)" and separately lists the "2021 International Building Code," which is now an older edition than the state's current 2024 IBC; this record does not adjudicate that discrepancy, which affects only the commercial code, not the residential code roofing sits under. Separately from the residential code, on November 18, 2025 the City Council adopted the Utah Wildland-Urban Interface Code (the 2006 edition named at Utah Code 15A-2-103(2)) and a "Salt Lake City Wildland Urban Interface Map" into Title 18 (Section 18.44.010.B), per its own administrative transmittal and Council news page; the map is expressly not part of the zoning map because, in the City's own words, "the regulations are building code regulations, not zoning regulations." The Council's own page states that "the State Legislature passed a law requiring cities to adopt the same Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) code as the state before Jan. 1, 2026," citing House Bill 48; that duty is codified at Utah Code 65A-8-203(9)(a), which requires a municipality to "adopt and enforce" the code once the state has adopted a UWUIC edition, but the underlying adoption mechanism at 15A-2-103(2) remains a local ordinance rather than a code that applies of its own force. The Wildland-Urban Interface code applies only "to over 1,900 acres in the city," on properties shown on the City's own map; a property not on the map is not subject to it. Where the Wildland-Urban Interface code does apply, its 2006 edition, Section 507, requires that a roof covering "replaced or [that has] 25 percent or more replaced in a 12-month period" be replaced with the covering required for new construction under Section 503.

Required — Salt Lake City Building Services' own "Design Criteria" document, at item 12, states plainly: "ICE SHIELD UNDERLAYMENT: Yes." The document does not further specify a roof-slope or eave exception beyond that stated requirement. About ice & water barrier

Not required — Utah's statewide amendments to the International Residential Code, read in full (48,780 characters across Title 15A Chapter 3 Part 2), contain no occurrence of "UL 2218," "Class 4," "Class IV," "impact," or "hail." Title 15A Chapter 4 Part 2, the state's own closed registry of every codified local IRC amendment, names only Park City and Sandy City, and both of those amendments are wildfire wood-roof-covering rules, not impact-resistance standards. Salt Lake City's own Building Services "Design Criteria" document lists the codes and design figures it enforces and names no impact-resistant roof-covering standard. Salt Lake City's 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface Code adoption is fire-only: the 2006 Utah Wildland-Urban Interface Code contains zero occurrences of "UL 2218," "FM 4473," "Class 4," "Class IV," or "hail" across its full text, and its roof-covering classes are fire ratings drawn from the International Building Code, not an impact standard.

Salt Lake City's own Re-Reroofing Questionnaire page states plainly: "A permit is required to reroof a structure in Salt Lake City." The City's Building Permits FAQ lists "Roofing: Roofing repairs or replacements, and alterations to the structure or design of the roof" among the project types that require a permit, with no stated dollar or area threshold that exempts a roof from that requirement. A separate dollar figure in the same FAQ governs who may apply for the permit, not whether one is required: "If the work being done can be considered general maintenance or repair under $3000 in valuation, an owner or representative may obtain the permit. General maintenance does include roofing, but does not include anything structural." Above that figure, or on a rental or commercial property, a licensed contractor must obtain the permit and perform the work. The Re-Reroofing Questionnaire also requires an engineer's structural evaluation where added roofing weight exceeds 3 pounds per square foot, and engineering for unreinforced-masonry parapets or rooftop appendages (with an exception for one- and two-family dwellings).

Salt Lake City Building Services' own "Design Criteria" document sets the residential 3-second gust wind speed at 115 mph, measured at 33 feet above the ground, with exposure category determined site-specifically (typically B or C) under Chapter 26 of ASCE 7-16. The same document sets the ground snow load at a minimum of 28 pounds per square foot for all projects at or below 4,239 feet mean sea level, matching the 28 psf, 4,239-foot figure Utah's own statewide amendment, Table R301.2(3), lists for Salt Lake City by name; sites above that elevation are referred to the Utah Snow Load Study. The document also states a winter design temperature of 8°F, an air-freezing index of 1,500 or less, a mean annual temperature of 45°F, "Severe" weathering, and "None to Slight" termite exposure. Utah's statewide amendments do not set a wind speed figure of their own, leaving that entry to each jurisdiction.

Utah's statewide amendments to the International Residential Code, read in full, contain no occurrence of "R908," "Chapter 9," or "roof" in a reroofing context; the amendment packet's only roof-related text concerns energy-envelope insulation and a plumbing backflow vault. Title 15A Chapter 4 Part 2, the state's closed registry of every codified local IRC amendment, names only Park City and Sandy City, neither of which addresses a layer limit. Salt Lake City's own Re-Reroofing Questionnaire asks an applicant "the number of existing roof layers" where materials are not being removed, which is consistent with a layer-count practice at inspection but does not itself state what the maximum is. No classification is set on this record; Salt Lake City's own building instrument was not independently opened this session (its municipal code is hosted on a walled platform), and it has not been settled whether a statewide ceiling on local building codes alone satisfies the reading requirement a classification otherwise presupposes.

The Utah State Tax Commission's quarterly Combined Sales and Use Tax Rates chart lists Salt Lake City's combined rate as 8.45%, in effect as of July 1, 2026, made up of the 4.85% state rate (59-12-103), 1.00% Local Sales and Use Tax (59-12-204), 0.25% County Option Sales Tax (59-12-1102), 0.30% Mass Transit Tax (59-12-2213), 0.25% Additional Mass Transit Tax (59-12-2214), 0.25% County Option Transportation (59-12-2217), 0.25% Transportation Infrastructure (59-12-2219), 0.20% County Public Transit (59-12-2220), 0.10% Botanical, Cultural and Zoo Tax (59-12-703), 0.50% Correctional Facility tax (59-12-402.1), and 0.50% Capital City Revitalization Tax (59-12-402.5), a component unique to Salt Lake City. Under Utah Admin. Code R865-19S-58 and Utah Code 59-12-103, a roofing contractor performing a furnish-and-install contract is the consumer of the materials it converts to real property and owes sales tax on its own purchase of those materials; the charge to the homeowner for the finished roof, and the labor on it, is not itself taxable, and the contractor may not separately state or collect tax on the customer invoice. Utah draws no distinction between repair and replacement for this purpose; both convert materials to real property.