Jurisdiction
Township of South Whitehall, Pennsylvania
Address
4444 Walbert Avenue, Allentown, PA 18104
Contact
- url: https://www.southwhitehall.com/departments/community-development/building-and-construction/permits-licensing
- phone: 610-398-0401
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Replacing roof material without structural changes to the roof framing needs no residential building permit in South Whitehall Township, the Township says, but a zoning permit might be needed. The Township's Permits & Licensing page (read October 7, 2026), under "When do I need (or not need) a building permit?", says "A Residential Building Permit is NOT required for the following:" and its list includes "Replacement of existing roof material without structure changes to the roof framing" and "Alterations when the fair market value, including labor and materials, is less than five hundred dollars ($500.00)." The same page says "(Please note that though a building permit isn't required, a zoning permit might be needed)." That zoning permit is a separate permit: the Township's residential permit application says "Exterior Alteration refers to roofing, siding, windows, façade, mansard, architectural dormer, etc.," and its fee schedule adopted April 15, 2026 (Resolution 2026-72) lists "SIMPLE ZONING (not associated with any other permit review)" for work including "Non-Structural Interior or Exterior Alterations" at $50, with no roofing line among its building permit fees. Section 144-20 C(2) of the Township Code (Ord. No. 937, added August 17, 2011, read October 7, 2026) amends the code's exclusion for residential alterations to read "Alterations to residential buildings which cost less than $500 (fair market value of labor and materials) and which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under Section 303(b)(1) or 503 of the Act." It names no roof work, and Sections 144-21 and 144-22 adopt the Residential Code without changing its permit section, R105. The enacted text names no roof work either way; the no-permit line is the Township's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the Township's reading of the Uniform Construction Code's exclusions. 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"; 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"; 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." 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 describes a South Whitehall Township ordinance that "exempts alterations to residential buildings where the cost of the alterations is less than $500.00 (fair market value of labor and materials)," with an approval letter mailed July 18, 2011. Read for this answer: Chapter 144 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, Articles I and III to VIII, in full, including Section 144-20, its Uniform Construction Code ordinance with its amendments, and Sections 144-21 to 144-24, its Residential Code adoption, which changes nothing in R105; Chapter 162, Fees, which holds no building permit fees; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Township's Permits & Licensing and Building and Construction pages; its residential permit application; and the building and zoning permit schedules of its fee schedule adopted April 15, 2026. Section 144-22 sets a civil penalty of "not more than $1,000 plus costs of the enforcement action including reasonable attorney's fees" for work in violation of the Residential Code. Applications go to the Township Building, 4444 Walbert Avenue, Allentown, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM; the Township says "Please do not email the application," and permit questions go to the permit clerks at (610) 398-0401.
Adopted code
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, South Whitehall Township administers the code through third-party agencies it retains: Section 144-20 A of the Township Code says "South Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building and Construction page says "Barry Isett and Associates is our third-party inspection agency for all residential code disciplines" and "Keycodes Inspection Agency is our third-party inspection agency for all commercial code disciplines." Permit applications are taken at the Township Building, 4444 Walbert Avenue, Allentown. Section 144-22 fills in the design data of Table R301.2(1), including "ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED" "Yes," and changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Sections 144-18 and 144-21 of the Township Code adopt the "International Building Code, 2018 Edition" and the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition," while Section 144-20 B adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time," and the Township's permit pages name no adopted edition (only "Appendix G of the IRC 2009" for pool barriers); this record has not read the 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.
Repair permit threshold
South Whitehall Township says replacing roof material without structural changes to the roof framing needs no residential building permit, though a zoning permit might be needed. The Township's Permits & Licensing page (read October 7, 2026), under "When do I need (or not need) a building permit?", says "A Residential Building Permit is NOT required for the following:" and its list includes "Replacement of existing roof material without structure changes to the roof framing" and "Alterations when the fair market value, including labor and materials, is less than five hundred dollars ($500.00)." The same page says "(Please note that though a building permit isn't required, a zoning permit might be needed)." That zoning permit is a separate permit: the Township's residential permit application says "Exterior Alteration refers to roofing, siding, windows, façade, mansard, architectural dormer, etc.," and its fee schedule adopted April 15, 2026 (Resolution 2026-72) lists "SIMPLE ZONING (not associated with any other permit review)" for work including "Non-Structural Interior or Exterior Alterations" at $50, with no roofing line among its building permit fees. Section 144-20 C(2) of the Township Code (Ord. No. 937, added August 17, 2011, read October 7, 2026) amends the code's exclusion for residential alterations to read "Alterations to residential buildings which cost less than $500 (fair market value of labor and materials) and which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under Section 303(b)(1) or 503 of the Act." It names no roof work, and Sections 144-21 and 144-22 adopt the Residential Code without changing its permit section, R105. The enacted text names no roof work either way; the no-permit line is the Township's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the Township's reading of the Uniform Construction Code's exclusions. 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"; 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"; 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." 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 describes a South Whitehall Township ordinance that "exempts alterations to residential buildings where the cost of the alterations is less than $500.00 (fair market value of labor and materials)," with an approval letter mailed July 18, 2011. 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, South Whitehall Township administers the code through third-party agencies it retains: Section 144-20 A of the Township Code says "South Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building and Construction page says "Barry Isett and Associates is our third-party inspection agency for all residential code disciplines" and "Keycodes Inspection Agency is our third-party inspection agency for all commercial code disciplines." Permit applications are taken at the Township Building, 4444 Walbert Avenue, Allentown. The Township's line for roof work is the roof-framing condition quoted at the start; Section 144-20 C(2) sets a $500 line for alterations and none for repairs.
Roof layer limit / recover
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, South Whitehall Township administers the code through third-party agencies it retains: Section 144-20 A of the Township Code says "South Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building and Construction page says "Barry Isett and Associates is our third-party inspection agency for all residential code disciplines" and "Keycodes Inspection Agency is our third-party inspection agency for all commercial code disciplines." Permit applications are taken at the Township Building, 4444 Walbert Avenue, Allentown. Chapter 144 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, the Township says replacing roof material without structural changes to the roof framing needs no residential building permit, and its pages say nothing on roof layers. Sections 144-18 and 144-21 of the Township Code adopt the "International Building Code, 2018 Edition" and the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition," while Section 144-20 B adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time," and the Township's permit pages name no adopted edition (only "Appendix G of the IRC 2009" for pool barriers); the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2018 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.
Deck & sheathing requirements
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, South Whitehall Township administers the code through third-party agencies it retains: Section 144-20 A of the Township Code says "South Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building and Construction page says "Barry Isett and Associates is our third-party inspection agency for all residential code disciplines" and "Keycodes Inspection Agency is our third-party inspection agency for all commercial code disciplines." Permit applications are taken at the Township Building, 4444 Walbert Avenue, Allentown. Chapter 144 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions. The Township's no-permit line is "Replacement of existing roof material without structure changes to the roof framing"; it does not say whether roof sheathing is roof material or roof framing. Sections 144-18 and 144-21 of the Township Code adopt the "International Building Code, 2018 Edition" and the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition," while Section 144-20 B adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time," and the Township's permit pages name no adopted edition (only "Appendix G of the IRC 2009" for pool barriers); the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2018 edition's sheathing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.
Sales & use tax
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. South Whitehall Township is in Lehigh County. The Township's permit pages and fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.