Southampton Township (Cumberland County) - Zoning and Building Permits

Township of Southampton, Pennsylvania (Cumberland County)

city

200 Airport Road, Shippensburg, PA 17257

Required

Southampton Township's code and pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a building permit. Chapter 138 (effective July 1, 2004) adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference "for the construction, alteration, repair, and occupancy of buildings," names no roof work either way and adds no permit clause of its own for house repairs; Section 138-7 leaves fees to resolution, and the Township's 2026 fee schedule lists only zoning, land use, driveway and plan fees, with no building permit or roofing line. Separately, the Zoning chapter's own permit, the zoning/land use permit, is not required for roof repair: Section 350-1307D says "A zoning/land use permit shall not be required for repairs to existing building, structures, sheds or fences, except where required by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code," and Section 350-1308A says "Zoning permits shall not be required for any maintenance operations, such as painting, roof repair, window replacement, installation of siding, replacement of defective structural member or similar maintenance measures." Those sections speak to the zoning permit only, not to a building permit. PA Municipal Code Alliance, one of the two agencies the Township's application names, publishes a letter addressed "Dear Municipal Official" that says "a residential Re-roof still requires compliance with the provisions of the UCC but does not require a building permit" and that "If structural work is required such as replacing studs, headers, rafters or trusses a permit would now be required"; the letter does not name Southampton Township and is not posted on the Township's pages. The same agency's re-roof application says "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair." The Township's pages say nothing on reroofing, and nothing read for this record shows the other agency's practice. 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." This record does not state whether a building permit is required for a house reroof in the Township; ask the Township office (717-532-9646) and the inspection agency before starting. PA Municipal Code Alliance's building permit applications ask for a "Land Use Permit (signed/approved by the Municipality)" where one is issued. The Township office is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Read for this answer: Chapter 138 of the Township Code, Construction Code, Uniform, in full; Article XIII of the Zoning chapter (Sections 350-1301 to 350-1309); every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," and a search for "building permit"; the Township's Planning & Zoning and contact pages, its 2026 fee schedule and its Zoning/Land Use Permit application (both scanned documents, read from their page images); and PA Municipal Code Alliance's FAQ, re-roof letter and re-roof application.

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, Southampton Township (Cumberland County) administers the code under Chapter 138 of the Township Code, where Section 138-2 says "This Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act." The Township's own Zoning/Land Use Permit application, issued by its Zoning Officer at 200 Airport Road, Shippensburg, asks the applicant to "Select an Inpection Agency" and names two: "PA Municipal Code Alliance" and "Commonwealth Code." Section 138-3 adopts "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code, and Chapter 138 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Township's pages name no code edition.

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The State's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21) contains no hail or impact rule, and it makes no change to the code's roof assemblies chapter, which itself has no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality could add one only by an ordinance that equals or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 section 503, filed with the Department of Labor and Industry; none of the filings on the Department's register of municipal code change ordinances mentions hail or impact resistance. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Southampton Township (Cumberland County) administers the code under Chapter 138 of the Township Code, where Section 138-2 says "This Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act." The Township's own Zoning/Land Use Permit application, issued by its Zoning Officer at 200 Airport Road, Shippensburg, asks the applicant to "Select an Inpection Agency" and names two: "PA Municipal Code Alliance" and "Commonwealth Code." Chapter 138 of the Township Code and the Township's pages name no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement.

Southampton Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance names no roof work, and the Township has published nothing on house reroofs. Chapter 138 (effective July 1, 2004) adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference "for the construction, alteration, repair, and occupancy of buildings," names no roof work either way and adds no permit clause of its own for house repairs; Section 138-7 leaves fees to resolution, and the Township's 2026 fee schedule lists only zoning, land use, driveway and plan fees, with no building permit or roofing line. Separately, the Zoning chapter's own permit, the zoning/land use permit, is not required for roof repair: Section 350-1307D says "A zoning/land use permit shall not be required for repairs to existing building, structures, sheds or fences, except where required by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code," and Section 350-1308A says "Zoning permits shall not be required for any maintenance operations, such as painting, roof repair, window replacement, installation of siding, replacement of defective structural member or similar maintenance measures." Those sections speak to the zoning permit only, not to a building permit. PA Municipal Code Alliance, one of the two agencies the Township's application names, publishes a letter addressed "Dear Municipal Official" that says "a residential Re-roof still requires compliance with the provisions of the UCC but does not require a building permit" and that "If structural work is required such as replacing studs, headers, rafters or trusses a permit would now be required"; the letter does not name Southampton Township and is not posted on the Township's pages. The same agency's re-roof application says "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair." The Township's pages say nothing on reroofing, and nothing read for this record shows the other agency's practice. 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, Southampton Township (Cumberland County) administers the code under Chapter 138 of the Township Code, where Section 138-2 says "This Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act." The Township's own Zoning/Land Use Permit application, issued by its Zoning Officer at 200 Airport Road, Shippensburg, asks the applicant to "Select an Inpection Agency" and names two: "PA Municipal Code Alliance" and "Commonwealth Code." No Township text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.

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, Southampton Township (Cumberland County) administers the code under Chapter 138 of the Township Code, where Section 138-2 says "This Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act." The Township's own Zoning/Land Use Permit application, issued by its Zoning Officer at 200 Airport Road, Shippensburg, asks the applicant to "Select an Inpection Agency" and names two: "PA Municipal Code Alliance" and "Commonwealth Code." Chapter 138 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers. PA Municipal Code Alliance's re-roof letter, which does not name the Township, says "Metal roofing should not be installed over more than two layers of shingles without the authorization of a design professional."

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, Southampton Township (Cumberland County) administers the code under Chapter 138 of the Township Code, where Section 138-2 says "This Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act." The Township's own Zoning/Land Use Permit application, issued by its Zoning Officer at 200 Airport Road, Shippensburg, asks the applicant to "Select an Inpection Agency" and names two: "PA Municipal Code Alliance" and "Commonwealth Code." Chapter 138 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions, and the Township's pages draw no line for roof sheathing. PA Municipal Code Alliance's re-roof letter, which does not name the Township, says "The existing roof sheathing and rafters must be verified to be “sound” and free from rot or decay."

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. Southampton Township is in Cumberland County. The Township's permit pages and 2026 fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.