Roofing in Caernarvon Township (Lancaster County), Pennsylvania

Required

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, Caernarvon Township's 2025 Building Permit Information sheet lets the applicant select one "of the following inspection agencies for residential and commercial projects" (Associated Building Inspections, LLC; Code Administrators, Inc; and Technicon Enterprises, Inc.) and "The selected agency shall serve as the Building Code Official for the entire project"; the applicant files the zoning/building permit application with the Township Zoning Officer at the Township office, 2139 Main Street, Narvon, and the agency, "upon verification of code compliance, returned to the Township with the applicable fees and an approval to issue the building permit." The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance is not published online and was not read, and no Township page names a code edition.

Caernarvon Township's pages and ordinances read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. The Building Permit Information sheet says "The Application for Building Permit must be completed if the proposal requires approval under the Uniform Construction Code (UCC)" and does not say which work that is. No Township page or form read names roof work either as permit work or as exempt. The Township's Policies & Forms page posts its Zoning Ordinance and other ordinances but no Uniform Construction Code ordinance or building permit fee schedule, and no codified Township code was found online, so the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, any permit or exemption section in it, and any older building ordinance it keeps in force were not read. The Zoning Ordinance's zoning permit section (Section 2203) says "Permits shall not be required for general maintenance work, painting" and similar work; it speaks to zoning permits only and names no roof work. 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 the Township requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Township office (717-445-4244) before starting. The sheet says "The applicant shall complete the zoning/building permit application and return to the Caernarvon Township Zoning Officer," and that inspections are arranged with the selected agency. The Township office is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00am to 3:00pm. Read for this answer: the Township's home and Policies & Forms pages; its 2025 Building Permit Information sheets and Application for Zoning/Building Permit; and the Zoning Ordinance, searched for "roof" (no permit provision naming roof work) with its zoning permit section read in full. The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance and any building permit fee schedule are not published online and were not read.