Roofing in East Manchester Township, 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, East Manchester Township takes permit applications at the Township office, 5080 North Sherman Street Extended, Mount Wolf. Section 75-1 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Residential Alteration Application names "Inspection Agency: Commonwealth Code Inspection Service, Inc. 717-846-2004"; the Township's fees page posts that firm's residential inspection prices. Section 75-2 says "The UCC is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference as the building code of the Township," and Chapter 75 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Neither Chapter 75 nor the Township's permit pages name a code edition.

East Manchester Township text read for this record names no roof work as permit work or as exempt. The Township's Residential Permits page (read October 9, 2026) lists its permit applications, among them "Alteration – This includes interior alterations and residential generators," and names no roof work. The Township's 2026 fee schedule (Exhibit A to Resolution No. 2026-2) prices a land use permit at "$ 7.00 per every $1,000 of the project value" and refers building code plan review and inspection fees to the third-party fee schedule; neither it nor the posted 2026 residential inspection prices of Commonwealth Code Inspection Service, Inc. has a roofing line. Chapter 75 of the Township Code (Ord. No. 2004-3) adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference as "the East Manchester Township Building Code," has no permit section of its own and names no roof work either way. Section 255-75 of the Zoning chapter requires a land use permit before a building is "erected, installed, have an addition added to, reconstructed or restored, demolished or structurally altered," but "no such land use permit shall be required for building restoration costing less than $3,000"; it names no roof work. No Township text read for this record says whether an ordinary reroof needs a building permit. 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." Read for this record: Chapter 75 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 75-1 to 75-9), in full; Article VIII of the Zoning chapter, Administration and Enforcement; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; and the Township's Residential Permits and Fees pages, its 2026 fee schedule, the posted 2026 residential inspection prices and the Residential Alteration Application. The fee schedule says "All Permit Fees are Non-Refundable," and Section 75-9 sets a fine of "not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution" for a violation of the chapter or the code. The Township office is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 717-266-4279.