Roofing in Exeter Township (Luzerne 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, Exeter Township's Boards and Permits page, read October 12, 2026, lists under "PERMITS" a "Zoning Officer and BCO" (570-817-9196) and a "Sewage Enforcement Officer"; the Township's Municipal Building is at 2305 State Route 92, Harding. The Township's pages read publish no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, and none was read for this record. The Township's pages name no Uniform Construction Code edition, and its Flood Ordinance refers to "the 2018 IBC or the 2018 IRC, or the latest revision thereof as adopted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"; this record does not decide which edition the Township applies and has not read the 2018 edition's text.

No Exeter Township text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. The Township's Boards and Permits page names no roof work, and its Ordinances page lists no ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code, no building permit chapter and no fee schedule. Its Zoning Ordinance, searched page by page for roof and permit provisions in its scanned pages, makes it unlawful to begin the construction, erection, moving or alteration of a building until the Zoning Officer has issued a zoning permit and says "No permit shall be required for the repair, maintenance, or interior remodeling of any building, structure, or grounds provided such repairs, maintenance, or remodeling do not change the use"; those lines speak to the zoning permit and name no roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is an alteration, a repair or maintenance under them. The Township's Flood Ordinance is titled an ordinance "REQUIRING ALL PERSONS, PARTNERSHIPS, BUSINESSES, AND CORPORATIONS TO OBTAIN A PERMIT FOR ANY CONSTRUCTION OR DEVELOPMENT" "WITHIN AREAS OF THE TOWNSHIP OF EXETER WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING," and its Property Maintenance Code ordinance adopts the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code; neither names 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." Read for this answer: the Township's home, Boards and Permits, Ordinances and Contact pages; its Zoning Ordinance, Flood Ordinance (Ordinance No. 2-5-24) and Property Maintenance Code ordinance (Ordinance No. 5-1-17), each a scanned PDF read from the rendered page images. The Township's Boards and Permits page links a zoning permit application and a floodplain checklist, and the Township posts no building permit application or fee schedule. Call the Township's Zoning Officer and BCO at 570-817-9196 before starting work.