Roofing in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey

Not required

Required

The 2024 International Residential Code, New Jersey edition, adopted by the State, with the Rehabilitation Subcode for work on existing buildings. New Jersey has one construction code, the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), which every municipality enforces; municipalities do not adopt building codes of their own (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 and 52:27D-139). N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(a)1 adopts the International Code Council's "2024 International Residential Code known as the IRC/2024 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode in New Jersey subject to the modifications stated at (c) below," and 3.21(b) applies it to "detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories above grade plane in height." The section was rewritten by R.2026 d.086, "effective August 17, 2026," in the Department of Community Affairs' print of the rules "adopted and published through the New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 16," and the Department's Current Construction Codes page lists the "International Residential Code/2024, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Aug 17, 2026. Other buildings fall under the building subcode, the International Building Code/2024, NJ edition (N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.14). Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode: "Existing structures, when repaired, renovated, altered or reconstructed, shall conform to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:23-6, Rehabilitation Subcode" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)). A six-month grace period follows the adoption. N.J.A.C. 5:23-1.6(a): "For a period of six months following the operative date of a subcode revision, applicants may submit a complete permit application, including all prior approvals, to be reviewed under the code in force immediately preceding the subcode revision." The rule history gives R.2026 d.086 no date other than its effective date, so on that reading the window runs from August 17, 2026 until about February 17, 2027: a complete application filed inside it may be reviewed under either the prior edition or the 2024 edition, at the applicant's choice, and one filed after it closes is reviewed under the 2024 edition. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, the Borough Code's Chapter 220 establishes the Borough's Construction Enforcement Department "pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq., in the Borough, a State Uniform Construction Code enforcement agency," and the Code Enforcement page names no code edition of its own.

No permit is needed under state law to reroof a detached one- or two-family house, and the Borough's Permit Application Requirements matrix lists ROOF with the note "No permits on residential if no framing or sheathing." A townhouse, other attached dwelling or any other building needs a permit under state law. Applications go to the Franklin Lakes Code Enforcement Office (Construction Department), 480 DeKorte Drive, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417. Its page gives the Borough's main number, 201-891-4000, with staff extensions (Construction Official and Building Subcode Official Gary Goodman, ext. 1213), fax 201-847-1361, and office hours of Monday to Thursday 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM and Friday 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Permit forms, including the UCC F100 Construction Permit Application and the F110 Building Subcode Technical Section, are on the Borough's Forms/Applications page, and inspections are requested online through the SDL Portal. Borough Code Section 220-2 (last amended June 17, 2025 by Ord. No. 1992) has no roofing fee line; where a roof permit is required, the building subcode fee for renovations, alterations and repairs is "$20 per $1,000 of the estimated cost of the project, provided that the minimum fee shall be $95," and "Twenty percent of the amount charged for the construction permit fees shall be deemed to be the plan review fee." The Code Enforcement page also carries this message from the Code Enforcement Official: "In accordance with Subchapter 6 of the UCC Rehabilitation subcode, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are required to be installed in ALL single and two family homes where ANY work is performed."