Roofing in Hanover, 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, Hanover Borough administers the code itself: Section 170-1 of the Borough Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes page says "It is the responsibility of the Borough Code Enforcement to administer the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) adopted by the Borough of Hanover," and its Permitting page says the Department of Code Enforcement "contracts a Third-Party for plan review and inspection services." The department is in the Administration Building, 33 Frederick Street, Hanover. Section 170-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code, and Chapter 170 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Borough's pages name no edition of the International Residential Code, and they say the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1990 Edition, continues in force where it meets or exceeds the code; that older code is not published with the Borough Code, and this record has not read it and does not decide which text the Borough applies to roof work.

Hanover Borough's Department of Code Enforcement has published no statement on whether a house reroof needs a permit. The department's Permitting Policy (updated May 1, 2024, read October 7, 2026) says "A Building Permit is required for any residential and/or commercial new construction, remodel and/or renovation that involves structural change, electrical and/or plumbing work," and lists among other permit work "Structural changes that include but are not limited to walls, floors, trusses and/or decking." The Borough's online permit portal says "A Residential Building Permit is required any time an owner or applicant wants to construct, alter or otherwise modify a building and/or improvement." Neither names roof work; the portal's residential application has no roofing type (its commercial application lists "Commercial Roof"), and the Borough's fee resolution, Resolution No. 1481, revised effective April 22, 2026 and read in full, has no roofing line. Section 150-1A of the Borough Code, first enacted in 1921 and amended through 2015, makes it unlawful "to materially change, renew or enlarge any existing building" without "a permit from the Borough Secretary"; whether a reroof is a material change or a renewal of a building is a reading this record does not make. Section 170-4A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code, and the Borough's Codes page says these include "the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1990 Edition"; that adoption is not published with the Borough Code and was not read for this record. So this record does not state whether a house reroof needs a permit in Hanover Borough. 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: Chapter 170 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, in full; Chapter 150, Building Regulations, in full; Article III of Chapter 215, Floodplain Management, whose permit clause reaches construction and development under that chapter; every page of searches of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Codes, Permitting and Fee Schedule pages; the Permitting Policy; Resolution No. 1481; and the permit portal's residential and commercial building permit applications. The fee resolution's unpermitted work penalty fee is "20% of base permit fee," and "The minimum cost of this penalty for residential permits is $150." All permit applications are filed through the Borough's online portal, and permits are paid for and picked up at the department's office on Tuesdays and Fridays, 9 am to 3:30 pm; the Borough's telephone is 717-637-3877.