Roofing in Hempfield Township (Westmoreland County), Pennsylvania

Required

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, Hempfield Township administers the code itself, with a retained third-party agency for some inspections. Chapter 40 of the Township Code, Building Code (Ord. No. 2009-04, effective October 5, 2009), "adopts the Uniform Construction Code" as "the Township of Hempfield Building Code" and says "The Township of Hempfield hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter"; a third-party agency may "perform plan reviews, approvals and inspections (but not the issuance of building, compliance or occupancy permits)." The Township's Building Inspections page names "the Township's third-party inspector, Code Enforcement Associates" for electrical and final inspections. Chapter 40's own revisions fill in Table R301.2(1) and touch no roofing section. A separate, older chapter reaches roof work: Chapter 41, Building Permits, defines an alteration to include "any work of repair, rearrangement, removal or replacement of any exterior or interior wall, roof, floor or support or any part thereof of any building," and Section 41-3 makes it unlawful to "construct, alter or raze any building or structure in the Township, except fences, when the cost of such construction or alteration exceeds $100" without a permit. Chapter 40 says "All ordinances, resolutions, regulations and policies of the Township of Hempfield not affected, modified or repealed by this chapter, the code, Act or Regulations shall remain in full force and effect." Chapters 40 and 41 were read in full, with a search of the whole Township Code for "roof".

Hempfield's Township Code requires a permit for roof replacement costing more than $100. Chapter 41, Building Permits (https://ecode360.com/10765721, read October 5, 2026), defines an alteration to include "any work of repair, rearrangement, removal or replacement of any exterior or interior wall, roof, floor or support or any part thereof of any building," and Section 41-3 says "It shall be unlawful to construct, alter or raze any building or structure in the Township, except fences, when the cost of such construction or alteration exceeds $100 or where the effect of such construction or alteration is to enlarge the capacity or affect the bearing walls of any building or the roof thereof, without having first secured a permit therefor." The Township's questions page, read the same day, answers "Is a permit required to replace shingles on a roof?" with "No." and adds "If you are unsure please call our department for information before you build or install." That answer is the department's stated practice; the enacted chapter supplies this record's answer. 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 section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). In practice, call the Code Enforcement Department before a reroof and ask whether it wants a permit, since its enacted chapter and its questions page answer differently; a violation of Chapter 41 is "punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each offense, together with all costs of prosecution, court costs and reasonable attorney fees," and the Code Enforcement Officer may serve "a stop-work order." Permit applications go through the Township's OpenGov permit portal or the office at 1132 Woodward Drive, Greensburg (phone 724-834-7232, ext. 633 for Code); the questions page lists with an application a "Contractor's Certificate of Worker's Compensation Insurance" and says building permits take "up to 30 business days." Its Building Inspections page names "the Township's third-party inspector, Code Enforcement Associates" for electrical and final inspections, while its questions page says "Residential Inspections are performed by Hempfield Township building inspectors."