Roofing in Highlands, 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 Department's Adopted Codes page still says "The adopted 2021 I-Codes" "were adopted on September 6, 2022 and are the regulating codes for all construction regulated under the Uniform Construction Code," and lists the "2021 International Residential Code" for one- and two-family dwellings; that is the edition the State replaced on August 17, 2026, and the six-month window described above is when an applicant may still choose it.

No permit is needed under state law to reroof a detached one- or two-family house, and the Department lists that work among jobs not requiring a construction permit; a townhouse, other attached dwelling or any other building needs one from the Highlands Department of Buildings and Housing, 151 Navesink Avenue, second floor, Highlands, NJ 07732, (732) 872-1224 ext. 223, [email protected], open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM (Construction Official Steven Winters, ext. 222). The Department says "almost all work requires a Zoning Permit and approval" whether or not a construction permit is needed, and directs questions to the Zoning Officer at ext. 224. Construction permit applications are filed in person or by mail; the online application is listed as "COMING SOON." Where a roof permit is required, the fee comes from Borough Code Section 10-2.1 (last amended October 15, 2025 by Ordinance O-25-23), which has no separate roofing line. Its building subcode list prices "Rehabilitations - R-5 Use Group" at "$35.00 per thousand dollars of estimated cost of work" and "Rehabilitations - All other Use Groups" at "$40.00 per thousand dollars of estimated cost of work," with a "Minimum building subcode fee $100.00," and "The fee for plan review shall be twenty percent (20%) of the amount charged for a construction permit." Inspections are requested in writing through the Highlands Construction Portal; building and fire inspections run "Monday through Friday: 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm." The Department warns that "Penalties for performing work without permits and/or approvals start as high as $2,000.00 per violation." In a mapped flood hazard area, roofing is also reviewed by the Floodplain Administrator through a floodplain development permit (see the repair permit threshold); the Department lists that review fee as $150 for one- and two-family dwellings.