Roofing in Hughesville, 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, Hughesville Borough's Code Part 2, Uniform Construction Code, says "The Borough of Hughesville hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" (section 12) and allows administration "By the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Borough" (section 14), and the Borough's home page links its Permits & Applications to Code Inspections, Inc.; the Borough office is at 147 S 5th Street, Hughesville, 570.584.2041. Section 13 adopts "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time." The Borough's pages read name no code edition.

The Borough's zoning code, Chapter 25 section 1203, says "Zoning permits shall not be required for the following activities unless they are proposed to be located within a floodplain district" and lists "General maintenance and repair to existing buildings or structures; including siding, roofing, painting, the addition and/or replacement of storm windows and similar activities"; that line speaks to the zoning permit. Separately, the FAQ of Code Inspections, Inc., a third-party code agency whose pages name no municipality, says "A few exceptions are items that do not need plans to confirm compliance, examples: changing furnace, new roofing, wire replacement, etc, it will still require a building permit, just not stamped plans"; this record does not decide whether that sentence reaches a house reroof in Hughesville. The Borough's code on eCode360 returned no result for "reroofing" and 18 results for "roof", none a building-permit rule for roof replacement. Ask the Borough office at 570.584.2041 before work starts. Read for this answer: the Borough's home page, its Code Chapter 5 Part 2 (Uniform Construction Code), Chapter 25 Part 12 (Administration and Enforcement) and eCode360 searches for "roof" and "reroofing", and the code agency's Permit & Inspection Information and FAQ pages; the Borough's fee resolution was not found.