Roofing in Jefferson Township (Lackawanna County), 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, Jefferson Township in Lackawanna County takes zoning and building permit applications on one Township permit application at its office at 487 Cortez Road, and its Building Inspection Notice names two building inspectors for Uniform Construction Code inspections: "If your building inspector is Building Inspection Underwriters, Inc. Please contact them at 570-344-9681" or, for Northeast Inspection Consultants, 570-280-2111; the Township's Forms & Applications page posts both agencies' permit applications. The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance was not found published and was not read for this record, and neither the Township's pages nor the agencies' applications name a code edition.

Jefferson Township's pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. The Township's Ordinances page lists no Uniform Construction Code or building permit ordinance, and the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance was not found published and was not read for this record. The Township's 2021 Zoning Ordinance is posted as a scanned document and was not read for this record. The Township's pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. The checklist on its permit application says "UCC Building Permit Applications are also necessary for: For all electrical, plumbing, structural work, modifications of framing, beams, sheathing, etc."; it does not say whether other roof work needs a permit. The Township's fee schedule (Resolution 2024-6) lists "RENOVATIONS, ADDITIONS/ALTERATIONS - $ 150.00 (plus UCC Permit and Inspection fees)" under lot improvements and has no roofing line. The two agencies' generic applications list roofing among their types of work ("ROOFING" on Northeast Inspection Consultants' form and "Roofing -Total square feet" on Building Inspection Underwriters' form) and name no reroof or roof covering replacement. 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." This record does not state whether the Township requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Township office (570-689-7028) before starting. The Township's fee schedule says "A penalty shall be imposed for failure to obtain required building and/or zoning permits prior to conducting construction equal to 2X the applicable permit fee." The Zoning Office page lists hours of Wednesday and Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Read for this answer: the Township's Forms & Applications, Ordinances and Zoning Office pages, its permit application and checklist, its Building Inspection Notice, its fee schedule (Resolution 2024-6, read from its scanned pages), and the two agencies' building permit applications it posts.