Roofing in Kennedy Township (Allegheny 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, Kennedy Township administers the code through its own Township Building Inspector: the Township's Building, Planning, & Zoning Departments page lists a Township Building Inspector, telephone (412) 855-1015, and posts the building permit application, whose office block is headed "Building Code Official Use Only" and carries a "UCC Building Fee" line. The Township office is at 340 Forest Grove Road, Coraopolis. The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, and any ordinance of its own on building permits, were not read for this record: neither is among the ordinances posted on the Township's Ordinances page, and no online copy of the Township's code was found. The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Kennedy Township ordinance that "Establishes a number of changes relative to building permits, including: requiring permits for most alterations and repairs", found in compliance with an approval letter mailed November 23, 2009, "Enacted 12 / 30 / 09"; its text was not read for this record. The Township's building permit application asks for residential drawings "according to the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC)," and the Township's pages name no other edition; this record has not read the 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.

No Kennedy Township text read says whether an ordinary reroof needs a permit. The Township's building permit application (read October 9, 2026) lists "Roofing – Total square feet" among the boxes under "Type of work," beside fencing, signs, pools, decks, demolition and accessibility; it does not say which roof work needs a permit. The Township's fee schedule (Resolution 1-2026) prices residential building permits as new construction, additions, "Alterations/Repairs - $75 plus 1.50% of construction cost" and miscellaneous work, and has no roofing line. The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, and any ordinance of its own on building permits, were not read for this record: neither is among the ordinances posted on the Township's Ordinances page, and no online copy of the Township's code was found. The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Kennedy Township ordinance that "Establishes a number of changes relative to building permits, including: requiring permits for most alterations and repairs", found in compliance with an approval letter mailed November 23, 2009, "Enacted 12 / 30 / 09"; its text was not read for this record. 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." The application's roofing box is one line on a general form, and the Township's own permit ordinance could not be read, so this record does not decide whether the Township requires a permit for an ordinary reroof. Ask the Township Building Inspector at (412) 855-1015 before work starts. The application says "All of the following information must be provided to obtain a permit," including a site plan and, when a contractor does the work, a certificate of liability insurance and proof of workers' compensation insurance or a notarized waiver form. For other questions the Township office is at (412) 771-2321. Read for this answer: the Township's home, Forms, Ordinances, Resolutions and Building, Planning, & Zoning Departments pages; the building permit application; and the Township fee schedule (Resolution 1-2026, a scanned document, transcribed from the rendered page images).