The Roofing Book

Home / Roofing by City / Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Roofing in Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Lansdale, PA, issued by Lansdale Borough - Code Enforcement Department. Lansdale Borough's Code Enforcement Department lists roof repair and replacement as permit work. The Code Enforcement Department's page "What Requires a Permit?" (read October 7, 2026) says "A Permit is required for but not limited to these projects" and lists "Roof" under "Demolition, Repair, Replacement, Addition, or New Installation." The department's own page says "Permits are issued for Use and Occupancy, repairs, replacements, additions, and new installations of fences, boilers, roofs, etc." The Borough has a Roofing Permit Application, whose description of work offers "New" and "Repair/Replace," and its Schedule of Fees and Charges (as amended by Resolution 2026-15, adopted May 20, 2026) lists a Roof Permit at $75 for a residence and $250 for commercial work, plus a $4.50 State fee. Article I of Chapter 146 of the Borough Code, the Borough's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, names no roof work either way. Section 146-5.A keeps in force building code ordinances "which were adopted by the Borough of Lansdale on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act"; the Borough Code does not publish those ordinances, and this record has not read them. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, 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, expect the Borough to require a roof permit for a reroof. Under "Penalties" the Schedule of Fees and Charges lists "Normal permit fee x2" as the administrative fee where a stop work order is issued or "construction activities being conducted prior to ascertaining a permit." The roofing application asks for the contractor's PA home improvement contractor number and says "Include copy of written proposal/contract," and every permit application must carry a certificate of insurance or self-insurance. Applications are filed with the Code Enforcement Office at One Vine Street, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at 215-368-1691. Read for this answer: Chapter 146, Article I, of the Borough Code (Sections 146-1 to 146-6), in full; Chapter 304, Article II, Property Maintenance; Chapter 209, Floodplain Management; a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof," which finds no permit provision naming roof work, and for "reroofing," which finds none; the Code Enforcement, What Requires a Permit?, Building, Housing, & Existing Structures and Permit Applications pages; the Roofing Permit Application and the Building Permit application; and the 2026 Schedule of Fees and Charges. This hub aggregates roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements for Lansdale, Pennsylvania, along with sourced roofing material references — every fact linked to its directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in Lansdale

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Lansdale are set locally by Lansdale Borough - Code Enforcement Department. Pennsylvania issues no state roofing licence, but its Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires a contractor to register with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection before doing home improvement work, which the Act defines to include roofs on jobs over $500, unless the contractor’s home improvement work totalled less than $5,000 in the previous tax year — and the Uniform Construction Code applies to buildings throughout the Commonwealth as a minimum a municipality may exceed but not fall below, with ordinary repairs to a house outside it unless a local ordinance brings them in, so whether a reroof needs a permit is a municipal question — always confirm the current requirements with the authority before starting work.

Roofing permit
Required
Contractor registration
Required
Adopted building code
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, Lansdale Borough administers the code itself: Section 146-1 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Lansdale hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's Code Enforcement Department at One Vine Street, Suite 201, Lansdale, takes building permit applications and says it "is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Borough ordinances, along with Federal and State building codes." Section 146-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the "Municipal Building Code of the Borough of Lansdale" without naming an edition, and the department's pages name none. Chapter 146 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions.
Permit process
Lansdale Borough's Code Enforcement Department lists roof repair and replacement as permit work. The Code Enforcement Department's page "What Requires a Permit?" (read October 7, 2026) says "A Permit is required for but not limited to these projects" and lists "Roof" under "Demolition, Repair, Replacement, Addition, or New Installation." The department's own page says "Permits are issued for Use and Occupancy, repairs, replacements, additions, and new installations of fences, boilers, roofs, etc." The Borough has a Roofing Permit Application, whose description of work offers "New" and "Repair/Replace," and its Schedule of Fees and Charges (as amended by Resolution 2026-15, adopted May 20, 2026) lists a Roof Permit at $75 for a residence and $250 for commercial work, plus a $4.50 State fee. Article I of Chapter 146 of the Borough Code, the Borough's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, names no roof work either way. Section 146-5.A keeps in force building code ordinances "which were adopted by the Borough of Lansdale on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act"; the Borough Code does not publish those ordinances, and this record has not read them. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, 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, expect the Borough to require a roof permit for a reroof. Under "Penalties" the Schedule of Fees and Charges lists "Normal permit fee x2" as the administrative fee where a stop work order is issued or "construction activities being conducted prior to ascertaining a permit." The roofing application asks for the contractor's PA home improvement contractor number and says "Include copy of written proposal/contract," and every permit application must carry a certificate of insurance or self-insurance. Applications are filed with the Code Enforcement Office at One Vine Street, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at 215-368-1691. Read for this answer: Chapter 146, Article I, of the Borough Code (Sections 146-1 to 146-6), in full; Chapter 304, Article II, Property Maintenance; Chapter 209, Floodplain Management; a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof," which finds no permit provision naming roof work, and for "reroofing," which finds none; the Code Enforcement, What Requires a Permit?, Building, Housing, & Existing Structures and Permit Applications pages; the Roofing Permit Application and the Building Permit application; and the 2026 Schedule of Fees and Charges.

View the full Lansdale permitting authority record →

Roofing materials for Lansdale

Compare roofing material families — service life, weight, cost band, and durability — for a Lansdale reroof. Every material entry in the directory carries a cited, dated source.

Start with all roofing materials or the asphalt vs. metal vs. tile comparison.

Local permitting authority

Lansdale Borough - Code Enforcement Departmentcity

Roofing guides

Class 4 Impact-Resistant ShinglesGuide Asphalt vs. Metal vs. TileGuide Wind & Fire RatingsGuide

Sources