Roofing in Mahoning Township (Montour 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, Mahoning Township administers the code through a third-party agency, Building Inspection Underwriters, Inc.: the Township's Zoning & Permits page names "Building Inspection Underwriters. INC (BIU)" as its building plans examiner and building permit officials and has applicants bring building permit applications to the Township zoning office at 849 Bloom Road, Danville, and the Township's fee resolution (Resolution No. 2026-0928) "adopts the fee schedule of their third-party inspection company, Building Inspection Underwriters, Inc. ("BIU")." Section 111-1 of the Township Code (adopted June 21, 2004) says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and Section 111-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code. Chapter 111 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions, and the Township's pages name no code edition.

Mahoning Township says building and renovation permits are required without naming roof work. The Township's Zoning & Permits page says "*Building & Renovation Permits are required in Mahoning & Cooper Townships" and that zoning and building permits are by appointment only; it names no roof work, and no Township page read for this record says whether a reroof is a renovation needing a building permit. Section 250-83 of the Zoning chapter says zoning permits "shall not be required" for "General maintenance and repair to existing buildings or structures, including siding, roofing, painting, the addition of storm windows and similar activities," unless the work is in a floodplain district; that exemption is from the zoning permit and does not say whether a building permit is needed. Chapter 111 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, names no roof work and adds no permit requirement for house repairs or alterations; Section 111-5 keeps building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code in effect, and none was found published. The 2026 UCC fee schedule has no roofing line; it prices residential "Alterations & Repairs" at ".015 of total construction cost." 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." Call the Township zoning office at 570-275-5521 before starting. The fee resolution says "Those in violation of not obtaining a permit before performing the work will be charged and additional 50% in fees or $100.00, whichever is greater." Applications are printed, filled out and brought to the Township zoning office, which is open Monday to Thursday, 7:30am to 2:00pm; the Township adds 20% to the agency's fees for administration. Read for this record: Chapter 111 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, in full; Section 250-83 of the Zoning chapter; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Township's Zoning & Permits page; the 2026 fee resolution with its UCC fee schedule (a scanned document, read from the page images); and the building permit packet for new single-family dwellings.