Roofing in Milton, 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, Milton Borough administers the code itself: Section 113-1 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 1145, June 9, 2004) says "The Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough publishes its own "Uniform Construction Code (UCC) Application for Building Permit" for the Borough of Milton, taken at the Borough office, 2 Filbert Street, Milton. Section 113-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" by reference as the municipal building code, and Chapter 113 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Chapter 113 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and names no edition, while Section 103-9 of the Borough Code adopts the 1996 BOCA National Building Code, and the Borough's pages name no edition; this record has not read the 1996 BOCA code's text and does not decide which code the Borough applies to a house.

Milton Borough's code and pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a building permit. Section 113-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401 to 405, "as amended from time to time," by reference as the municipal building code, and Chapter 113 adds no permit clause of its own and names no roof work. Section 113-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code," and the Borough Code still carries one: Section 103-9 (last amended August 26, 1998, by Ord. No. 1099) adopts "the 1996 BOCA National Building Code" as the Building Code of the Borough of Milton, and Section 103-10 (amended as late as 2009) sets that code's building permit fees by the value of the work, with "Permit fees will be doubled for work started prior to application for permits." Neither section names roof work, and this record has not read the 1996 BOCA code's text and does not decide whether it reaches a house reroof. The Borough's pages say nothing on whether a reroof needs a building permit. Its UCC building permit application lists "Roofing-one inspection" and "Roofing-mulitiple inspections" among the types of review an applicant may check, and its Property Owners Helpful Information sheet says "Building and Zoning Permits are required by the PA Uniform Constructed Code (as currently adopted by PA & the Borough of Milton)." The Borough's Zoning Ordinance, Section 1202, says "Zoning Permits shall not be required for the following activities unless they are proposed within a floodplain district," including "general exterior maintenance and repair to existing buildings or structures; including roofing, painting, the addition or replacement of storm windows, and similar activities"; that line speaks to the zoning permit only, and Section 1201 says "Nothing in this Ordinance shall exempt the applicant from obtaining any Permits which may be required by other regulations or codes in effect in Milton Borough." 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 Borough requires a building permit for a house reroof; ask the Borough office (570-742-8759) before starting. Work in a floodplain district needs a zoning permit: the Helpful Information sheet says that within the floodplain "Building and Zoning Permits are required for any man made development (building, remodeling, alterations, repairs, etc.)" The Borough office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Read for this answer: Chapter 113 of the Borough Code, Construction Code, Uniform (Sections 113-1 to 113-7), Chapter 103, Building Construction (Articles I and III), and Chapter 125, Fees, in full; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Borough's Permits & Applications and Code & Zoning Enforcement pages; the UCC building permit application; the Property Owners Helpful Information sheet; and Article 12 of the Zoning Ordinance. The Borough has published no fee schedule for UCC permits beyond Section 103-10.