Roofing in North Strabane Township, 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, North Strabane Township administers the code itself: Section 5-201 of the Township Code says the Township "has elected to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 5-102 creates a Department of Code Enforcement under a Code Enforcement Officer appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and the Township's Permit Applications page says "The Department of Community Development is now taking permits for building, zoning, and planning through our new online portal." The Township building is at 1957 Route 519, Canonsburg. Section 5-201 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code, and Chapter 5 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions; Part 3 adopts the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code. Neither the code nor the Township's pages name a residential code edition.

North Strabane Township has published nothing on whether a house reroof needs a building permit, and its code names no roof work either way. Chapter 5 of the Township Code names no roof work as permit work or as exempt. Part 2 (Ordinance No. 369 of 2016) adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference, and its Section 5-204 keeps in force three pre-1999 provisions (multi-family sprinklers, a 500-square-foot threshold for the code's exclusion of utility and miscellaneous structures, and smoke alarms on each story), none about roofs. Part 1 (Ordinance No. 208 of 1995) lists among the Code Enforcement Officer's duties "the receipt of application and issuance of permits for the construction, erection, addition to, alteration, repair, removal, demolition" of buildings, but its own permit sections were repealed in 2016 by Ordinance No. 369, and Section 5-108 counts roofing only in the value on which a permit fee is computed. The Township's 2026 Permit and Fee Schedule (Resolution 2025-24, revised May 26, 2026) prices residential building permits at "COST X 0.65% (Min. $150)" and has no roofing line, and the Permit Applications page says nothing on roofing. 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 at 724-745-8880 before starting. Section 5-108 says work begun without a required permit pays double the permit fee, and Section 5-117 sets a fine of "not more than $1,000 plus costs" for violations. The office is open 8 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. Read for this answer: Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement (Parts 1 to 3), in full, which holds the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance and its amendments; Chapter 4, Buildings; Chapter 8, Flood Plains, in full, whose Section 8-302 requires a floodplain permit for construction or development anywhere in the Township; Chapter 21, Streets and Sidewalks, whose Section 21-301 requires a covering over the sidewalk when anyone will "roof, unroof or remove any building" fronting a street; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Township's Permit Applications page; and the 2026 Permit and Fee Schedule. The online portal's permit types sit behind a sign-in and were not read.