Roofing in Olyphant, 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, Olyphant Borough in Lackawanna County takes building permit applications at its Zoning Office: the Borough's form is the "OLYPHANT BOROUGH ZONING/BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION," on which "Application is hereby made for a permit to erect or alter a structure," and the Borough's Zoning page lists a Code Enforcement Officer at 570-489-7897, in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Borough's pages read for this record do not name who reviews plans or inspects work under the Uniform Construction Code, and the Borough's ordinance adopting that code is not published online. The Borough's pages name no code edition.

Olyphant Borough has published nothing on whether a reroof needs a permit. The Borough's Zoning Ordinance (No. 4A-2019, as amended in 2023 and 2024) defines a building permit as one issued under "any Building Permit Ordinance or Construction Code that may be adopted by the Borough" and says such a permit "shall not be confused with a zoning permit"; it names no roof work as permit work or as exempt. The Borough posts no building code, permit fee schedule or permit guidance, and no Borough page read for this record says whether a reroof needs a permit. 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 Borough's permit application asks for the contractor's "PA HIC #" and an estimated project cost. The Code Enforcement Officer is at 570-489-7897 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9 to 3, and the Borough office is at 570-489-2135. Read for this record: the Borough's Zoning, Contact, Administration and Government pages and its list of site pages; its Zoning/Building Permit Application; and its Zoning Ordinance, searched for "roof," "building permit" and "Uniform Construction Code" and read at its permit definitions.