Roofing in Paterson, New Jersey

Not required

Required

The 2024 International Residential Code, New Jersey edition, adopted by the State, with the Rehabilitation Subcode for work on existing buildings. New Jersey has one construction code, the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), which every municipality enforces; municipalities do not adopt building codes of their own (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 and 52:27D-139). N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(a)1 adopts the International Code Council's "2024 International Residential Code known as the IRC/2024 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode in New Jersey subject to the modifications stated at (c) below," and 3.21(b) applies it to "detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories above grade plane in height." The section was rewritten by R.2026 d.086, "effective August 17, 2026," in the Department of Community Affairs' print of the rules "adopted and published through the New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 16," and the Department's Current Construction Codes page lists the "International Residential Code/2024, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Aug 17, 2026. Other buildings fall under the building subcode, the International Building Code/2024, NJ edition (N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.14). Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode: "Existing structures, when repaired, renovated, altered or reconstructed, shall conform to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:23-6, Rehabilitation Subcode" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)). A six-month grace period follows the adoption. N.J.A.C. 5:23-1.6(a): "For a period of six months following the operative date of a subcode revision, applicants may submit a complete permit application, including all prior approvals, to be reviewed under the code in force immediately preceding the subcode revision." The rule history gives R.2026 d.086 no date other than its effective date, so on that reading the window runs from August 17, 2026 until about February 17, 2027: a complete application filed inside it may be reviewed under either the prior edition or the 2024 edition, at the applicant's choice, and one filed after it closes is reviewed under the 2024 edition. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, City Code Section 183-1 continues the State Uniform Construction Code enforcing agency, "also known as the 'Paterson Construction Code Enforcing Agency,'" and the City's UCC Construction/Buildings page says its inspectors "enforce the UCC (Uniform Construction Code) and are licensed by the State Department of Community Affairs."

Where a reroof needs a permit in Paterson, City Code Section 183-4 requires the applicant to file "a certification from the Tax Collector that all municipal taxes and/or assessments have been paid and are current" before the permit issues, adds "a $20 safe disposal fee for debris" to the permit fee, and requires documentation "verifying that all debris has been disposed of at a licensed facility prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy." The plan review fee is 20% of the original permit fee (Section 183-5D). The City's page directs applicants to the State's standardized construction permit forms and names no online permit portal. The office is at 111 Broadway, phone (973) 321-1549, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.