Roofing in Penn Township (Lancaster 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, Penn Township administers the code from its office at 97 N Penryn Rd, Manheim: Part 1 of Chapter 5 of the Township Code, the Penn Township Construction Code Ordinance, has the Board of Supervisors appoint the building code official and construction code official, and the Township's building permit application says "Penn Township uses third-party building inspectors to provide PA Uniform Construction Code building permit plan reviews and inspections," letting the applicant choose Associated Building Inspections, LLC or Commonwealth Code Inspection Services. Section 5-103 adopts the standards the Department of Labor and Industry has adopted as the Uniform Construction Code "as such regulations and standard codes adopted by such regulations may be amended from time to time," as the Penn Township Construction Code, and Section 5-104 fills in Table R301.2(1), including "Ice shield underlayment required: Yes"; Chapter 5 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 5-103 names "the International Building Code/2006 or such future edition of the International Building Code as may be adopted from time to time," Section 5-104 adopts Chapter 1 of "the International Building Code/2003" and fills in Table R301.2(1) "of the International Residential Code/2003," and the Township's pages name no edition; this record has not read the 2003 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.

No Penn Township text read for this record names a house reroof as permit work or as exempt. Section 5-104 of the Township Code (Ord. 2004-04, as amended by Ord. 2014-01, read October 9, 2026) adopts the State's permit sections, 34 Pa. Code 403.62 among them, says "All construction which the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act or the L&I regulations exempt from compliance with the Uniform Construction Code are exempt from the provisions of this Construction Code," and, under the authority of Act 92 of 2004, adds a Township permit for one kind of house work only: "The conversion of any residential storage basement into residential living space." It names no roof work. The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists that Penn Township filing as one that "Requires a building permit for residential structures that convert an unfinished basement of an existing dwelling into usable residential space," "Enacted 2 / 24 / 14." The Township's Permit Information page (read October 9, 2026) lists work that needs a permit; its residential list includes "roof-mounted solar" and "roof over a deck/patio" and does not name reroofing, its non-residential list includes "re-roof of an existing non-residential structure," and it says "This is not a complete list of all projects that require permits or approvals." The building permit application's Type of Work or Improvement boxes include Alteration and Repair and none for roofing, and the 2026 fee resolution (Resolution 2026-07) has no roofing line. 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 decide whether the Township requires a permit for an ordinary house reroof; the Permit Information page asks readers to contact the Township office with questions, at 717-665-4508. Section 5-104 says "Any person who commences any work on a building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary Construction Code permits shall be subject to an additional fee for expedited processing which shall be equal to the fee which should have been paid at permit application," and applications go to the Township by mail or in person. The office is open Monday to Thursday, 7am to 5:30pm. Read for this answer: Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement (Part 1, Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-101 to 5-104, and Part 2), in full; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Permit Information and Permit Applications & Forms pages; the building and zoning permit applications; and Resolution 2026-07 with its attached inspection agency fee schedules.