Roofing in Penn Township (York 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: Section 130-1A of the Township Code says "Penn Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," building permits are applied for at the Township's municipal office, 20 Wayne Avenue, Hanover, on an application its Building Code Official / Zoning Officer signs, and the Township's 2026 fee resolution (Resolution No. 1064) prices them under "Building Permits (3rd Party Inspections Needed)." Section 130-1B says "The Uniform Construction Code (UCC) is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the Township Building Code," and Chapter 130 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 130-5 adopts the International Residential Code among the codes the Uniform Construction Code mandates and says "such codes automatically shall be updated as part of this chapter," naming no edition, while Article II of Chapter 100 adopts the CABO One and Two Family Dwelling Code, 1992 Edition, and the Township's pages name no edition; this record has not read the 1992 CABO code's text and does not decide which code the Township applies to a house.

Penn Township's code and pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Chapter 130 of the Township Code, the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance (Ord. No. 612, June 21, 2004, read October 7, 2026), names no roof work and adds no permit clause of its own for house repairs. Its Section 130-4B says the Penn Township Building Permit Ordinance No. 190-75 "is hereby repealed for all buildings for which permits are issued after the effective date of the chapter," and Section 130-4A says the same of the Building Code Ordinance No. 539-98; both are still printed in the Township Code, as Chapter 105, Building Permits (whose Section 105-3 says "It shall be unlawful for any person to build or alter any building or structure in Penn Township without having obtained a permit therefor as herein provided"), and as Article I of Chapter 100. Article II of Chapter 100 adopts the "CABO One and Two Family Dwelling Code, 1992 Edition" (Ord. No. 457, 1993), which Chapter 130 does not name, and Section 130-4C keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the code"; this record has not read the 1992 CABO code's text and does not decide whether any of these reaches a house reroof. The Township's pages say nothing on roofing. Its building permit application offers permit types for new work, additions, demolition, fences, sheds, electric, plumbing, HVAC and other, and says "No work of any kind, including excavation or demolition, may commence until a permit has first been issued by Penn Township." The 2026 fee resolution, read in full from its scanned pages, has no roofing line and prices building permits at "3rd Party Invoice + 30%" by a "3rd Party Fee Schedule" that the Township has not published. 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 office (717-632-7366) before starting. The 2026 fee resolution adds an Unpermitted Work Penalty Fee of $100.00 "for work conducted without a permit," and Section 130-8 sets a fine "of up to $1,000 plus costs" for each violation of the Township's building code. Inspections need at least 24 hours' notice. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Read for this answer: Chapter 130 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 130-1 to 130-8), Chapter 105, Building Permits, and Chapter 100, Building Construction, in full; Articles I to III of Chapter 166, Floodplain Management, whose permit clause sits in that chapter; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Zoning, Fee Schedule and Applications/Forms pages; the building permit application; the inspection list; and the 2026 fee resolution.