Roofing in Raritan, 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, the Construction / Planning & Zoning page says the department "is responsible to administer and enforce the regulations and requirements of the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code"; it and the Borough's Uniform Construction Codes chapter, Code Chapter 123, name no code edition of their own.

No permit is needed to reroof a detached one- or two-family house under the state rule. A townhouse, other attached dwelling or any other building needs a permit from the Borough of Raritan Building Department, listed on the Borough website as Construction / Planning & Zoning, phone 908-231-1300 extension 125. The department page gives no street address of its own; the Borough website gives its address as 9 West Somerset Street, with hours Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:15 PM. Where a roof permit is required, the Borough's fee section, Code Section 123-2 (last amended March 3, 2025 by Ord. No. 2025-04), has no line of its own for roofing. It says "The fee for alterations to existing structures shall be $28 per $1,000 of estimated cost. The minimum fee for alterations shall be $100." The department page posts no online permit portal. The Borough also posts a Dumpster Permit Application under Ordinance 82-46.1, which requires a certificate of insurance: "If the homeowner is the applicant: $500,000 coverage is required," and "If the dumpster provider is the applicant: $1,000,000 coverage is required."