Roofing in Richmond, Kentucky

THE 2015 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE, AS AMENDED BY THE 2018 KENTUCKY RESIDENTIAL CODE, THIRD EDITION (AUGUST 2024), MANDATORY STATEWIDE -- NOT A LOCAL RICHMOND ADOPTION. 815 KAR 7:125, Section 2(1): "the 2015 International Residential Code for One (1) and Two (2) Family Dwellings (IRC) shall be the mandatory state residential building code for all single-family dwellings, two (2) family dwellings, and townhouses constructed in Kentucky, except that the Kentucky amendments in the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code shall supersede any conflicting provision in the 2015 IRC." The code's own Intent section, R101.3, closes the door on any local variation: "Local governments shall not adopt or enforce any other building code for detached single family dwellings, two-family dwellings and townhouses." Richmond's own Building Inspection Department confirms it enforces this state code rather than a City-written one: "The enforcement powers of the Building Inspection Department are established by the Kentucky Building Code, through a contractual agreement with the State Department of Housing, Building and Construction and the City of Richmond Code of Ordinances." (The Department's own download page mislabels this document "2018 Kentucky Residential Code, 3rd Edition"; the base edition it amends is the 2015 IRC, per 815 KAR 7:125 Section 2(1) itself.) One statewide carve-out applies to a farm dwelling located outside a municipality's boundary and meeting KRS 198B.010(4)'s other conditions, which this code does not reach at all.

Richmond's Building Inspection Department, in its own words: "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure ... shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and "Any work being completed by anyone other than the homeowner will require a City of Richmond business license." Applications are filed online through the Accela Citizen Access portal or by paper application submitted to the Department. The Department's own jurisdictional note is unusually explicit for a two-city, one-county area: "This department does not review plans or perform inspections outside of the City of Richmond limits in Madison County or the City of Berea. If you are unsure of which jurisdiction you are in, please contact us." Whether an ordinary residential reroof specifically requires its own building permit was not established by this record from a source it could open -- see roofing_permit_required (omitted) and repair_permit_threshold.