Roofing in Riverside Township, 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 Township's Uniform Construction Codes chapter, Code Chapter 174 (read in full, Sections 174-1 to 174-7), establishes the Township's enforcing agency and says "Permits shall be required in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.13, except as provided in N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7"; it names no code edition of its own.

No permit is needed to reroof a detached one- or two-family house under the state rule, which the Township's Code Section 174-6 carries over: "Permits shall be required in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.13, except as provided in N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7." A townhouse, other attached dwelling or any other building needs a permit from the Construction and Zoning Office, 237 S. Pavilion Avenue, Riverside, phone 856-461-1460 extension 5, open 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The office page says "Before you begin any construction project, whether big or small, contact the Construction Office at 856-461-1460 extension 5" to learn whether a permit is needed, and adds "that zoning approval may be required even if the work does not require a construction permit." Where a roof permit is required, the Township's fee schedule, Code Section 202-1H (amended in its entirety December 15, 2025 by Ord. No. 2025-16), says "The fee for roofing and siding work completed on structures of Group R-3 or R-5 shall be $95"; other renovation work is priced at "$40 per $1,000 for the first $50,000," and "The minimum permit fee shall be $55 per trade." Inspections are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays and "must be scheduled a minimum of 48 hours in advance," with requests sent to the office by email. The office page posts the permit forms, including the Construction Jacket and the Building Subcode form, as PDF files; it lists no online permit portal. The page warns that "Any and all work done without the proper permits is a violation of the UCC and the Codes of the Township of Riverside, and, as such, may result in the issuance of penalties."