Roofing in Shohola Township, 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, Shohola Township's Ordinance No. 54 (2004) says the Township "elects to administer and enforce the" Pennsylvania Construction Code Act and leaves the governing body to choose by resolution among options that include "third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Township," and the Township's Building Permit page (read October 12, 2026) posts a "Residential & Commercial Building Permit" application headed "Quality Code Inspection, LLC." and "CONSTRUCTION PERMIT APPLICATION." The Township office is at 159 Twin Lakes Road, Shohola, telephone (570) 559-7394. Ordinance No. 54 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and names no edition, and the Township's Permits page links a guide described as "Wood Deck Construction Guide based on 2015 International Residential Code" without saying which edition the Township enforces; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and this record does not decide which edition the Township applies.

Shohola Township's ordinances and pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Ordinance No. 54 (2004, read October 12, 2026 in full) says "the municipal building code of Shohola Township" is the Uniform Construction Code and adds no permit clause of its own for house repairs. The Township's Zoning Ordinance No. 80 (enacted November 12, 2020) says in Section 702.1 that "No Permit shall be required in cases of normal maintenance activities, minor repairs or alterations which do not structurally change a building or structure," and in Section 503.2, within its rules for non-conforming uses, that "Normal maintenance and repairs such as painting, replacing shingles, and installing siding as well as interior non-structural alterations and renovations, are permitted without a permit." Those are zoning ordinance provisions about the zoning permit, and this record does not decide whether either speaks to a building permit. The Township's pages say nothing on roofing. Its Permit Instructions sheet is headed "PERMITS REQUIRED : 1) SEWAGE, 2) WELL, 3) ZONING, BUILDING," and the construction permit application lists "Roofing" only as a line for contractor information. 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 at (570) 559-7394 before starting. The one-year zoning permit application says "Violations are subject to maximum fine of $500.00 for each day of violation." Read for this answer: Ordinance No. 54, the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance, in full; Zoning Ordinance No. 80, searched for every use of "roof" and read at Sections 503, 624 and 702; the Building Permit, Permit Instructions, Permits and Zoning Permit pages and the Ordinances page; the construction permit application; the Permit Instructions sheet; and the one-year zoning permit application. The Township publishes no separate building permit chapter or building permit fee schedule that this record found.