Roofing in South Fayette 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, South Fayette Township administers the code itself: the editor's note to Article VII of Chapter 125 of the Township Code records that by Ordinance No. 5-2004 "the Township elected to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Building & Code department "issues permits for residential and commercial buildings." The department is at 100 Township Drive, South Fayette. The Township Code publishes Ordinance No. 5-2004 only as an editor's note, and its text was not read. Article I of Chapter 125 (Ordinance No. 5-2002) adopts the International Building Code and Article II (Ordinance No. 6-2002) the International Residential Code, 2000 Edition; Article II's only amendment, Section R703.12, requires exterior walls of new residential structures to be finished to grade, and neither article changes the code's roofing provisions. Article II of Chapter 125 names the 2000 International Residential Code, and the department's pages name no edition (they say only that "The Uniform Construction Code (UCC) is applied throughout Pennsylvania, including South Fayette Township"); this record has not read the 2000 edition's text.

South Fayette Township has published nothing that names roof work as permit work or as exempt. The Township Code publishes Ordinance No. 5-2004, its Uniform Construction Code ordinance, only as that editor's note, which says "A full copy of Ord. No. 5-2004 is on file in the Township offices"; its text was not read. Chapter 125 still carries Article II, adopted in 2002 by Ordinance No. 6-2002, which adopts the "International Residential Code, 2000 Edition" "for regulating the design, construction, quality of materials, erection, installation, alteration, repair, location, relocation, replacement, addition to, use or maintenance of one- and two-family dwellings," "providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor"; that edition's permit sections were not read, and the Code does not say how Article II stands beside the 2004 ordinance. No Township text read, and none of the department's pages, its Building Permit Application or the Township's 2025 fee resolution (Resolution No. 01 of 2025), names roofing or reroofing as permit work or as exempt; the fee resolution's residential building categories are new one- and two-family dwellings and "RESIDENTIAL, ADDITIONS, REMODELING AND ACCESSORY BUILDINGS," each priced at a flat rate plus a rate per square foot of floor space. The department's page says: "Any time you plan to build something in South Fayette, please check with the township first to see if you need a permit." The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists one South Fayette Township filing, which "Requires exterior wall surfaces of all new residential structures and all new non-residential structures to be finished to grade with brick, stone or other material approved by the building inspector," enacted July 16, 2007; it does not concern roofs. 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." Because the Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance is not published and was not read, and no Township text or statement names roof work, this record does not state whether the Township requires a permit for an ordinary reroof. Ask the Building & Code department at 412-221-8700 before work starts. Work that does need a permit is applied for on the Township's Building Permit Application, submitted to the Building Department with a check for the fee; "Applications will not be reviewed until payment is made in full." The 2025 fee resolution says "Building permit fees shall be doubled for work started without the issuance of a building permit." The Building Code Official gives each applicant a list of required inspections. The Township's office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Read for this answer: Chapter 125 of the Township Code (Building Construction), Articles I, II and VII, Chapter 177 (Occupancy Permits) and Chapter 195 (Property Maintenance); a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which finds roof text only in zoning, sewer, subdivision, nuisance and property maintenance provisions and none on permits; the Building & Code and Permits & Codes pages; the Building Permit Application; and the 2025 fee resolution.