Roofing in Stewartstown, 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, Stewartstown Borough runs permits from its office at 6 North Main Street: its Codes Enforcement & Zoning page says "Our Codes Enforcement and Zoning Officer is an employee of New Freedom Borough, but shares his Tuesday and Thursday mornings with Stewartstown Borough" and "For building and zoning permits, inspections, and/or questions about these issues, call our office first." The Borough's Uniform Construction Code Ordinance (No. 2004-004, read October 12, 2026, from the scanned copy it posts) says in Section 1 "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and in Section 2 that the Uniform Construction Code "is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference." The Borough's Application for Residential Building Permit is headed "Uniform Construction Code (UCC) / 2018 International Series"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2018 edition's text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

The Borough's code and pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. That ordinance names no roof work and adds no permit clause of its own for house repairs; its Section 5 keeps building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 only "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code." The Borough's posted ordinance list names no building permit ordinance other than that one, and its Zoning Ordinance, searched for roof work, has no permit provision naming it. The Borough's Application for Residential Building Permit lists "Alteration or Improvement" and "Repair" among its types of work, names no roof work, and is headed "Uniform Construction Code (UCC) / 2018 International Series." The Borough's 2021 fee resolution lists no building permit or roofing fee, and the Borough's pages say nothing else on roofing. 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." Ask the Borough office (717-993-2963) before starting. Read for this answer: the Borough's Codes Enforcement & Zoning and Ordinances pages; its Uniform Construction Code Ordinance in full; its Zoning Ordinance, searched for roof work; its residential, commercial and zoning permit applications; and its 2021 fee resolution.