Roofing in Swatara Township (Lebanon County), 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, Swatara Township, Lebanon County, takes permit applications at its Township office, 68 Supervisors Drive, Jonestown, and through an online permit portal linked from its website. Section 5-105 of the Township Code (Ord. 2004-62, June 3, 2004) delegates UCC administration "to the County of Lebanon by virtue of a separate contract authorizing the Building Code Official of the Lebanon County Planning Department," but the UCC Building Permit Application the Township now posts is a Light-Heigel & Associates, Inc. form for Swatara Township, Lebanon County, that names the firm's office at 430 East Main Street, Palmyra, (717) 838-1351, and asks for the "Total Permit Fee enclosed (made payable to Light-Heigel & Associates, Inc.)" Section 5-103 of the Township Code adopts by reference "the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, as contained in the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, 35 P.S. § 7210.101 et seq., and its regulations in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, and amendments thereto," and Section 5-104 applies the code to existing or proposed structures "unless exempted by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC)." Separately, Section 4-101 (Ord. 6, April 23, 1973) says "It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, business or corporation to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, alteration or relocation of any building or structure unless an approved building permit has been obtained from the Township Building Permit Officer"; it names neither repairs nor roof work. Chapter 5 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions, and neither Chapter 5 nor the Township's permit forms name a code edition.

No Swatara Township text read for this record names roof covering work as permit work or as exempt. Section 5-103 of the Township Code adopts by reference "the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, as contained in the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, 35 P.S. § 7210.101 et seq., and its regulations in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, and amendments thereto," and Section 5-104 applies the code to existing or proposed structures "unless exempted by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC)." Separately, Section 4-101 (Ord. 6, April 23, 1973) says "It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, business or corporation to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, alteration or relocation of any building or structure unless an approved building permit has been obtained from the Township Building Permit Officer"; it names neither repairs nor roof work. The Township's posted residential UCC fee sheet prices additions, decks and porches, pools, solar installations and demolition and has no reroofing or roof replacement line, and neither it, the UCC Building Permit Application, the porch and deck application, the zoning permit application nor the Township's web pages names reroofing or roof replacement as permit work or as exempt. 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." Read for this record: Part 1 of Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Uniform Construction Code, in full; Part 1 of Chapter 4, Building Permits, in full; the Code's fee schedule chapter, whose attachment says the schedule was removed from the Code and is on file with the county planning office; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; and the Township's home, iWorQ permitting and township information pages, its residential UCC and zoning fee sheets, and its UCC building permit, porch and deck and zoning permit applications. Section 5-105 sets a penalty of "not less than $400 and not more than $1,000 for each violation, plus all costs of prosecution" for work done in violation of the code. The Township office is at 68 Supervisors Drive, Jonestown, 717-865-4803, open Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm.