Roofing in Union City, 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 fee schedule the City of Union City Building Department posts, an ordinance amending Chapter 155-12 of the City Code entitled "Uniform Construction Code Fees", sets permit fees only and adds no technical roofing provision.

Under state law a reroof needs a permit on a townhouse or other attached dwelling, on any other building, and wherever the work reaches the roof structure; reroofing a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance with no permit (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c)1.x, "The repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings"). Where a roof permit is required, the application goes to the City of Union City Building Department, whose Permit Request Form lists "Roofing" and "Siding" among the descriptions of work. The fee schedule it posts, an ordinance amending Chapter 155-12 of the City Code ("Uniform Construction Code Fees"), has no roofing line; a reroof is priced under "Renovations, Alterations, Repair and Minor Work": a minimum fee of $100.00 without plans or $110.00 with plans, then, per $1,000 of job cost, $35.00 up to $50,000, $25.00 from $50,001 to $100,000 and $20.00 above $100,000. The posted copy shows the ordinance introduced on March 15, 2016, with its adoption line left blank, so confirm the current fees with the Building Department at 201-348-5710.