Roofing in West York, 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, The Borough of West York takes building permit applications on its own online Application for Building Permit / Use Certificate, and its 2026 fee schedule lists "UCC Building Permits" as "( Commonwealth Code Inc. and Borough Fee ) See Commonwealth for UCC Fee," with a Borough administrative fee on top; Section 220-1 of the Borough Code says "West York Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the code," and Section 220-3 allows "retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Borough." Section 220-2 incorporates the Uniform Construction Code by reference "as the municipal building code of West York Borough," and Chapter 220 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Borough's building permit application says "Applicable Codes: 2009 IBC/IRC," while Section 220-5 says the codes adopted by the Uniform Construction Code "automatically shall be updated as part of this article"; this record has not read the 2009 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

No Borough of West York text read names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. The Borough's Common Forms / Applications page links the building permit application, the zoning application and the fee schedule; none of them, nor the Borough's other pages, says whether a reroof needs a permit. The zoning permit application says "No construction may begin until the appropriate permits are acquired." Article I of Chapter 220 of the Borough Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Ord. No. 472, adopted June 21, 2004), adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and adds no permit clause and no roof words of its own; Section 220-5 repeals the Borough's earlier building code and building permit ordinances and keeps in force other building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the code." Section 470-92 of the zoning chapter requires a zoning permit "prior to the issuance of a building permit for the construction, erection or alteration of a structure" and names no roof work. The Borough's 2026 fee schedule has no roofing line, and it sends applicants to Commonwealth for the UCC fee. 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 Borough's only general building permit clause is the state code's own, adopted by reference, and neither the Borough nor its agency has published a statement on reroofs, this record does not decide whether the Borough requires a permit for an ordinary reroof. Section 220-7 says a violation of the article or the code is "a summary criminal offense" with "a fine of up to $1,000 plus costs." The Borough Municipal Building is at 1381 W. Poplar Street, York, PA 17404, phone 717-846-8889. Read for this answer: Chapter 220 of the Borough Code (Construction Codes, Uniform, Sections 220-1 to 220-8) in full, the Borough's only construction code chapter; Chapter 212 (Certificates of Occupancy) and Article XII of the zoning chapter (Enforcement and Administration) in full; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Borough's Common Forms / Applications page; its building permit application, zoning permit application and 2026 fee schedule.