Borough of Edgewood, PA: building permits, zoning and septic rules

At a glance

Building permits

Required before UCC-covered residential construction; start with the borough Building Code Official.¹²

Zoning

Borough zoning ordinance applies; ask the Zoning Officer about the parcel and proposed use.³⁵

Septic permits

Allegheny County Health Department approval required before on-lot disposal construction.⁶

Plumbing

County Health Department plan approval and plumbing permit precede work.⁷

Owner-builder

Pennsylvania generally has no statewide contractor license; municipal requirements may still apply.⁸

Occupancy

A UCC-covered residential building needs a certificate of occupancy before use.⁹

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 15, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in the Borough of Edgewood, PA?

Edgewood has adopted a Uniform Construction Code chapter, and Pennsylvania requires a building permit before covered residential construction begins.¹⁰¹ The borough’s Building Code Official oversees new construction, remodeling and issuance of building permits.²

Pennsylvania exempts listed limited work and ordinary repairs from UCC building permits, but those exemptions apply only when the work does not violate another law or ordinance.¹ Ask the Building Code Official to classify your project before starting, especially where a repair changes structural elements or a building’s occupancy.²¹

Who handles building permits and zoning in the Borough of Edgewood?

Start with Edgewood’s borough office for the Building Code Official, who administers and enforces the Pennsylvania UCC locally.² Edgewood’s zoning page separately directs zoning applications to the borough Zoning Officer and provides forms that can be completed online, printed and mailed.⁵

Keep the applications distinct: use the borough building contact for construction-code questions and the Zoning Officer for the proposed use and parcel layout.²⁵ County plumbing projects require Health Department plan approval and a plumbing permit before plumbing work begins, followed by inspections and a final inspection.⁷

Does the Borough of Edgewood have zoning for RVs and tiny homes?

The Borough of Edgewood has a zoning ordinance and a separate subdivision and land-development chapter.³¹¹ We could not confirm Edgewood’s rules for living in an RV, occupying a tiny home, adding an accessory dwelling, minimum dwelling size, lot size or setbacks; ask the borough Zoning Officer to evaluate the specific parcel and proposed use.⁵

Before buying for an unusual housing plan, request the parcel’s zoning district, the permitted dwelling category and the applicable dimensional standards from the Zoning Officer.⁵ A UCC-covered residential building also needs a certificate of occupancy before use, so include that requirement in a tiny-home proposal that falls within the UCC.⁹

How do septic and plumbing permits work inside the Borough of Edgewood?

Allegheny County Health Department Sewage Enforcement Officers handle on-lot sewage permitting, including systems proposed inside Edgewood.⁴ Where on-lot disposal is proposed, a Health Department permit is necessary before construction.⁶ Ask that office whether an on-lot proposal is feasible for the address; we could not confirm Edgewood’s public-sewer connection requirements.⁴

County plumbing approval is a separate part of the project: plumbing plans must be approved and a plumbing permit obtained before work begins, and a final inspection is required.⁷ The county Plumbing Program permits and inspects new or modified residential and commercial plumbing installations.¹²

Building a home in the Borough of Edgewood: what comes first?

1. Ask Edgewood’s Zoning Officer to review the proposed use and parcel layout, including any unanswered RV, tiny-home or dimensional questions.⁵
2. Take the construction proposal to the borough Building Code Official and obtain the required building permit before UCC-covered work starts.²¹
3. Arrange Health Department plumbing plan approval and a plumbing permit; if proposing on-lot sewage disposal, obtain the county sewage permit before construction.⁷⁶
4. Keep permitted residential construction accessible and notify the code official when ready for inspections.¹³
5. Obtain the required residential certificate of occupancy before using a UCC-covered home.⁹

For a property search outside Edgewood, consult the Allegheny County guide and identify the applicable municipality, since zoning requirements are municipal.¹⁴

Watch-outs

• We could not confirm Edgewood’s RV occupancy, tiny-home, setback or minimum-lot rules; get a parcel-specific answer from the borough Zoning Officer before buying for those uses.⁵
• Pennsylvania’s lack of a general statewide contractor license does not waive UCC building permits, and municipalities may impose contractor requirements.⁸¹

Sources

1. Part XIV, Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 Administration (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
2. Edgewood Borough Building Code Official (edgewood.pgh.pa.us)
3. Borough of Edgewood, PA Code of Ordinances (eCode360) table of contents (Borough of Edgewood), quoted and re-checked
4. Water Pollution Control, quoted and re-checked
5. Edgewood Borough Zoning Officer (edgewood.pgh.pa.us)
6. Water Pollution Control, quoted and re-checked
7. Project Plans and Permitting, quoted and re-checked
8. Contractor Licensing (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Part XIV, Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 Administration (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
10. Borough of Edgewood, PA Code of Ordinances (eCode360) table of contents (Borough of Edgewood), quoted and re-checked
11. Borough of Edgewood, PA Code of Ordinances (eCode360) table of contents (Borough of Edgewood), quoted and re-checked
12. Allegheny County Health Department, Plumbing Program (alleghenycounty.us)
13. Part XIV, Uniform Construction Code, Chapter 403 Administration (Pennsylvania statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Land Use Planning, quoted and re-checked

Written October 15, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.