If your house is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, either on its own or as part of one of the City's historic districts, you need the Philadelphia Historical Commission's approval before changing the outside of the building: windows, doors, roofing, masonry, porches, railings, fences, a rooftop deck or an addition. The approval rides on a building permit, and it's free. Ordinary maintenance, like scraping and repainting wood trim, cleaning gutters or replacing broken clear glass, doesn't need review, and neither do interior changes unless the interior itself is designated. Most applications are approved by the Commission's staff without a public hearing.
This is general information based on the City's published rules as of October 2026, not legal advice. The Commission's staff answers questions about specific houses, and talking to them early is the single most useful step. Suburban rules are at the end.
Step one: find out whether your house is historic
Many people assume a house is historic because the block is old or because there's a plaque nearby. What counts is the City's register. The Historical Commission's page on how to find a historic property or district lays out the check:
- Look up the house's official address on property.phila.gov. The register uses the Office of Property Assessment address, which can differ from your mailing address.
- Search the register itself or the City's map of listed places, both linked from that page.
- If you're not sure, or the house may have been added recently, email the staff at preservation@phila.gov. The register is updated regularly.
The City currently lists 45 historic districts on its historic districts page. They include large residential areas such as Society Hill, Old City, Rittenhouse-Fitler, Spring Garden, Washington Square West, Powelton Village, Overbrook Farms, Girard Estate, Parkside, Diamond Street and Germantown Urban Village, as well as single blocks and small groups of rowhouses. A house can also be individually designated outside any district.
The National Register is a different list
The National Register of Historic Places is run by the National Park Service, and a property can be on both lists. The Park Service's National Register FAQ says federal listing places no restrictions on what a private owner does with the property unless the project involves federal funding, licensing or permits. So a National Register listing alone doesn't put your renovation through City review. The Philadelphia Register does.
What work needs Historical Commission review
The City's page on getting approval for work to a historic property lists what the Commission reviews. For a typical rowhome or twin, the items that come up most are:
- windows, doors, dormers, shutters and garage doors;
- roofing and flashing;
- facades, trim and cornices;
- masonry cleaning, repair or removal, which includes repointing;
- painting or coating any surface other than wood and metal trim, so painting brick or stone, or coating stucco;
- porches, steps, decks, balconies and patios;
- railings, grilles and exterior light fixtures;
- fences, walls, gates, sidewalks and driveways;
- mechanical equipment and its vents, pipes and wiring, such as an air-conditioning condenser or a new flue (a seasonal window air conditioner that doesn't alter the window is excluded);
- additions, new construction and demolition.
This catches people off guard because some of this work normally needs no City permit at all. L&I's building permit page lets owners of one- and two-family homes replace doors and windows and do regular maintenance without a building permit, but only if the property isn't on the historic register. On a designated house, the Commission's rules and regulations treat reroofing, cleaning and pointing masonry, and replacing doors and windows as alterations that need a permit, and the permit goes to the Commission for review.
What doesn't need review
According to the same City page, you can go ahead without review on:
- standard maintenance, such as scraping and painting wood trim, cleaning gutters, and replacing clear glass;
- gardening, landscaping, tree trimming and temporary holiday decorations, as long as no historic features are altered or removed;
- interior alterations, unless the interior is on the register.
The rules frame "ordinary maintenance" narrowly: work that doesn't need a permit by law and that fixes deterioration or damage, restoring the building to the condition it was in before. Repainting your cornice the color it was is maintenance. Swapping wood windows for vinyl ones is not.
Interior work that needs a permit, such as a bathroom or kitchen remodel, still passes the Commission's desk because the permit is for a designated building. Under the rules, staff approves interior applications without referral as long as the work doesn't change the exterior or compromise the structure, and the target for that is five working days.
What you don't have to do
The Commission's information for property owners is worth reading if you're buying in a historic district, because it clears up a few common fears:
- You don't have to undo changes made before the house was designated. Existing replacement windows can stay; review applies only when you replace them.
- The Commission can't make you do work on the house except in cases of extreme neglect.
- Designation isn't a factor in property assessments and won't raise your taxes.
- The Commission doesn't regulate how a building is used; that's zoning.
What you do have to do is get approval before exterior work, follow any conditions attached to an approval, and keep the house in good repair. The City can order repairs when a designated building is deteriorating to the point of "demolition by neglect." If work is done without a permit, or not as approved, the rules direct the staff to ask L&I to issue a violation and a stop-work order.
How the review works
You don't apply to the Commission separately. The review is part of the building permit application, filed through the City's eCLIPSE system or reviewed in person by appointment. The City's approval page describes these steps:
- Staff review. Staff checks the application and approves it or refers it on. The City says staff approves more than 90% of building permit applications this way. The rules let staff approve, among other things, replacing deteriorated windows, doors, cornices and similar features with replacements that replicate the historic ones; reroofing with materials that closely match the historic roofing; changes to rear and side walls that face an alley or have little or no visibility from the street; removing features that aren't original or significant; minor features like light fixtures, railings, fences and mechanical equipment that fit the building; and maintenance such as pointing, masonry cleaning and paint removal. Staff can't deny an application, only approve it or pass it on.
- Architectural Committee. Anything staff doesn't approve goes to this advisory committee at a public meeting. You'll need a cover letter, labeled photos, any historic documentation and drawings of existing and proposed conditions, and the rules say a complete application is due at least nine working days before the meeting.
- Historical Commission. The Commission makes the decision at its own public meeting: approve, approve with conditions or deny. Under the ordinance it has 60 days from receiving the application to decide whether it objects, and it can defer for up to six months. Attending both meetings is encouraged.
There's no charge for the review. Because changes to walls that face a service alley or can't really be seen from the street are within what staff can approve, work on the back of a rowhome often has an easier path than work on the front.
Practical checklist before you plan work
- Confirm the address on the Philadelphia Register, not just that the neighborhood "feels" historic.
- Photograph the front, rear and the specific features you want to change, and note anything already non-original.
- Write the scope in plain terms: which windows, which wall, what material now and what material proposed.
- Email or call the Commission's staff early, at preservation@phila.gov or (215) 686-7660, and ask whether the work needs review and whether staff could approve it. The rules encourage this "in concept" conversation before you apply.
- If your house is in one of the six districts that have one, read the owner manual on the City's historic district manuals page (Diamond Street, Girard Estate, Old City, Rittenhouse-Fitler, Society Hill, Spring Garden).
- Plan materials that match, such as wood windows with the same divided-light pattern or a roofing material that matches the original, and ask contractors to price that version.
- Leave time in the schedule if the work may go to a public meeting, and don't order custom windows or doors before approval.
- Get in writing who files the permit and who handles the Historical Commission review.
- In a pre-1978 house, ask how the crew will handle lead paint; see our guide to lead paint and repainting an older home.
Tax credits: what applies to homeowners
The federal 20% historic rehabilitation tax credit is often mentioned in historic neighborhoods, but it isn't for your own home. The Park Service's page on the incentives says the building must be depreciable, used for a business or other income-producing purpose, and that owner-occupied residential properties don't qualify. A rental property can be a different story; that's a question for a tax advisor.
Bucks and Montgomery counties
Outside Philadelphia, local historic districts are created by individual boroughs, townships and cities under Pennsylvania's Historic District Act of 1961. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's planning ordinances page explains that these municipalities can require a Certificate of Appropriateness before you alter or demolish a historic building, with a Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) reviewing the applications. Some municipalities also protect historic buildings through zoning. Rules, meeting dates and deadlines vary by town, so ask your borough or township office whether your address is in a local district before you plan exterior work.
When to call a pro
Bring in a contractor who has worked on historic houses for replacement windows or doors on the front, reroofing, repointing or other masonry work, cornice repair, a rooftop deck, or anything that will need drawings. A good one can tell you which parts staff is likely to approve, what photos and drawings the application needs, and how to match original details. Bring in an architect if the job is an addition or is likely to go to the Architectural Committee.
On HomeKept you can describe the project once, with photos of the front and back and a note that the house is on the historic register, and compare up to three estimates from local renovation pros in Philadelphia. It's free for homeowners. Before hiring, use our guide on how to check a contractor in Philadelphia, and ask each pro how they'd handle the Historical Commission review.
HomeKept is a brand of FalconAI LLC, 331 E Street Rd, Feasterville-Trevose, PA 19053.
HomeKept needs JavaScript. Please enable it and reload the page. ·
HomeKept necesita JavaScript. Actívalo y vuelve a cargar la página. ·
Для работы HomeKept нужен JavaScript. Включите его и обновите страницу.