Typical rowhome front steps rise only a few feet to the door, so most like-for-like replacements fit. What can change the answer is history, scope and the sidewalk.
When the exemption stops covering you
- Historic designation. The Historical Commission's review list expressly includes "porches, steps, stoops, ramps" and railings (Historical Commission). If your house or district is designated, talk to Commission staff (preservation@phila.gov) before the old steps come out. Our window replacement guide covers the same check.
- A redesign rather than a replacement. L&I says you need a building permit for work that changes the exterior of a structure, enlarges it, or is a major repair beyond regular maintenance (Get a Building Permit). Making the landing bigger, moving the steps, changing the doorway or rebuilding what holds them up is no longer a simple swap.
- Six feet or more of height. A landing serving a raised first floor or a tall stoop may not qualify. Ask L&I how the height is measured for your setup before you rely on the exemption.
The sidewalk is a separate question
Most Philadelphia rowhome steps sit on the public sidewalk, not on your lot. The Streets Department's engineering standards treat steps as an encroachment that the Philadelphia Code (§11-600) allows without its own permit, within the dimensional limits in §11-604(4). When a job does go through permit review, the Streets Right-of-Way Unit checks encroachments such as steps (Philadelphia Streets Engineering Standards). So replacing steps in the same footprint is the low-risk path; pushing them farther toward the curb is the kind of change to ask Streets about first.
During the work, the sidewalk issue is more concrete. L&I's site rules say that if construction work or materials encroach on a public sidewalk or street, the contractor must get a street closure permit and post it. A dumpster that blocks the right-of-way needs one too (L&I construction site requirements).
What to check before you hire anyone
- Look up the property in Atlas, the City's map tool, for permit history, zoning and any open L&I violations (City open data apps). Our permit history guide shows how.
- Confirm whether the house is historically designated.
- Get a written scope that says plainly whether the steps, landing and railings are being replaced in place or changed.
Then ask the contractor: "Which parts of this job fall under the replacement exemption, which need a permit, and who's getting the street closure permit?"
If it does need a permit
You apply through eCLIPSE or at the Permit and License Center in the Municipal Services Building. If Streets review is needed, that application comes first, and you'll enter its Streets Review Job Application Number on the L&I application. After the required inspections pass, L&I issues a Certificate of Approval. Keep it with your house papers instead of treating the final invoice as proof (Get a Building Permit).
For permitted work, L&I normally requires a licensed Philadelphia contractor. On an existing one- or two-family home with no electrical or plumbing permit involved, the work can also be done by an owner who lives there or by a registered Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor who holds a Philadelphia Commercial Activity License.
Don't wait out unsafe steps
Permit or not, the property maintenance code still applies. Philadelphia Code Section PM15-304.10 says every stairway, porch and deck must be kept structurally sound, in good repair, properly anchored and able to carry its loads (L&I code violation guidance). If steps are leaning, pulling away from the house or have a loose railing, keep people off them and don't pry at them to test them. Photograph the damage from solid ground.
Call a masonry or concrete contractor for a same-footprint rebuild. If the steps are shifting, separating from the wall or sitting on a failing base, bring in a structural engineer before choosing a fix. The same six-foot idea shows up in the City's fence permit rules, but each exemption has its own limits.