Building & Demolition Permits

A building permit must be obtained prior to starting construction on any building over ten square meters (108 square feet) in area and that does not contain plumbing.

Also,

A building permit must be obtained prior to starting construction on any building that contains plumbing regardless of the buildings size.

A building referenced above means any structure that consists of a wall, a roof, and/or a floor.

Construction includes erecting a building, installing a building, extension (addition) of a building, altering the materials used in the construction of a building or repairing a building.

A building permit is required for construction whether the work is on the interior or the exterior of the building or dwelling. There is no exemption for a building permit when performing construction solely within or inside a dwelling.

Additionally, the Building Code Act and Ontario Building Code also list specific types of structures and components that are also considered a building and thereby require a building permit to be obtained prior to construction.

A list of projects, indicating whether a building permit is required, is available here.

A demolition permit must be obtained prior to starting demolition on any building that contains plumbing regardless of the buildings size.

A building referenced above means any structure that consists of a wall, a roof, and/or a floor.

Demolition consists of removing a building or any material part of a building.

A demolition permit is required whether the work is on the interior or the exterior of the building.

Examples of projects that require a demolition permit

• • Demolishing any building, other than a farm building, greater than 10m² (108 ft²) in size
  • Demolishing interior or exterior walls, floors, roof, or ceiling whether loadbearing or non-loadbearing

Note: Buildings used for the sole purpose of farming do not require a demolition permit to demolish. This exemption does not apply to dwelling units on a farm or any buildings located on a farm that are not solely used as a farm building.

Please contact the Building Services Department for your specific situation.

The following types of projects are exempt from requiring a design professional to complete the drawings:

• • A house or an ancillary building that serves the house and that are designed by the owner
  • An ancillary building that serves a house and is not more than 55 square meters in area
  • A farm building that is less than 600 square meters in area, 2 storeys or less in height, and is of low human
  • A sewage system designed and to be constructed by the owner
  • Unenclosed tents or groups of unenclosed tents that do not exceed 225 square meters in area and do not contain bleachers
  • Construction of site services including surface drainage and plumbing located underground, either outside a building or under a building
  • Construction of appliances, equipment and similar incidental components of a building

All drawings prepared by a holder of a licence under the Architects Act or the Professional Engineers Act of Ontario must be signed, sealed, and dated by the licensed person.

Drawings that are prepared by a qualified designer must include:

• • The qualified designer’s name
  • The qualified designer’s registration number
  • The qualification identification number of the qualified designer (Building Code Identification Number: BCIN)
  • The qualified designer's signature
  • The stamp or statement that the qualified designer has reviewed and taken responsibility for the design activities

New Year’s Day
Family Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
Civic Holiday
Labour Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve from 12:00pm
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
December 27^th
December 28^th
December 29^th
December 30^th
New Years Eve

Assembly occupancy means the occupancy or the use of a building or part thereof by a gathering of persons for civic, political, travel, religious, social, educational, recreational or like purposes, or for the consumption of food or drink. 

Business and personal services occupancy means the occupancy or use of a building or part thereof for the transaction of business or the provision of professional or personal services.

Care occupancy means an occupancy, other than a retirement home, in which special care is provided by a facility, directly through its staff or indirectly through another provider, to residents of the facility

1. who require special care because of cognitive or physical limitations, and
2. who, as a result of those limitations, would be incapable of evacuating the occupancy, if necessary, without the assistance of another person.

Care and treatment occupancy means and occupancy used for care (as described above) and the provision of medical or other health-related intervention to persons, where the administration or lack of administration of these interventions may render them incapable of evacuating to a safe location without the assistance of another person.

Demountable stage means a structure that

• consists of one or more platforms together with any wall, roof or other structures attached to or located on any of the platforms,
• is intended to be used for public or private performances or events, other than performances or events associated with movie or television productions,
• is intended to be erected, assembled or installed for a limited specified time,
• is capable of being dismantled at its location and moved to be reconstituted elsewhere or is erected for one-time use,
• is not located inside a fully enclosed building ,
• is primarily for use by performers and workers, and
• may or may not be mounted on wheels.

Demountable support structure means any structure that

• is capable of supporting banners, stage sets, props, sound equipment, lighting equipment or other equipment,
• is intended to be used for public or private performances or events, other than performances or events associated with movie or television productions,
• is intended to be erected, assembled or installed for a limited specified time,
• is capable of being dismantled at its location and moved to be reconstituted elsewhere or is erected for one-time use,
• is not attached to or located on a demountable stage ,
• is not located inside a fully enclosed building ,
• is primarily for use by performers and workers, and
• may or may not be mounted on wheels.

Detention occupancy means the occupancy by persons who are restrained from or are incapable of evacuating to a safe location without the assistance of another person because of security measures not under their control.

High-hazard industrial occupancy means an industrial occupancy containing sufficient quantities of highly combustible and flammable or explosive materials which, because of their inherent characteristics, constitute a special fire hazard.

Low-hazard industrial occupancy means an industrial occupancy in which the combustible content is not more than 50 kg/m² or 1 200 MJ/m² of floor area.

Medium-hazard industrial occupancy means an industrial occupancy in which the combustible content is more than 50 kg/m² or 1 200 MJ/m² of floor area and not classified as a high-hazard industrial occupancy.

Mercantile occupancy means the occupancy or use of a building or part thereof for the displaying or selling of retail goods, wares or merchandise.

• Login to the Citywide Portal and select go to project under the project requiring and inspection.
• Select the application by clicking on the address. A page will pop up with the details of your project location.
• At the bottom of the page there will be a heading work & construction and a box entitled
• Click on show upcoming inspections and select request inspection
• Under the new inspection request box that pops up, select the date and time you would like to request
• Your request will be listed. Staff will send a confirmation email once your request is received
• You can change the date, time or cancel your request by selecting modify request

This section applies to a residential building that,

• • is of three or fewer storeys in building height and has a building area not exceeding 600 m²,
  • has no accommodation for tourists,
  • does not have a dwelling unit above another dwelling unit,
  • does not have any dwelling units sharing a common means of egress, and
  • does not contain a retirement home.

Occupancy Requirements

An occupancy permit shall be issued provided that there are not any outstanding orders, development charges are paid, and the following building components and systems are complete, operational and inspected:

1. 1. the structure of the building with respect to the dwelling unit to be occupied is substantially complete and ready to be used for its intended purpose,
   2. the building envelope, including, but not limited to, cladding, roofing, windows, doors, assemblies requiring fire-resistance ratings, closures, insulation, vapour barriers and air barriers, with respect to the dwelling unit to be occupied, is substantially complete,
   3. the walls enclosing the dwelling unit to be occupied are complete,
   4. required electrical supply is provided for the dwelling unit to be occupied,
   5. required firefighting access routes to the building have been provided and are accessible,
   6. the following building components and systems are complete and operational for the dwelling unit to be occupied:
   7. required exits, floor access and egress systems, handrails, guards, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and fire separations, including, but not limited to, fire stops,
   8. required exhaust fume barriers and self-closing devices on doors between an attached or built-in garage and the dwelling unit,
   9. water supply, sewage disposal, lighting and heating systems,
   10. protection of foamed plastics,
   11. water system,
   12. building drain and building sewer,
   13. drainage system and venting system,
   14. required plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit to be occupied are substantially complete and operational, and
   15. radon control requirements

This section applies to a residential building that,

• • is of three or fewer storeys in building height and has a building area not exceeding 600 m²,
  • has not more than 1 dwelling unit above another dwelling unit,
  • has not more than 2 dwelling units sharing a common means of egress,
  • has no accommodation for tourists, and
  • is not used for a retirement home.

Occupancy Requirements

An occupancy permit shall be issued provided that there are not any outstanding orders and the following building components and systems are complete, operational and inspected:

1. 1. required exits, handrails and guards, fire alarm and detection systems, and fire separations,
   2. required exhaust fume barriers and self-closing devices on doors between an attached or built-in garage and a dwelling unit,
   3. water supply, sewage disposal, lighting and heating systems,
   4. protection of foamed plastics,
   5. water systems,
   6. building drains and building sewers,
   7. drainage systems and venting systems, and
   8. radon control requirements

This section applies to:

1. 1. A residential building, other than a retirement home, that,
      • exceeds 600 m² in building area or exceeds 3 storeys in building height,
      • is built of combustible construction,
      • is sprinklered throughout,
      • is not more than 6 storeys in building height,
      • has a height not more than 18 m measured between the floor of the first storey and the uppermost floor level that does not serve a rooftop enclosure for elevator machinery, a stairway or a service room used only for service to the building, and
      • has a building area not more than
        • 9,000 m² if 1 storey in building height,
        • 4,500 m² if 2 storeys in building height,
        • 3,000 m² if 3 storeys in building height,
        • 2,250 m² if 4 storeys in building height,
        • 1,800 m² if 5 storeys in building height, or
        • 1,500 m² if 6 storeys in building height, and
        • Is designed in conformance with Div. B, Article 3.2.2.51. of the OBC
   2. A building used for business and personal services occupancy that,
      • exceeds 600 m² in building area or exceeds 3 storeys in building height,
      • is built of combustible construction,
      • is sprinklered throughout,
      • is not more than 4 storeys in building height, and
      • has a building area not more than 3 600 m², and
      • is designed in conformance with Div. B, Article 3.2.2.61. of the OBC

Occupancy Requirements

An occupancy permit shall be issued provided that there are not any outstanding orders and the following building components and systems are complete, operational and inspected:

1. 1. the structure of the building is completed to the roof,
   2. the building envelope, including, but not limited to, cladding, roofing, windows, doors, assemblies requiring fire-resistance ratings, closures, insulation, vapour barriers and air barriers, is complete,
   3. the walls enclosing the space to be occupied are completed, including balcony guards,
   4. all required fire separations and closures are completed,
   5. all required exits are completed, including all fire separations, doors, door hardware, self-closing devices, guards and handrails,
   6. all shafts including closures are completed,
   7. measures have been taken to prevent access to parts of the building and site that are incomplete or still under construction,
   8. floors, halls, lobbies and required means of egress are free of loose materials and other hazards,
   9. if service rooms should be in operation, required fire separations and closures are completed,
   10. all building drains, building sewers, water systems, drainage systems and venting systems are complete and tested as operational for the storeys to be occupied,
   11. required lighting, heating and electrical supply are provided for the suites, rooms and common areas to be occupied,
   12. required lighting in corridors, stairways and exits is completed and operational,
   13. required standpipe, sprinkler and fire alarm systems are complete and operational, together with required pumper connections for such standpipes and sprinklers,
   14. required smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are complete and operational,
   15. required fire extinguishers have been installed,
   16. main garbage rooms, chutes and ancillary services are completed to all storeys to be occupied,
   17. required firefighting access routes have been provided and are accessible, and
   18. the sewage system has been completed and is operational.

This section applies to any building that does not meet the descriptions provided above.

Occupancy Requirements

An occupancy permit shall be issued provided that there are not any outstanding orders and the following building components and systems are complete, operational and inspected:

1. 1. the structure of the building or part of it is completed to the roof,
   2. the enclosing walls of the building or part of them are completed to the roof,
   3. the walls enclosing the space to be occupied are completed, including balcony guards,
   4. all required fire separations and closures are completed on all storeys to be occupied,
   5. all required exits are completed, including all fire separations, doors, door hardware, self-closing devices, guards and handrails, from the uppermost floor to be occupied down to grade level and below if an exit connects with lower storeys,
   6. all shafts including closures are completed to the floor-ceiling assembly above the storey to be occupied and have a temporary fire separation at such assembly,
   7. measures have been taken to prevent access to parts of the building and site that are incomplete or still under construction,
   8. floors, halls, lobbies and required means of egress are free of loose materials and other hazards,
   9. if service rooms should be in operation, required fire separations and closures are completed,
   10. all building drains, building sewers, water systems, drainage systems and venting systems are complete and tested as operational for the storeys to be occupied,
   11. required lighting, heating and electrical supply are provided for the suites, rooms and common areas to be occupied,
   12. required lighting in corridors, stairways and exits is completed and operational up to and including all storeys to be occupied,
   13. required standpipe, sprinkler and fire alarm systems are complete and operational up to and including all storeys to be occupied, together with required pumper connections for such standpipes and sprinklers,
   14. required fire extinguishers have been installed on all storeys to be occupied,
   15. main garbage rooms, chutes and ancillary services are completed to all storeys to be occupied,
   16. required firefighting access routes have been provided and are accessible, and
   17. the sewage system has been completed and is operational.