Ontario Building Code 2024 Announced

The Government of Ontario announced, in its Ontario Code News, it is taking a new approach with its 2024 Building Code, scheduled to be implemented January 1, 2025. Instead of a completely separate code (contained in the Building Code Regulation, currently O/Reg 332/12), the province is adopting the 2020 NBCC and issuing anOntario Amendment document (available here), containing about 800 pages of code amendments. This approach is based on the harmonization of provincial and national codes. The new Building Code Regulation (O/Reg 163/24) is a single page, consisting of four sections:

Building code

1. The code issued by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, part of National Research Council Canada, known as CCBFC NRCC-CONST-56435E, “National Building Code of Canada 2020”, as amended by the document entitled “Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada 2020”, dated April 5, 2024 and issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, are together adopted as the building code.

Transition

2. (1) Subject to subsection (2), Ontario Regulation 332/12 (Building Code) made under the Act, as it read on December 31, 2024, is deemed to continue in force with respect to construction,

(a)  for which a permit has been issued on or before December 31, 2024; or

(b)  for which the working drawings, plans and specifications are substantially completed on or before December 31, 2024, and for which an application for a permit is made before March 31, 2025 under that regulation, as it read on December 31, 2024.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply unless the construction is commenced within six months after the permit is issued.

Revocation

3. Ontario Regulation 332/12 is revoked.

Commencement

4. This Regulation comes into force on the later of January 1, 2025 and the day this Regulation is filed.

You can see the original here.

Because of this new format, the full building code will not be available on the Ontario e-Laws website. The government's announcement, however, noted that "Production of the Compendium in digital and print versions is underway" and will be announced through the Ontario Code News e-newsletter.

DHI Canada will be updating our Codes Matrix (available here) in December to reflect the change.