Building News

Many homeowners are interested in creating an accessory dwelling unit on their property. A building permit is required to be obtained and the construction inspected when an accessory dwelling unit is created. The accessory dwelling unit is not legal unless it has been registered with the City. These requirements are intended to make accessory dwelling units safe, legal and livable.

Check out the Accessory Dwelling Unit Guide for more information on the permit application and registration process for accessory dwelling units.

Earlier this year the Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced an amendment to the Ontario Building Code (O.Reg. 30/23). This amendment introduced prescriptive requirements for temporary stages and associated sound and lighting equipment towers.

With this amendment, temporary stages now require a building permit where they meet any of the following conditions:

•  The platform(s) has an aggregate area more than 60 m² and any part of the platform(s) is more than 3 m in height above adjacent ground level,

• The platform(s) has an aggregate area more than 225 m², or

• Any part of the platform(s) or any roof, wall or structure attached to or located on any platforms is 5 m or more in height above adjacent ground level.

this amendment introduced new requirements for demountable support structures. A demountable support structure is a structure that is not attached to or located on a stage and is capable of supporting banners, stage sets, props, sound equipment, lighting equipment or other equipment. A building permit is required for a demountable support structure when:

• The demountable support structure is more than 3 m in height above adjacent ground level, or

• The demountable support structure is designed to carry a superimposed specified load greater than 115 kg, or

• The demountable support structure would create a hazard to the public.

Our Quick Guide for Temporary Event Structures is updated to include these changes.

If you are planning an event and don't know if you need a permit for your temporary structures, send an email to Building Standards with the details of your event. 

Thanks to ePLAN, in 2022 Markham Building Standards continued to accept, review and issue building permit applications without experiencing any delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See below for a summary of the outstanding environmental and application processing results.

Occupancy of unfinished buildings under construction is permitted under the Building Code when authorized by the Chief Building Official with an Occupancy Permit. The Building Standards department requires the owner to complete an Application to Occupy an Unfinished Building.  The following link is a guide containing the Occupancy of Unfinished Building Application Form and the calculations used to determine the corresponding invoice.

Note that occupancy of a building where construction has been completed and verified by the Building Inspector is not subject to occupancy fees.

If you have any questions or would like clarification on the application for Occupancy of Unfinished Buildings, please email bins@markham.ca

Thanks to ePLAN, in 2021 Markham Building Standards continued to accept, review and issue building permit applications without experiencing any delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See below for a summary of the outstanding environmental and application processing results.

In May 2019 the Province of Ontario filed a number of amendments to the 2012 Ontario Building Code (OBC) that were scheduled to come into effect over the course of 3 years. The last of these amendments are related to the requirements for stairs, guards and handrails and will become effective January 1, 2022. For more information on these changes, please refer to the Stairs, Guards, and Handrails section of the OBC Changes Guide provided on the Province of Ontario’s website.

All permit applications accepted after December 31, 2021 will be subject to these amendments. The Applicant Upload Tasks for all new permit application submissions intended for 2021 must be completed prior to December 1, 2021 to ensure there is sufficient time to process the request.

Certified Models (CMs) are preliminary reviews of a design’s compliance with the OBC. CMs are not permit applications. In anticipation of the upcoming OBC amendments, CMs approved (certified) in 2020 and 2021 will not be valid after December 31, 2021.

A repeat permit application cannot be filed until the Certified Model has been reviewed (certified), the plan of subdivision is registered, all other applicable law has been satisfied and the permit addresses are entered into our database. Once accepted, all estimated permit fees must be paid in full within the timelines specified in Markham’s Building By-law or the application may be deemed abandoned and cancelled.

If you will be submitting repeat permit applications after December 31, 2021, you will be required to re‑certify your existing CM(s) prior to submitting your repeat permit applications. All certified model applications submitted in 2022 (both new and previously certified models) are required to include a complete application package, as outlined in the Certified Model (CM) section of our online Guide to Building Permits.

If you have any questions regarding Certified Model Applications, please contact the Building Counter at (905) 475‑4870.

In response to COVID-19, the province made regulations under the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Municipal Act, 2001 that temporarily limit municipalities from regulating construction noise from healthcare-sector-related and other permitted construction projects.

These temporary measures will end at 12:01 am on October 7, 2021, which is when Ontario Regulation 131/20 and Ontario Regulation 130/20 will be revoked.

This means that municipalities will again have the authority to regulate construction noise in their communities at all times of day and night and any municipal bylaws that are limited by these regulations will be back in effect on October 7, 2021.

• simplified criteria for drawing file names,
• removal of the landscape only orientation requirement
• clarification of the blank space requirement
  

Thanks to ePLAN, in 2020 Markham Building Standards continued to accept, review and issue building permit applications without experiencing any delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See below for a summary of the outstanding environmental and application processing results.

The sewer connection between the house and the City storm and sanitary laterals must be accomplished by gravity flow only. Recently, there have been numerous occasions where a back slope towards the house has resulted in basement flooding. This Builder Tip was developed as Department policy to ensure positive gravity flow from the house to the City street laterals. Review this Builder Tip with your builder and surveyor for submission of the information on the sample drawings contained in the Builder Tip. These drawings will be required the day prior to requesting the sewer inspection.

On January 1, 2019, ePLAN became mandatory for all building permit applications. Last year, just under 3000 building permit applications were received, reviewed and issued electronically. See below for the incredible results achieved for both the environment and the improved processing of applications.