FACT SHEET
Building Code Amendments:
Fire Sprinklers in Large Residential Buildings
Content of Regulation
Ontario’s Building Code (Ontario Regulation 305/06) has been amended through Ontario Regulation 205/08 to require fire sprinklers in multiple-unit residential buildings over three storeys in height.
The new sprinkler requirements are intended to improve fire safety, and further harmonize Ontario’s Building Code with the model National Building Code of Canada.
Ontario Regulation 205/08 was filed on June 18, 2008, and affects construction under building permits applied for on or after April 1, 2010.
The new sprinkler requirements apply to new construction, building additions, floors of existing buildings that undergo a change of major occupancy, and floor areas that undergo extensive (“gut”) renovation. The new requirements do not apply to smaller residential buildings, including houses, or to the renovation of portions of floors.
Certain forms of four-storey stacked townhouses are also exempt from the new requirements where buildings have specific fire safety features such as independent exits and continuous vertical fire separations between units.
Ontario Regulation 205/08 replaces some Building Code requirements that acted as alternatives to sprinklering. However, the Code amendments also specify that unsprinklered buildings undergoing renovation will still have to meet current Ontario-specific, compensating requirements unless the renovated area is sprinklered.
Ontario Regulation 205/08 also includes an increase in the maximum size of live-work units from 150m2 to 200 m2.
Development of Regulation
In February 2008, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing released a Building Code consultation paper that included proposed Code amendments related to residential sprinklers.
The government considered submissions from stakeholders and the public, and recommendations from its Technical Advisory Committee (link to TAC recommendation report), when finalizing Ontario Regulation 205/08.
In response to a recommendation from the Technical Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing intends to work with the building sector to clarify and review potential Building Code changes identified through the public consultation that could increase design flexibility and reduce costs, while maintaining building safety.
Publication of Regulations
The regulation is available on the e-Laws; a free public database of Ontario's statutes and regulations. For more information, click here.
ServiceOntario Publications, the official publisher of the 2006 Building Code, is preparing update pages for the Compendium Edition of the 2006 Building Code. These update pages will be available for download from the ServiceOntario Publications website (www.serviceontario.ca/publications) shortly. Update pages are also expected to be mailed to amendment service subscribers and available for purchase from the website by early July 2008.
For more information, please contact ServiceOntario Publications at (416) 326-5300, (800) 668-9938 or at www.serviceontario.ca/publications.
For More information
For Questions and Answers, click here.
If you have any questions regarding the amending regulation, please contact James Douglas, Manager, Development Policy and Innovation Unit, Building and Development Branch at (416) 585-7174.