Before March, Secondary apartments were a big part of urban areas of Ontario, but even more so now since the onset of Covid-19.  Home owners are looking for ways to increase revenues in a growing rental market.  

More and more I see landlords call asking me to procure drawings so they can bring their “illegal” apartment up to the current code.  Taking a permit for your secondary apartment before you start to rent, will likely require you to do some work that you were hoping to avoid, but once it is done, the apartment is legal and it will be so for many years before any new legislation would require you to do any upgrades.   It also creates a safe environment for your tenants to live in and I would guess your insurance will actually cover any damages that may occur when your secondary apartment is legal.

 On the flip side, not taking a permit is a provincial offence.  It could result in a disruption of business or even worse.  If you receive a complaint, the municipality will inspect and then you will need to start the permit process while the apartment sits empty which will likely take 2-6 months.

If you entertain creating a secondary apartment in your home.  Here is what you will need to know. 

If your home is less than 5 years old, it is considered to be new construction.  This means the secondary apartment must meet all current code requirements.  The following will not apply if this is the case for your home.

Get a BCIN designer or and Architect to design and procure drawings for your permit application.  They will know what is needed and can save you precious time in the application process.

Sizes matter.  There are minimum room sizes required for living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.  Your designer will make sure your rooms are big enough.

Ceiling heights.  The ceiling height in the living spaces must be at least 6′ 4.75″ if it is a basement apartment and 6’8″ in an attic apartment.

Window sizes.  The glazing size in living and dining rooms must not be less than 5% of the  room floor space.  The glazing in bedrooms must not be less than 2.5% of the bedroom floor area. 

Plumbing.  There must be hot and cold water available to the apartment.  That seems obvious, but there it is.  There must be at least one bathroom with a sink, tub or shower and a toilet.  You must have a kitchen sink and access to laundry facilities shared or private.  The water to the apartment must have a shutoff so the apartment can be shut off while the primary living space still has water.

Septic.  If you have a septic tank, you must get a permit to assure the system has enough capacity for the additional plumbing fixtures.

If the furnace heats both units, you must install a duct smoke detector that will shutdown both the electricity supply and gas supply to the common furnace.

If there is no window in the kitchen, you must install mechanical ventilation.  The same goes for any bathrooms.

Each room must have a switch for the lighting and every set of stairs must have lighting that is switched at both the top and bottom of the stairs.

Fire Safety.  Walls and ceilings that separate one apartment from the other or separate a common area or exit from each apartment must have a 30 minute fire separation rating to protect the other apartment.  This usually means 5/8″ Type X drywall on the ceilings and 1/2″ Type X drywall on each side of separating walls.  If you have doors in the separations, they will need to be 20 minute fire rated doors with self closers.  

You must install a CO detector in the furnace room.  You must install Smoke and CO alarms in each bedroom and in the area outside of the bedrooms.  If you secondary apartment is more than 1 storey, then you will need smoke and CO alarms on each floor.  All alarms are required to have a strobe light.

If your apartment is extra large, you may be required to install mechanical fire dampers in all locations where the furnace ducting perforates the fire separations.

Of coarse there are always exceptions, but these rules will cover most of the issues.

Best of luck with your business venture!