As reported in CodeNews 379, the Province has announced amendments to the 2024 edition of Ontario’s Building Code. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) has amended the 2024 OBC to reflect recent legislative changes, identity revisions to the Code, and to correct typographical issues.

The changes, which came into effect on April 20, 2026, include:
• clarification of technical requirements for pipes when leaching chambers are used in shallow buried trench sewage systems;
• addition of the GO Transit Station Funding Act, 2023 to the list of applicable laws under the Building Code Act;
• removal of bylaws made under Section 108 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 regarding green roofs from the list of applicable laws under the Building Code Act;
• re-establishment of the March 31, 2027 end date for Temporary Health and Residential Facilities, aligning it with O.Reg. 144/20 made under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997;
• removal of the application fee for Canadian manufacturers at the Building Materials Evaluation Commission; and
• updating of cross-references and alignment of the editions of referenced standards with the 2020 National Construction Codes.

Additionally, administrative changes for the Sudbury and North Bay areas transfer responsibility for enforcing onsite sewage system requirements from the regional health unit and conservation authority to nine local municipalities and townships. These changes will come into effect in North Bay in May and in Sudbury in November.

These changes are now included in an updated Ontario Amendment Document, which is the official legal document, highlighted in yellow. Contact ontario.amendment.document@ontario.ca to obtain the document.