New rules for Ontario designers

As thoughts of renovations and building begin, so does looking for a designer. As of January 1, 2006 one of the very first questions you need to ask that designer or architect is, “Are you a licensed designer with the Province of Ontario ?” Because if they are not licensed, the drawings that you may have just paid thousands of dollars for, could end up becoming totally worthless.

As of the beginning of the New Year, every designer, architect and engineer in the Province of Ontario who would like to have their drawings approved by any municipal body must pass a minimum amount of exams; Carry Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing approved insurance, and then register, whereby a Building Code Identification Number (BCIN) is given.

To the average homeowner wanting to upgrade their home, by either renovating their existing, or custom building a new home, this means without a valid BCIN number submitted with the drawings, nothing will be passed. This can include a lot of the “bookshelf” stock drawings. So, be very cautious before purchasing these types of drawings.

The start of the well known “Bill 124”, happened as a result of Ontario building/permit departments being overwhelmed with drawings that were being done by persons who had very little knowledge of the building code or design techniques.

Many house plans were rejected for permit due to poor design, drafting and building code compliance. A lot of the drawings were done by people with little skills and little knowledge of the code. This created long delays at building departments across Ontario for issuing permits.

The goal behind the new changes is to provide faster service throughout the Province, when applying for permits, which of course will help with our building slowdowns we’ve had to deal with in the past due to municipal delays.

To check if a professional has a valid BCIN number use the “Quarts” system at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing website.

or call them at : 416-585-6666