Starting this year, changes to the Ontario building code will lead to an increase in construction costs but also improvements to accessibility as new and renovated buildings become more wheelchair-friendly.
The changes apply to the majority of new buildings as well as existing structures that are to be extensively renovated. These buildings will be required to have features such as power door operators and elevators, as well as visual fire alarms for those with hearing impairment.
Areas such as Centretown, where the recent boom in new construction of condominiums and major renovations of older buildings can be expected to continue, will likely be significantly affected by the new rules.
John Herbert, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association, says these new requirements will result in higher costs because they will involve the provision and maintenance of technology that wasn’t needed before.
“It’s a variety pack, none of which is huge in terms of cost, but when you add them up, they are fairly significant,” says Herbert.
However, according to Conrad Spezowka, senior media relations co-ordinator with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the findings of a study the department conducted revealed that the cost of implementing these new accessibility requirements would be “relatively minor.”
For example, large buildings that incorporate the majority of the changes will experience “limited” increases in construction costs. On the other hand, says Spezowka, smaller buildings are exempt from some of the requirements so that cost increases are limited when it comes to small businesses and building owners.
In fact, says Spezowka, depending on the type of building, the overall construction cost only increases somewhere in between one and two per cent when the new accessibility requirements are followed.
At the end of the day, building developers and owners are the ones who will have to pay for these additional costs, though such costs may also be passed on to buyers and renters. Herbert says building occupants will ultimately pay the price because that extra cost has to be paid for and building owners will have to increase the rent in order to cover it.
Most of the new accessibility requirements in the building code will not apply to houses, single detached houses, duplexes, and townhouses, though these kinds of dwellings will still be required to have smoke alarms with a visual signalling component.
Dean Mellway, acting director of the Research, Education, Accessibility, and Design Initiative at Carleton University, says society is still a long way from achieving housing that’s fully accessible.
“In a perfect world, every building would be accessible to everybody, but we are not in a perfect world, and we are not going to get accessible houses to people who don’t want the accessibility feature,” says Mellway. “Not yet, anyway.”
Mellway says people are beginning to realize that as families age, there are going to be people in the family who can’t get into their house because it’s not accessible.
According to Mellway, we are living in a society in which the percentage of people who are affected by mobility issues is constantly increasing, especially with the aging population and Baby Boom generation reaching their senior years.
He says it makes “good sense” to start addressing accessible housing, but “the building code is not quite ready for that.”
Still, Mellway says the latest changes to the building code are a “step in the right direction.”
“I think that many more facilities are aware of the need to be accessible, but it always takes the law to require it before you are going to be sure it’s going to happen,” says Mellway.