Building Services

Building Services enforces the Building Code Act 

The City of Thorold Building Division is charged with helping to safeguard the safety of all residence and visitors by ensuring buildings within the City are built to Ontario Building Code standards.

Building staff is here to help property owners comply with the Ontario Building Code and the Building Code Act.

We do this through reviewing and issuing building permit and by monitoring and inspecting new construction throughout the City. In addition, we investigate complaints of unsafe buildings and construction without a permit.

Building Services enforce the Building Code Act and regulate compliance ensuring that buildings comply with:

• the Ontario Building Code, which sets standards for the design and construction of buildings to meet objectives such as health, safety, fire protection, accessibility and resource conservation
• the local zoning bylaw and other planning controls on buildings
• other applicable legislation, including conservation authority approvals and certain requirements under the Environmental Protection Act

If you're doing any construction, demolition, renovations or changing the use of a building, please check whether you need a permit before you start on the project.

Changes to your Property's Assessed Value 

If the property you own is under construction, being renovated or is a newly constructed building, you may not be fully assessed for property tax purchases. If the change to the property was not processed to the assessment roll by January 1st, you will be issued a supplementary tax bill(s) in the future.  MPAC can assess your property value for the current year plus previous two tax years for such changes and you will be issued a supplementary property tax bill based on the MPAC assessment changes for the current year plus the previous two tax years. These bills will be issued upon receipt of the necessary assessment information from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation and may be payable in less than two installments.

If you have purchased a newly constructed home for which the current tax assessment is based solely on the value of the land, please note that MPAC will be assessing your property for the value of the constructed home.  Supplementary tax bills will be processed by the City when the assessment change information is received from MPAC.