Do construction trailers require a building permit?

Is a construction trailer a building that requires a building permit? That depends on the laws and opinions of the municipality in which the trailer is located.

The definition of what constitutes a building was put to the test this summer when the City of Barrie Building Department issued an order to a construction contractor to comply with building permit requirements.

“One of our members received the order in July,” says Alison Smith, Administrative Director of the Barrie Construction Association (BCA). “That would not only require those using a construction trailer as an office to apply for a building permit. It would also mean that the trailer would have to meet snow-load requirements and offer a barrier-free design with ramps, making the trailer accessible all through the site. That would not only be onerous from a logistical standpoint, but there were financial issues as well — a fee of $5.75 per square metre that would apply every time the construction trailer was moved.”

Although the construction trailer in question had been supported on blocks, it still retained its wheels and axles, qualifying it as a vehicle under the law, according to the contractor.

Building permits were designed to protect the general public, notes Smith.

“But we disagreed that a construction trailer would constitute a building accessible to the general public,” she says. “I guess they were concerned that if an architect comes on site and goes into the trailer, that might change the definition of the way the trailer is used.”

The City of Barrie suspended an Order to Comply while representatives of the BCA and the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) met with city officials to address the issue, which might have had far-reaching implications for the province’s general contractors.

The OGCA says trailers are vehicles under the administration of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and that, once placed on a construction site for use as an office, fall under the rules prescribed by the Ontario Health and Safety Act.

However, while an appeal to the Building Code Commission was being prepared, the City of Barrie issued a bulletin exempting “Trailers installed on a construction site (regulated by the Occupational Health and Safety Act) and not accessible by the general public” from permit requirements.

In a message sent to contractors, OGCA President Clive Thurston notes that each municipality reserves the right to decide which buildings might be exempted from requiring a building permit, but that the City of Barrie simply chose to exempt construction trailers in this case.

Thurston also notes that even if individual site trailers are exempt from permit requirements in any jurisdiction, a permit might be required if a number of trailers are combined to form an office base for a particular project.

“It basically comes down to each municipality and how they view the site office trailer,” says Doug Eckert, Sales Manager with Turkstra Modular Builders and HMB Leasing, a company that builds construction trailers under the first name and leases them under the other.

“In some municipalities they will allow the trailer on site without a permit as long as it relates to the improvement of the property and provided the site office is temporary and used within a limited time frame.”

Eckert says that some jurisdictions have become far more strict in enforcing trailer permit requirements because of an increase in the use of site trailers for non-construction purposes, such as used car lot offices or as lunch room facilities for temporary or seasonal workers. “If you have a trailer located next to a factory building, many of the concerns about the Ontario Fire Code and snow load requirements are valid,” he says.

To avoid permit problems, Eckert advises construction clients to carefully indicate where office trailers will be located on the site plan agreement.

“We also advise clients to apply for permits in their municipality and to follow the local rules,” he says.

“A lot of people believe that if the trailer is on wheels, permits automatically don’t apply, but it’s really up to the municipality.”