VAUGHAN, ONT. — The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) has issued a statement saying it is concerned the provincial government is unduly rushing to implement new green building standards related to building construction.
RESCON said in a recent release the provincial government is in the process of setting up meetings to begin developing a new province-wide approach for interested municipalities and other stakeholders on incorporating new green building standards into the Ontario Building Code (OBC). The reforms would be achieved through an interim OBC amendment this summer and will likely come into effect in early 2024.
“The residential construction industry, its builders, designers and manufacturers have a lot on their plates just now due to higher interest rates and a perfect storm of issues and it would be unfair to expect them to adapt on short notice to significant changes to green building standards that are above the minimum requirements in the Ontario Building Code,” said RESCON president Richard Lyall in the release. “We are all for improvements but they need to be incremental so the industry can get it right and we can continue to build the houses and condos that are necessary to meet demand.”
RESCON noted the timetable for builders to adapt to the changes is less than 12 months.
“Rushing the process would merely throw a wrench into the works. It would be a nightmare for the residential construction industry and likely delay building permit applications while developers and builders and building code officials get acquainted with the new standards,” said Lyall.
RESCON is recommending that a cost-benefit analysis be conducted prior to any new rules coming into effect so the province can gauge the impact they would have on construction of new housing.
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