Is your basement bedroom legal? That’s a good question, one that I’m going to hopefully answer today. Windows, and many other components in a home, are regulated by the Ontario Building Code (OBC). Regulations for things like safety are usually a good idea which is why code compliance in regard to basement bedrooms is so important.
Ontario Building Code requirements
First off, what constitutes a bedroom? The OBC definition states that a bedroom must have a window for light and ventilation. That seems perfectly reasonable, and pretty much any basement bedroom I see advertised as such on MLS meets that criteria.
But basements are a riskier place than the rest of a home if there’s an emergency like a fire. If you’re in a basement bedroom asleep how are you getting out when the smoke alarm goes off? The OBC is clear on this matter, you need at least one way of escape that leads directly outside, either a door or an egress window.
An egress window needs to be big enough for someone to get through and also low enough to the ground that a child or shorter adult can get to it easily. The OBC requires at least 3.77 sq/ft of area with no dimension less than 15 inches. In Ontario, the bottom of the window can’t be any higher than 39.4 inches from the floor unless a permanent ladder or built in steps are used.
I was told, a long time back, that an egress window in Ontario didn’t need to be in a bedroom, just somewhere in the basement not in a room with a locked door such as a bathroom. This latter bit about locked doors certainly makes sense, and 2025 advisories from both the City of Markham and the City of Ottawa confirm the OBC requirements I cited.
Obviously these requirements also apply to accessory apartments. However, if there wasn’t an egress window in a common area, a landlord would need egress windows in every basement bedroom if the individual bedrooms had locks, as is often the case with student rentals.
Hiring a contractor
If you need to get an egress window installed, make sure you get a reputable contractor. It’s not a cheap endeavour as the foundation is being cut with a concrete saw. Not surprisingly, there are many people out there offering this work for thousands less than the going rate. This cost cutting seems to be the result of shady behaviour such as not getting a building permit. We had a couple vendors offering an egress window in the $3500-4500 range, and both said a permit was not required.
Of course I double checked this, and all of Waterloo Region and Guelph requires a permit. And they make the homeowner submit drawings of the proposed work as well. A permit is only a few hundred dollars and assures that your contractor does the work properly and to code. A reputable vendor will want between $5000 to $8000 for the work. Yes, it’s a lot of money but what is safety worth?
