Serving Canada
Since 2005
WeRenovate.com
Home of The Renovation Co-op
A Toronto-Based Organization
Trade Membership
Information
416-367-8370
What is a licensed
BCIN Designer?
History:
Beginning in the late 1980's, Ontario began to face an explosive growth in population due to major immigration policies...especially within major cities such as the Toronto GTA, London, Hamilton, Barrie, etc.
This created a continuous, insatiable demand for housing across the region which in turn fueled the massive growth across the Construction sector and related industries such as Real Estate, Finance, Insurance and others.
While builders struggled to keep pace with the demand for new home construction, the Renovation Industry was dealing with record numbers of home improvement requests for all types and levels of home improvement projects.
However, the sudden surge also created a serious problem for most municipalities, who found themselves still working with older, antiquated Permit Processing Systems.
Prior to 2005, Structural Engineering firms remained one of the only available professions that could complete the Drawings & Permit Processing for residential renovations).
However, given the high demand for Additions and other large-scale residential projects many of these structural engineering firms limited their services to larger projects, often charging premium prices for lesser projects that required a building permit.
This created a situation in which many homeowners were compelled to hire a contractor to perform the work without first obtaining a permit.
Many of these contractors would be uninsured, unlicensed, inexperienced and and reckless.
Depending on the type and scope of of the project, this resulted in many renovation projects being performed in a dangerous and unsafe manner.
To make matters worse, most municipalities lacked the number of inspectors required to cope with such volumes of projects.
Something had to be done...
The Steps taken....
In 2005, the Ontario government boldly launched what was to become the most innovative Permit Processing System in North America.
A special training & licensing program was established, called The BCIN (Building Code Identification Number) System.
Note: Several of The Renovation Co-op's senior-level specialists acted as consultants throughout the program's development.
Offered to designers and other professionals involved in the construction industry, applicants may take up to 12 individual courses (4 of which are mandatory), ranging from Basic Design Principles to Building Code Regulations, Legal Processes, Structural Modifications and more.
Upon successful completion of the required courses, the applicant becomes designated with his/her own BCIN License.
This represented a major change to the way in which Building Permits would be obtained:
A BCIN-licensed designer can be hired directly by a homeowner...not just to provide the drawings for a Building Permit, but to also apply for the permit on behalf of the property owner, without a contractor being first selected.
How the Estimate for your
Drawings & Permit is processed...
Step 1- Project Assessment
-1-
Obtaining the Permit
Recent developments:
Throughout 2004, significant changes were made to the Ontario Building Code, which have streamlined the overall Permit Application Process.
These changes (made effective as of Jan, 2025) have made obtaining a Building Permit for a Basement Apartment Conversion a much easier process, given the elimination of many of the previous restrictions.
However, this has also created additional concerns for the safety of both homeowners and tenants, forcing local municipalities to develop a tougher, "Zero-Tolerance" Inspection Process..
And the first step is making sure that you hire an experienced, architectural specialist to provide the drawings and permit processing for your Basement Apartment project.
If you do not have your own architectural specialist, we'll provide you with an estimate for this service.
See Architectural Design & Permit Services
Permit Compliance Services
A Permit Compliance Order filed by a Municipal Building inspector can quickly turn into a serious issue. Such orders should be handled with care, speed and efficiency by a seasoned Architectural Specialist or Structural Engineer.
Recently, there has been a large increase in the volume of Building Permit violations throughout the Toronto region.
A large percentage of these have been due to serious safety and Ontario Building Code violations associated with the conversion of Basements into Rental Units, many of which have been completed or started without a Permit.
To address the recent high of such compliance orders, The Renovation Co-op now offers a quick Permit Compliance Service, which is designed to quickly deal with the Order on behalf of the homeowner.
This fast-paced service consists of a select group of The Co-op’s most experienced architectural and structural designers, each of whom has developed a high degree of earned credibility and experience in resolving all types of compliance-related issues.
To their credit, most city inspectors and examiners are, for the most part very reasonable and professional.
They also understand that the vast majority of complaints are initiated by neighbors, and will first ensure the validity of the complaint by visiting the home.
If the inspector determines that you should be for cited for a violation, the inspector will first give you a verbal warning and likely hand you a business card.
However, prior to that visit a compliance order file has already been created. A follow-up Compliance Order will be sent to you with a “date certain” for rectifying the issue. The due date will depend upon the inspector’s sense of urgency regarding the structure’s condition and safety.
However, it is important to mention that by this point, a temporary file has already been started pending the inspector’s verification of the offense.
Regardless, the verbal warning should be taken seriously. If you fail to act on this warning, an official “Order-to-Comply” will be sent to you, which spells out a definite date by which a building permit must be issued for the work to be completed, or for existing construction.
Unsafe Workmanship
In addition to citing structures that are unsafe, most Compliance Orders are issued for construction that has already been performed without a permit.
The Compliance Order will likely include a requirement for an examination by a licensed, structural designer. In order to obtain the permit, the specialist will have to produce drawings based on the way the structure is supposed to have been built, then compare it to the way it has actually already been built.
Regardless of how far the issue has gone, a Permit Compliance Specialist will act quickly to resolve the issue on your behalf. Once you engage a Co-op member-specialist, he or she will immediately contact the municipality to request that the the Compliance Order be set aside temporarily to allow enough time for the specialist to produce the appropriate drawings and paperwork required to obtain the Building Permit.