Ottawa By-law 2013-416, s. 1 — Property Standards By-law

In this by-law:

• “accessory building” means a detached subordinate building that,
• a) is devoted exclusively to a use normally incidental to the main use of the property;
• b) is not used for human habitation;
• c) is on the same lot as the main building, and accessory building includes a farm building; “appliances” include a fridge, stove, dishwasher, clothing washer or dryer “basement” means a storey or storeys of a building located below the first storey; “bathroom” means a room containing a bathtub or shower with or without a water closet and washbasin; “boarder” means a person occupying a boarding unit or a portion of a dwelling unit and shall include a lodger, but shall not include the travelling public; “boarding house” means a building or a portion thereof containing one (1) or more boarding units which are provided to four (4) or more boarders for compensation and where a meal service is provided to the boarders for compensation and shall include a lodging house but, shall not include a hotel, motel and motor hotel; “boarding unit” means one (1) room or several rooms connected together as a separate independent unit in the same structure for persons to sleep, which may include a bathroom but not kitchen facilities in the unit and shall include a lodging unit; “building” means a structure occupying an area greater than ten (10) square metres (108 sq. ft.) consisting of a wall, roof and floor or any of them or a structural system serving the function thereof including all plumbing works, fixtures and service systems appurtenant thereto; a structure occupying an area of ten (10) square metres (108 sq. ft.) or less that contains plumbing, including BY-LAW NO. 2013-416 the plumbing appurtenant thereto; plumbing not located in a structure; a sewage system; or, structures designated in the Building Code; “Building Code” means the regulations made under Section 34 of the Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23, as amended; “Building Code Act ” means the Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23, as amended; “Chief Building Official” means the Chief Building Official of the City of Ottawa or authorized representative; “Chief Property Standards Officer” means the person holding the position of Chief of By-law & Regulatory Services in the Emergency and Protective Services Department of the City of Ottawa, or authorized representative; “cellar” means that space of a building that is partly or entirely below grade, which has more than half of its height, measured from floor to ceiling, below the average exterior finished grade; “City” means the municipal corporation of the City of Ottawa or the geographic area of the City of Ottawa as the context requires; “commercial container” means a receptacle:
• a) used for the storage and collection of garbage, refuse and trade waste; and
• b) designed to permit it being emptied by a forklift packer vehicle; “Committee” means the License and Property Standards Committee established pursuant to the provisions of this by-law; “crawl space” means an enclosed space between the underside of a floor assembly and the ground cover directly below, with a clearance less than 1.8 m (5 ft. 11 in.) in height; “dwelling” means a building or structure, or any part of it, occupied or capable of being occupied, in part, for the purpose of human habitation and includes a dwelling unit and a building that would be used for this purpose except for its state of disrepair; “dwelling unit” means a suite operated as a housekeeping unit, used or intended to be used as a domicile by one or more persons and usually containing cooking, eating, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities; “exit” means that part of a means of egress that leads from the floor area it serves, including any doorway leading directly from a floor area, to an open BY-LAW NO. 2013-416 public thoroughfare or to an exterior open space protected from fire exposure from the building and having access to an open public thoroughfare; “farm building” means a building or part thereof which does not contain a dwelling unit and which is associated with and located on land devoted to the practice of farming, and used essentially for the housing of equipment or livestock, or the production, storage or processing of agricultural and horticultural produce or feeds; “fence” means any freestanding structure, screen, wall or barrier other than a building, erected at grade for the purpose of delineating the boundaries of a property, restricting ingress to or egress from a property, providing security or protection to property, and does not include a hedge; “grade” means the average level of proposed or finished ground adjoining a building at all exterior walls; “graffiti” means one or more letters, symbols, etchings, figures, inscriptions, stains howsoever made or otherwise affixed to a property or other markings that disfigure or deface a property but does not include a mural sign permitted in accordance with By-law No. 2005-439, the Permanent Signs on Private Property By-law; “ground cover” means any suitable material applied to the ground to prevent the erosion of soil and includes concrete, flagstone, gravel, asphalt, grass or other forms of landscaping; “guard” means a protective barrier around openings in floors or at the open sides of stairs, landings, balconies, mezzanines, galleries, raised walkways, ramps, or other locations to prevent accidental falls from one level to another; such barrier may or may not have openings through it; “habitable room” means any room in a dwelling unit or rooming unit lawfully used, or intended to be lawfully used, for living, sleeping, cooking or eating purposes; “handrail” means the railing along the edge of stairs; “heritage attribute” means, in relation to real property, and to the buildings on the real property, an attribute of the property, building or structure that contributes to its cultural heritage value or interest and that is defined or described:
• a) in a by-law designating a property passed under section 29, Part IV, of the Ontario Heritage Act and identified as a heritage attribute, reason for designation or otherwise; BY-LAW NO. 2013-416
• b) in a Minister’s order made under section 34.5, Part IV, of the Ontario Heritage Act and identified as a heritage attribute or otherwise;
• c) in a by-law designating a heritage conservation district passed under section 41, Part V, of the Ontario Heritage Act and identified as a heritage attribute or otherwise; or
• d) in the supporting documentation required for a by-law designating a heritage conservation district, including but not limited to a heritage conservation district plan, assessment or inventory, and identified as heritage attributes or otherwise;
• e) the elements, features or building components, including roofs, walls, floors, retaining walls, foundations and independent interior structures and structural systems that hold up, support or protect the heritage values and attributes and without which the heritage values and attributes may be at risk; “hotel, motel and motor hotel” means floor areas, a floor area or part of a floor area containing 4 or more suites, which provide sleeping accommodation for the travelling public or for recreational purposes; “in-situ container” means a receptacle that is:
• a) built in place;
• b) used for the storage of garbage, refuse and trade waste; and
• c) designed not to be emptied by a forklift packer vehicle; “last known address” means the address which appears on the assessment rolls of the City; “minimum level of illumination” means the minimum level of illumination measured at floor level; “Medical Officer of Health” means the Medical Officer of Health for the City of Ottawa; “multiple dwelling” means a building containing three (3) or more dwelling units; “non-habitable room” means any room in a building or dwelling unit other than a habitable room, and includes:
• a) a bathroom, powder room, rest room, laundry, pantry, lobby, communicating corridor, stairway, closet, boiler room, garage;
• b) other service and maintenance space of a dwelling for public use or access to and vertical travel between storeys; BY-LAW NO. 2013-416 “non-residential property” means property which is not intended to be or which is not capable of being occupied in whole or in part for the purpose of human habitation; “normal farm practice” means a practice that,
• a) is conducted in a manner consistent with proper and acceptable customs and standards as established and followed by similar agricultural operations under similar circumstances, or
• b) makes use of innovative technology in a manner consistent with proper advanced farm management practices; “nuisance” means an injurious, offensive or objectionable condition; “occupant” means any person or persons over the age of eighteen (18) years in possession of the property; “Officer” means the Chief Property Standards Officer of the City, or a Property Standards Officer of the City, duly appointed by a by-law of the City to administer and enforce the provisions of this by-law; “open space land” means lands without buildings designated as significant wetlands south and east of the Canadian Shield, natural environment area, urban natural feature and rural natural feature in the City of Ottawa Official Plan, as adopted by City Council in May 2003, or vacant lands devoted to the practice of farming; “owner” includes,
• a) the person for the time being managing or receiving the rent of the land or premises in connection with which the word is used, whether on the person’s own account or as agent or trustee of any other person, or who would receive the rent if the land and premises were let; and
• b) the lessee or occupant of the property who, under the terms of a lease, is required to repair and maintain the property in accordance with the standards for maintenance and occupancy of property; “Part IV Heritage Property” means real property, including all buildings and structures thereon, that has been designated by the City under section 29 or by the Minister under section 34.5 of the Ontario Heritage Act; “Part V Heritage Property” means real property, including all buildings and structures thereon, located within a heritage conservation district that has been designated by the City under section 41 of the Ontario Heritage Act; BY-LAW NO. 2013-416 “person” means an individual, firm, corporation, association or partnership; “plumbing system” means a system of connected piping, fittings, valves, equipment, fixtures and appurtenances contained in plumbing; “powder room” means a room, which includes a minimum of one (1) water closet and one (1) washbasin, which are connected to the plumbing system; “property” means a building or structure, or part of a building or structure, and includes the lands and premises appurtenant thereto and all mobile homes, mobile buildings, mobile structures, outbuildings, fences and erections thereon whether theretofore or hereafter erected, and includes vacant property, Part IV Heritage Properties and Part V Heritage Properties; “receptacle” means a solid metal or plastic container for receiving garbage or refuse; “refuse or debris” includes garbage of any kind and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes rubbish, inoperative vehicles and mechanical equipment, automotive and mechanical parts, appliances, furnaces, heater or fuel tanks, furniture, table waste, paper, cartons, crockery, glassware, cans, garden refuse, earth or rock fill, material from construction or demolition projects and old clothing; “repair” includes the provision of facilities, the making of additions or alterations or the taking of other action that may be required to ensure that a property conforms with the standards established in this by-law; “residential property” means property or part thereof, which is occupied or capable of being occupied in whole or in part for the purposes of human habitation, and includes a dwelling on a farm property; “restroom” means a room in a non-residential property, which includes a minimum of one (1) water closet and one (1) washbasin, which are connected to the plumbing system; “retaining wall” means a structure which supports and confines a mass of earth or water where there is a change in ground elevation; “roomer” means a person occupying a rooming unit or a portion of a dwelling unit, but shall not include the travelling public; BY-LAW NO. 2013-416 “rooming house” means a building or portion thereof containing one (1) or more rooming units, which are provided to four (4) or more roomers for compensation and shall not include a hotel, motel and motor hotel; “rooming unit” means one (1) room or several rooms connected together as a separate independent unit in the same structure for persons to sleep, and which may include either kitchen or bathroom facilities in the unit, but not both; “salvage” means saving and utilization of waste paper, scrap metal, vehicles, appliances or other materials; “sanitary sewage” means liquid or water borne waste:
• a) of industrial or commercial origin; or
• b) of domestic origin, including human body waste, toilet or other bathroom waste, and shower, tub, culinary, sink and laundry waste; “service room” means a room provided in a building to contain equipment associated with building services; “sewage system” means the sanitary sewage system or storm sewage system of Ottawa, or a private sewage disposal system approved by the Chief Building Official of the City or the Chief Building Official of a board of health or a conservation authority which has entered into an agreement with the City pursuant to the provisions of the Building Code Act; “sign” means any visual medium used to convey information by way of words, pictures, graphics, emblems or symbols, or any device used for the purpose of providing direction, information, identification, advertisement, business promotion or the promotion of a product, activity, service or idea; “storage garage” means a building or part thereof intended for the storage or parking of ten (10) or more motor vehicles, and which contains no provision for the repair or servicing of such vehicles; “storey” means that portion of a building which is situated between the top of any floor and the top of the floor next above it, and if there is no floor above it, that portion between the top of such floor and the ceiling above it; “storm sewage” means water that is discharged from a surface as a result of rainfall, snowmelt, snowfall or other precipitation; “storm sewer” means a sewer that conveys storm sewage; BY-LAW NO. 2013-416 “structure” includes but is not limited to play structures, sheds, gazebos and skateboard ramps; “suite” means a single room or series of rooms of complementary use, operated under a single tenancy, and includes dwelling units, individual guest rooms in motels, hotels, motor hotels, boarding houses, lodging houses or rooming houses and dormitories as well as individual stores and individual or complementary rooms for business and personal services occupancies; “swimming pool” means a privately owned outdoor pool of water for swimming, bathing, wading, or reflecting which is capable of retaining a water depth equal to or greater than 60 cm (24 in.) at any point, but shall not include facilities for the purposes of providing water to livestock or for irrigation of crops which are associated with and located on land devoted to the practice of farming; “vacant building” means a building that is unoccupied, displays some visible signs of deterioration, is or should be boarded up, and does not include an agricultural building or a building already approved for demolition; “vacant land” means lands, other than open space lands, with no buildings and not devoted to the practice of farming; “vehicle” includes a motor vehicle, trailer, boat, motorized snow vehicle, mechanical equipment and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power; “vermin” means a mammal, bird or insect injurious to humans, game or crops including but not limited to foxes, rats, mice, moles, owls, weasels, ants, cockroaches, silverfish, fleas, bugs, bedbugs or lice; “yard” means the land, other than publicly owned land, around and appurtenant to the building and used, intended or capable of being used in connection with the building. INTERPRETATION