New industrial buildings in Toronto, up to 3 storeys and 600 m².

Up to 3 storeys and 600 m² of gross area, which counts every floor above grade, measured to the outside of the exterior walls (or to the centre line of a firewall with no access opening or building service through it), for the whole building as built. Over either limit, the Architects Act requires an architect or a professional engineer to design it (an architect and an engineer if another use in the building, such as offices, exceeds 600 m²), the Building Code requires them to review the construction, and under the Building Code Act the City's chief building official issues a permit unless, among other things, the law requires that design and the building was not so designed. Where the law requires an architect or engineer, they design that work, not us.

They measure different things. The Architects Act's 600 m² is gross area: all floors above grade. The Building Code's 600 m² is building area, the largest floor above ground, and decides between Part 9 (F2 and F3 buildings of up to 3 storeys) and Part 3; an F1 high-hazard building is always Part 3. The 2,000 m² is the site plan exemption, counting every industrial building on the lot. A one-storey 1,500 m² warehouse can be exempt from site plan approval and still need an architect or engineer to design it.

A professional engineer designs the structure. The HVAC, plumbing, sprinklers and fire alarm are designed by engineers or by designers registered in the Building Code's own classes for that work (Building Services, Plumbing – All Buildings, Fire Protection, and Detection, Lighting and Power). The Code also requires an engineer for a shelf and rack storage system (racking with one or more raised platforms or walkways for staff), and for foundations that go below a neighbouring building's footings within the soil's angle of repose (the slope at which it stays put), or any underpinning, even in a building small enough to need no architect.

Only if all the industrial, manufacturing and warehouse buildings on the lands, the existing ones and the new one, total no more than 2,000 m² of gross floor area, or the zoning's maximum if that is greater. Separately, a non-residential building of less than 100 m² that serves the main building is exempt on its own. The 2,000 m² exemption also needs the building's uses to qualify (no listed heavy use, and no use the zoning permits only with conditions), and both exemptions give way where the City requires site plan approval anyway: a road or lane widening, review of safety, access or neighbouring land, or a site near a rail line, ravine or the lake.

Two routes. Once the full permit application has been accepted, a partial permit can be applied for, for example for the foundations: the City reviews it against the plans already filed, it adds $309.30 (2026), and it does not mean the rest of the building will be approved. The other route is a conditional permit, which the Chief Building Official may issue at their discretion when the time other approvals take is causing unreasonable construction delays; the City says it is generally used for larger developments. The full application must be filed and complete, and the zoning must comply, along with certain other approvals the Building Code lists (a conservation authority permit or heritage consent, for example). You sign an agreement that puts the risk on you, including removing the work and restoring the site if the full permit is not obtained; it sets 12 months to get the outstanding approvals and 60 days to start construction. It adds 10% to the permit fees (2026: at least $309.31, at most $3,092.98). Building without a permit is an offence under the Building Code Act, and the City also adds 50% to the permit fee (at least $214.79, up to $29,456.99).

Toronto's development charges by-law exempts industrial uses: manufacturing, warehousing, distribution centres, truck terminals and related research, with their accessory offices and retail. It does not cover a building used only for offices unless it is attached to an industrial building, a warehouse club or a retail warehouse, and you must show the use is legally established. The City also collects an education development charge for the Toronto Catholic District School Board on non-residential floor area ($1.67 per sq ft to December 2, 2026, then $1.77) under that board's own by-law, so check that by-law for exemptions. The City's parkland rule (2% of the land for non-residential development) lists industrial uses among its exemptions.

Demolition needs a permit as well. The applicant must retain a professional engineer to review the demolition if the old building is over 3 storeys or 600 m² of building area, has pre-tensioned or post-tensioned members, will be demolished below a neighbouring building's footings within the soil's angle of repose, or will come down with explosives or a laser.

No. Toronto has four employment industrial zones: EL (light manufacturing close to homes and open space), E (general manufacturing and industry), EH (heavy manufacturing) and EO (light manufacturing and offices in a business park), each with its own rules; the numbers on this page are the E zone's. A zone label with "(x" and a number points to site-specific rules in Chapter 900, and some lands are still under one of the former municipalities' general zoning by-laws. The rules are read for your lot from the survey and the zoning map.