Office Lease Accessibility Rules in Ontario: What to Check Before Your Client Signs
Updated: Sep 20
The short version
Ontario's Building Code sets accessibility requirements for the route from the street to a tenant's suite, and how much applies depends on the building. New buildings and major renovations must provide an unbroken barrier-free route. Most existing buildings that are not accessible at the front door only have to meet an abbreviated list of barrier-free requirements, but that does not prevent a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. A base building deficiency can also complicate the tenant's fit-out permit even though the deficiency belongs to the landlord. The risk sits in older and smaller buildings, and in base building washrooms even in downtown towers. Confirm it before the lease is signed, not after. Office lease accessibility is the item most often missed at letter of intent stage.
Office lease accessibility: which buildings have problems?
The Ontario Building Code requires an accessible route from the street, through the front door, all the way to the tenant's space for new construction and major renovations. This is often called the barrier-free path of travel. Upgrading an existing building that is not accessible at the front door is not required, although it is always recommended, and those buildings still have to meet an abbreviated list of barrier-free requirements. If part of the route falls short, the deficiency can still complicate the tenant's fit-out permit, even though the deficient portion belongs to the landlord. It also does not prevent anyone from filing a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
Entrances are rarely a tower problem. Washrooms can be. Class A and AAA office buildings in Toronto were built or renovated to current entrance standards, so the front door is usually fine. The gap is often the base building washrooms. Many have not been upgraded and have no universal washroom, which can leave a tenant vulnerable to a human rights complaint. If your client is signing at a bank tower, skip the entrance questions, but ask about washrooms.
Where it actually bites
Walk-up buildings with no elevator. The worst case. If the suite sits above ground floor with no elevator, there is no cheap fix. You cannot ramp around a missing elevator. These buildings may be exempt from providing barrier-free access to upper floors, but the exemption can make planning more complicated. For example, a non-sprinklered building that is not served by an elevator must have its floor area separated into two separate fire compartments.
Older low-rise office buildings. Especially with steps at the front door and no room outside for a ramp.
Converted buildings. Houses turned into offices, retail turned into offices, industrial turned into offices. The entrance was never designed for it. The abbreviated barrier-free requirements described above would apply here.
Heritage buildings. Where the entrance often cannot be altered without approvals.
Class B and C office generally, particularly anything without a lobby or entrance upgrade in the past twenty years.
What to do before signing
On any building in the list above, ask the landlord in writing whether the entrance and the route to the suite meet current code. Ask about washrooms too: is a universal washroom available as part of the base building core amenities? If not, will the tenant cover the cost of adding a universal washroom to the tenant space? Then add a lease provision covering who pays for correction if they do not.
What accessibility work does a tenant have to pay for?
If a fit-out is large enough to count as a major renovation, the 2024 Ontario Building Code requirements apply inside the leased premises. The accessibility requirements in Section 3.8 apply to all Large and High buildings. Part 11 (Compliance Alternatives) makes some exceptions, but there is not a compliance alternative for every requirement. That generally means:
Automatic door openers on any door fitted with a self-closing device, but only between the building entrance and the suite entrance. The suite door itself does not need one unless it fails the latch side clearance requirements
A hearing assistance system at a public-facing reception counter, but only in spaces of assembly occupancy. A standard office floor does not require it. If the tenant has a full floor meeting centre, the reception desk would require it, and hearing assistance is also required in every meeting room over 100 sq. m
An accessible shower and change room, where the space includes one
None of this is expensive on its own. All of it is expensive when it surfaces after the tenant improvement allowance has been negotiated.
What to do: Ask the designer early whether the work is scoped as a major renovation. That single classification decides how much of the Code applies.
Does the AODA require an office renovation?
No. This is the most common confusion in commercial leasing right now.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act requires an accessibility compliance report from any organization with 20 or more Ontario employees. The next one is due December 31, 2026. Landlord and tenant file separately, each based on their own headcount.
It is a form submitted through a provincial portal. Nobody inspects the building against it. Physical accessibility is governed by the Ontario Building Code and enforced at permit, not by the AODA.
There is one renovation-related exception. The Design of Public Spaces Standards (Accessibility Standards for the Built Environment) under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation do not have to be implemented if there is no renovation. If the space is being renovated, the customer service requirements apply to service counters, waiting areas, queuing lines and self-service kiosks. See Part IV.1 of Ontario Regulation 191/11.
What to do: Flag the December 31 deadline to tenants with 20 or more staff. Do not let it be used to justify a renovation, and do not let a tenant assume the landlord's filing covers them. If the fit-out includes service counters, waiting areas, queuing lines or kiosks, confirm the designer has checked the Design of Public Spaces requirements.
Toronto office market: what else changed
Green building requirements were rolled back. Bill 98 received Royal Assent on June 2, 2026, removing municipal authority to require green roofs and similar features through site plan control. This affects new development only, not tenant fit-outs.
The Ontario Building Code is being rewritten. A provincial advisory body is conducting a section-by-section review with a mandate to reduce complexity and cost. Interim report September 2026, final report March 2027. This is the biggest thing coming and almost nobody is watching it.
How much new office space is being built in Canada?
Very little. There is 1.2 million square feet of office under construction across all of Canada, which CBRE calls a historic low unmatched since before the year 2000, with nothing significant scheduled beyond 2027. Most of it is suburban. Toronto is the only market building downtown.
Worth knowing: Altus Group counts the same quarter at nearly three million square feet. Same country, same three months, more than double the figure, because the two firms measure different things. If a client quotes a number, ask whose it is.
Common questions about office lease accessibility in Ontario
Who pays for accessibility upgrades in a commercial office lease?
Whoever the lease says. If the lease is silent and the deficiency is in the base building, expect a dispute. Settle it before signing.
Can a landlord’s building problem delay a tenant’s permit?
Yes, it can. Where the route does not meet current code, a base building deficiency can complicate a tenant’s fit-out permit. Even where an existing building is exempt from upgrades, a gap such as a missing universal washroom can still expose the tenant to a human rights complaint.
When is the AODA compliance report due?
December 31, 2026, for organizations with 20 or more Ontario employees.
Does filing an AODA report make a building accessible?
No. It is a self-reported form. Physical accessibility is governed by the Ontario Building Code and checked at permit.
Does the AODA apply to a renovated office?
The compliance report does not depend on renovation, but the Design of Public Spaces requirements for service counters, waiting areas, queuing lines and self-service kiosks do apply when the space is renovated.
Which office buildings are most likely to have accessibility issues?
Walk-ups without elevators, older low-rise office, converted buildings, heritage properties, and Class B and C stock that has not been upgraded. In newer towers, check base building washrooms.
Sources
Accessibility provisions in Ontario's Building Code; 2024 Ontario Building Code accessibility changes; AODA reporting requirements, Province of Ontario; Ontario Building Code review; CBRE Canada Office Figures Q2 2026; Altus Canadian Office Market Update Q2 2026.
About the author
Fifteen years in commercial real estate, the last six on the construction side. I work in business development for a GTA construction firm, on tenant fit-outs, industrial projects, model suites and base building work. The reason I write this is simple: I see what things actually cost and where projects actually stall, and most of that never makes it into market reports.
Have a question about an upcoming office fit-out, commercial lease, or accessibility issue? Connect with Carolee on LinkedIn.
Disclaimer
This is an independent publication. The views are my own. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced on behalf of Primary Construction or any other organization, and nothing in it should be read as a position of my employer. It does not draw on confidential or proprietary information belonging to any employer, client, or project.
Content is general information from public sources, current as of September 2026. It is not legal, professional, or code advice. Confirm statutory obligations with legal counsel and verify current requirements before acting.
This issue was emailed to subscribers on September 11, 2026.
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