Member Article

On March 18, 2013, the Règlement visant à améliorer la sécurité dans le bâtiment, adopted pursuant to the Building Act, came into force. The new Regulation, which became chapter VIII of the Safety Code entitled “Building”, contains rules on fire safety and on maintenance of building facades and multi-level concrete parking structures. The fire safety rules will come into force progressively between now and 2018, most likely to allow owners to plan any code compliance work and associated costs.

On May 12, 2013, the Regulation to amend the Safety Code will come into force and will add provisions to Chapter VIII - Building - that will impose upon owners new obligations pertaining to the maintenance of water cooling towers.

This bulletin provides a summary of the new provisions of the Safety Code pertaining to building facades, parking structures and water cooling towers.

THE NEW REGIME FOR INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF FACADES
The new safety norms apply to all facades of five stories or more above ground. The facades of a building must be maintained so as to ensure safety and avoid the development of dangerous conditions. A dangerous condition exists when the component of one of the facades of a building can, imminently, detach itself from the building or collapse and cause bodily injuries.

Every five years, the owner of a public building of five stories or more must obtain an assessment report from an engineer or an architect indicating that the facades of the building do not present any dangerous conditions and, if applicable, that recommendations intended to correct defects that may contribute to the creation of dangerous conditions have been made.

When a dangerous condition is detected, whether it be during an inspection or otherwise, the owner must respect certain obligations. He must, without delay, put in place emergency measures to ensure the safety of the occupants and of the public and he must advise the Régie du bâtiment; he must also provide to the Régie, within thirty days, a description prepared by an engineer or an architect, of the corrective measures that must be implemented and a work schedule that must be approved by the Régie; afterwards, he must ensure that the work is performed in accordance with the documents provided to the Régie and he must obtain, when the work is completed, an assessment report confirming that the facades of the building are safe. At the end of this process, the owner must provide to the Régie a letter signed by the engineer or the architect confirming that all of the corrective measures were completed to his/her satisfaction and that there no longer exists a dangerous condition.

The government has in a way delegated to the professionals, engineers and architects, a supervisory role with respect to the application of some of the measures provided for in the Regulation. For example, the Regulation specifies that the choice of inspection methods for the report that must be provided every five years belongs to the professional who must recommend any tests, examinations or trials he deems necessary. The engineer or the architect must, in his report, identify the defects and their causes that may contribute to the development of dangerous conditions including, for example, infiltrations, rust stains, signs of efflorescence, scaling, etc. He must also describe the corrective measures to be undertaken and the work schedule, and confirm that the facades are exempt from any dangerous condition. If applicable, he must also confirm that recommendations were addressed to the owner in order to correct the defects observed that may contribute to the development of dangerous conditions.

This report must be produced every five years and the necessary inspections to issue such a report must be performed within six months preceding the production of the report. The first inspection report of the facades must be produced by the owner no later than on the day of the tenth anniversary of the construction of the building. However, if on March 18, 2013, the building is more than ten years old, the first report must be produced on the date determined by the Regulation on the basis of the age of the building. In such a case, the timetable is as follows: if the building is more than 45 years old, before March 18, 2015; between 25 and 45 years old, before March 18, 2016; between 15 and 25 years old, before March 18, 2017; and between 10 and 15 years old, before March 18, 2018.

THE NEW REGIME FOR THE INSPECTION OF PARKING STRUCTURES
The Regulation also provides for new obligations for owners of underground or aboveground parking structures with a cement slab having a rolling surface that does not rest on the ground. In the case of parking structures, the five-year report may only be prepared by an engineer and the first report must be produced between 12 and 18 months following the end of the construction of the building. However, if the parking structure is between 1 and 5 years old, the report must be produced before March 18, 2014, and if it is more than 5 years old, before March 18, 2016.

If an incident occurs that may have an impact on the soundness of the parking structure, the owner must have an engineer conduct and in-depth inspection. An owner will want to establish a protocol identifying the types of incidents that require such an in-depth assessment. A structural engineer should be able to assist the owner in establishing such a protocol.

A parking structure must also be inspected annually and the first annual inspection must take place before March 18, 2014 for all parking structures subject to the Regulation. The Regulation provides a detailed inspection checklist that must be completed by the owner during the annual inspection. The contents of the checklist suggest that the owner may rely on a visual inspection.