Technical requirements in the general area of the adaptability and visitability of dwelling units have been developed for consideration in the 2025 edition of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC). A complementary proposed change, PCF 1881, proposes to include these technical requirements in new Subsections 3.8.4. and 3.8.5.

However, the scope of Section 3.8. (as stated in Article 3.8.1.1.) is currently limited to Subsections 3.8.2. and 3.8.3. The scope of Section 3.8. needs to be expanded to include proposed Subsections 3.8.4. and 3.8.5. that address the design of dwelling units with respect to adaptability and visitability.

This proposed change expands the scope of Section 3.8. (as stated in Article 3.8.1.1.) to include proposed Subsections 3.8.4. and 3.8.5.

This proposed change would allow different levels of technical requirements related to the adaptability and visitability of dwelling units to explicitly fall within the scope of Section 3.8.

This proposed change does not, on its own, introduce any new costs because it simply expands the NBC framework to explicitly include proposed Subsections 3.8.4. and 3.8.5. within the scope of Section 3.8. These proposed Subsections are necessary to position new technical requirements for the adaptability and visitability of dwelling units. However, the future introduction of specific technical requirements that are related to accessibility, but are beyond the scope of this proposed change, may introduce costs. These future technical requirements would be developed through separate proposed changes (with stand-alone impact analyses) that would undergo typical cross-committee coordination and public review procedures so that the members of Code committees and Code users can make informed recommendations on the progression of such proposed changes.

This proposed change is necessary to explicitly include new Subsections 3.8.4. and 3.8.5. within the scope of Section 3.8. Enabling the NBC framework to include these proposed Subsections, which are related to the adaptable and visitable design of dwelling units, would simplify use of the NBC for Code users.

No enforcement implications are expected as a result of this proposed change, as it simply expands the scope of NBC Section 3.8. to include proposed Subsections 3.8.4. and 3.8.5.

This proposed change does not directly affect Code users because expanding the scope of NBC Section 3.8. does not present new technical requirements.

However, the expanded framework to consolidate the proposed requirements for the adaptable and visitable design of dwelling units (facilitated by this proposed change to the scope of Section 3.8.) should simplify use of the NBC for Code users by allowing them to find relevant accessibility requirements in stand-alone Subsections 3.8.4 and 3.8.5.