What ceiling height do I need for a basement apartment in Ontario?
A secondary suite requires 1.95 m of clear height over the required floor area, reducing to 1.85 m under beams and ducts.
Conditions and exceptions
- These figures are specific to secondary suites and are lower than the general habitable-room requirement.
- Ceiling height is one of several suite requirements — fire separation, egress, and smoke alarms apply too.
- Municipal registration or licensing may apply on top of the building code.
Where this comes from
Ontario Building Code
This page states the requirement and points you to the publisher. It does not reproduce the code text — read the provision itself at the official source below.
Read the official text at Ontario — King's Printer →Verify this against the code edition actually adopted where you are building. Provinces, territories, and municipalities amend on their own schedules, and where the governing document and this page disagree, the governing document controls. This is not legal, engineering, or permitting advice. Last reviewed 2026-08-12.
Ask your own code question
Canadian Codes answers questions like this one from national, provincial, territorial, and municipal sources, and cites the document, section, and page so you can check it yourself.
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