Decks | City of Oshawa

Getting started

You do not need a building permit for a deck if:

The height from the ground to the top of the deck is not more than 24 in
The deck is not supporting a roof

If your deck does not meet the criteria above, a building permit is required.

Your deck must comply with the Ontario Building Code and the City of Oshawa's Zoning By-Law even if a building permit is not required.

Your drawings must be to scale and use metric measurements to clearly show what is existing and what is proposed. Additional information may be requested during the review process. See our digital submission standards which explain how to prepare your digital drawings and documentation files for the application.

Zoning requirements

Your deck must comply with Oshawa's Zoning By-Law for location and setbacks. For information on how your property is zoned, please see our zoning page.

Generally, a deck may extend a maximum of 2.4m into the minimum rear or front yard depth and stairs may go an additional 1.5m further. You can find your minimum yard depth in our Zoning By-Law.

If your property does not meet the minimum zoning requirements, you may want to consider applying for a minor variance through the Committee of Adjustment.

Permit application requirements

For your project, you will need to submit:

Forms

Application to construct or demolish
Owner's authorization form will be required if you are not the property owner
Schedule 1 - designer information - located on page 3 of the application to construct or demolish

Site plan

The site plan must include the following:

Entire property with lot dimensions
The location, dimensions and setbacks to property lines of the proposed building/structure
The location and dimensions of all existing buildings (i.e. house, shed, garages) or structures (decks, porches) on the property
Setback of the proposed building / structure to any on-site sewage system components, or any easements, if applicable

Plan and section drawings

Foundation - please provide:
- Location, depth, size and spacing of piers
- If using helical piles, an engineered design and commitment to general review form is required
Framing - please provide:
- Dimensions of deck
- Height from finished grade
- Beam material, size, location, spacing, span of beams (between supports/piers) and method of attachment
- Joist Material size, spacing and dimensions (span of joists between supports/beams)
- Flooring (decking) material size
- Proposed ledger connection details, if applicable
- Roof overhang design and details for a covered porch, if applicable
Stair, guard and railing details, if applicable
- Number and height of riser
- Height of proposed handrails and guards, if applicable
- Guard connection details (as per the 2024 Ontario Building Code, Vol 2. Supplementary Standard SB-7)

Roof Plan, if applicable

The roof plan must include the following:

Roof slopes
Roof space ventilation
Location of skylights and surrounding framing
Size, grade and spacing of roof rafters, roof joists (if cathedral or flat), ceiling joists, collar ties and ridge supports for conventional roof framing
When applicable, spacing and direction of span of engineered roof trusses
Location of girder trusses and beams
Building Designer’s statement of roof truss system coordination with architectural/structural drawings

Elevations, if applicable

Elevation drawings are required for each side of the project. They must include the following information:

Grade level
Existing and proposed work
Finished floor levels
Vertical dimension of guards
Roof overhang and dimensions, if applicable

Once the application has been accepted, the required permit fee will be payable through your portal account. Permit fees (see page 16) for different projects are provided in our Building By-law.

Additional approval requirements

Your property may be located within Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (C.L.O.C.A.) regulated lands, within the Ministry of Transportation (M.T.O.) highway corridor controlled area or near a Metrolinx Transit Corridor. Please get in touch with these agencies to obtain a permit.

How to apply on portal for a deck, porch, ramp or walk-up

From the drop-down menu please select deck, porch, ramp, balcony per storey, veranda or walk-up as the application type.
In the description field please write a brief description of what is being constructed.
Choose the appropriate work items that apply.
Enter the quantity of decks, etc that are being constructed.
Enter the address of the proposed construction.
Upload the PDF files of the required documents
Review and submit the application

Apply for a deck, porch, ramp or walk-up on our application portal

Apply Now

Resources

Building Permits

Deck construction guide

Call before you dig

It is important you call Ontario One Call at 1-800-400-2255 before you dig to have them locate any underground utilities and avoid any damage during construction.