If a building or building owner meets certain exemption criteria set out in the Reporting of Energy and Water Use regulation, the building may not be required to report its usage on an ongoing basis, or for one year.

Ongoing exemption

Building owners are eligible for an ongoing exemption from the reporting requirement if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • At least 50 per cent of the gross floor area of the building is occupied by a public agency.
  • At least 10 per cent of the gross floor area is occupied by a data centre, television studio or trading floor.
  • At least 10 per cent of the gross floor area is used for manufacturing processing, commercial processing, agricultural processing or industrial processing, if the environmental conditions within the property are governed mainly by the operations or processes within the building.

When an exemption notice is not required

Building owners are also eligible for an ongoing exemption from the reporting requirement if the building is owned by a corporation that meets the criteria outlined in Section 5(1)1 of the Reporting of Energy and Water Use regulation (these corporations are usually public, but not always). In this case, no exemption notice is required.

One-year exemption

Building owners are eligible for an exemption from the reporting requirement for a calendar year if they  meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • At any time during the reporting year, any owner of the property is an insolvent person as defined in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada).
  • At any time during the reporting year, the property is subject to:
    • a tax arrears certificate that has been registered against the property
    • a power of sale or foreclosure under a mortgage
    • a writ of execution
  • The property is newly constructed, and a certificate for the occupancy of the property is issued in that year.

If you believe that your property is eligible for a one-year exemption from reporting, you must complete an exemption notice.

As part of completing the exemption notice for reasons listed above, the owner must provide documentation as described in the exemption notice form.