What are the ESA permit requirements for rewiring a kitchen and bathroom in a Scarborough bungalow?

Any rewiring of kitchen or bathroom circuits in a Scarborough bungalow requires an ESA permit — no exceptions. These are among the most code-intensive rooms in the home, and the Ontario Electrical Safety Code has specific requirements for both that go well beyond simply running new wire.

Why Permits Are Non-Negotiable Here

The ESA requires permits for all rewiring work — adding circuits, extending circuits, or replacing wiring behind walls. Kitchen and bathroom rewires are particularly scrutinized because both rooms combine water and electricity, creating elevated shock and fire risk. If you ever sell your Scarborough home, unpermitted electrical work must be disclosed, can trigger mandatory remediation at your expense, and may void your homeowner's insurance if a claim arises from that work. Inspectors in the GTA are familiar with the post-war bungalow stock across Scarborough — Kingston Road corridor, Agincourt, Wexford, Birchcliff — and they know exactly what 1950s and 1960s wiring looks like when it hasn't been properly updated.

The permit process itself is straightforward: your licensed electrician applies to the ESA before work begins (online at esasafe.com or by phone), pays the permit fee, completes the work, and notifies the ESA for inspection. Residential permit fees for a kitchen and bathroom rewire typically run $200–$400 combined, calculated on a fee schedule based on the number of circuits and devices. The ESA inspector visits within 3–7 business days of notification — allow up to two weeks during the busy spring and fall renovation seasons in the GTA. Keep the certificate of inspection permanently with your home records.

Kitchen-Specific Code Requirements

A code-compliant kitchen rewire in Ontario requires several dedicated circuits that older Scarborough bungalows almost never have. The Ontario Electrical Safety Code mandates two dedicated 20A small appliance circuits serving the countertop receptacles — these are for toasters, kettles, coffee makers, and similar loads, and they cannot serve the fridge, dishwasher, or lighting. Your refrigerator needs its own dedicated 15A or 20A circuit. The dishwasher requires a dedicated 15A circuit. If you have a gas range you're fine, but an electric range needs a dedicated 50A, 240V circuit wired with 8/3 NMD90. A microwave above the range typically needs its own dedicated 20A circuit as well.

All countertop receptacles must be GFCI-protected — any outlet within 1.5 metres of the sink falls under this requirement. Under the current Ontario code, AFCI (arc-fault circuit interrupter) protection is required on 15A and 20A circuits in living spaces, and your electrician will advise on the specific AFCI/GFCI requirements based on the current edition of the OESC being enforced. Combination AFCI/GFCI breakers run $45–$65 each and are often the cleanest solution for kitchen circuits. All new or replaced outlets must be tamper-resistant.

Bathroom-Specific Code Requirements

The bathroom requires a dedicated 20A circuit for the receptacles — this circuit cannot serve lighting or exhaust fans in other rooms. All bathroom outlets must be GFCI-protected, and the ESA inspector will verify this without exception. The exhaust fan can share a circuit with bathroom lighting in most configurations, but your electrician will confirm based on your specific layout. If you're adding a bathroom heater — common in Scarborough bungalows where the original bathroom had no heat source — that typically requires its own dedicated 15A or 20A circuit depending on the heater's wattage.

Fixture placement matters too. The Ontario Electrical Safety Code defines zone restrictions around the tub and shower — no standard outlets within a certain distance of the water source, and any fixture inside the shower zone must carry an appropriate wet-location rating. Pot lights above a shower must be rated for wet locations (not just damp), and this is a common deficiency that ESA inspectors flag.

What This Looks Like in a Typical Scarborough Bungalow

A 1960s Scarborough bungalow rewiring the kitchen and bathroom is almost always starting from a 100A panel — sometimes still a 60A fuse box — with a handful of circuits serving the entire main floor. A proper kitchen rewire alone may add 5–7 new circuits. If your panel is already loaded, this project often triggers a panel upgrade to 200A at the same time, which adds $2,000–$3,500 to the project cost but is almost always worth doing. The combined kitchen and bathroom rewire in a typical Scarborough bungalow runs $4,000–$9,000 depending on wall accessibility, panel capacity, and whether the service entrance needs upgrading.

Hire a licensed electrician for every aspect of this project — the rewiring, the permit application, and the ESA inspection coordination. Verify their ESA licence at esasafe.com and request a WSIB clearance certificate before work begins.

Need help finding a licensed electrician for your Scarborough kitchen or bathroom project? Toronto Electrical Repair can match you with local professionals for free — browse the directory at torontoconstructionnetwork.com/directory?trade=electrical.