What is a demolition control bylaw and can it stop me from tearing down a home that isn't heritage-designated?

Yes, a demolition control bylaw is a separate tool some Ontario municipalities use, distinct from heritage designation, to regulate the demolition of residential buildings generally, often aimed at preserving existing housing stock or ensuring a replacement building is actually going to be built rather than leaving vacant land. A property doesn't need any heritage significance at all to be caught by this kind of bylaw; it applies based on the type of building and its location within the municipality, not its historical value.

Where a demolition control bylaw applies, an owner typically needs a demolition permit issued under that bylaw before tearing down a covered building, and the municipality may attach conditions, such as requiring a building permit for the replacement structure to be in place first, before allowing the demolition to proceed. This is a genuinely separate legal requirement from anything related to the Ontario Heritage Act, so a property being entirely free of heritage designation doesn't mean demolition is automatically unrestricted. Anyone planning to demolish a residential building should confirm with the municipality whether a demolition control bylaw applies before assuming ordinary demolition rules are all that's involved.