Under-Cabinet Lighting in a Concord Condo or Townhome

Published 2026 — Rhodex

A plug-in light with a recognized certification mark is the simplest way to light under cabinets in a Concord condo. Hardwiring is a new electrical installation, so it needs an ESA notification, and high-rise owners cannot use the homeowner exemption.

Dark counters are one of the first complaints in newer Concord kitchens, where the cabinets run to the ceiling and the pot lights sit in the wrong place. Under-cabinet or accent lighting looks like a weekend job. The product is easy to buy. The rules around it are what trip people up, and they change depending on how the light gets its power. The requirements below come from the Electrical Safety Authority's Bulletin 2-3-18 on Rule 2-005 of the Ontario Electrical Safety Code.

Three ways to power the same light

Plug-in. A light bar or tape kit with its own cord that goes into an existing receptacle. No wiring is installed, so the electrical question mostly disappears. The trade-off is a visible cord and a receptacle that is now in use.
Plug-in driver with low-voltage lights. The tape, pucks or bars run at low voltage from a power supply that itself plugs into the wall. The wiring after the supply is the part people assume is exempt. It is less clear than that, as the next section explains.
Hardwired. The lights are wired into the building circuit, usually to a switch, so there is no cord on show. This is a wiring job.

What ESA says about hardwiring

ESA's bulletin is blunt: all new installations require a notification to be filed, regardless of who does the work, and the basic exemption does not cover installing, extending, altering or repairing electrical wiring. Adding a switch, running a new cable to the cabinet, or tapping a circuit to feed a new light all fall on the notification side. Since the notification follows the work, it is filed by whoever does it, and ESA's bulletin warns that an owner can do the work under Ontario Regulation 570/05 only with one filed.

The two exemptions people quote are about replacing things. A Licensed Electrical Contractor can replace utilization equipment, receptacles or switches in an owner-occupied dwelling unit without filing, and a single-dwelling owner can replace a luminaire or general-use switch. Both require the new item to go in the same location and be interchangeable with the old one. Brand-new under-cabinet lighting where there was none is not a replacement, so neither exemption applies.

Why a Concord high-rise owner gets less room

For the owner exemption ESA is explicit: a single dwelling does not include a high-rise condominium. An owner living in a high-rise may still do the work under Ontario Regulation 570/05, but a notification has to be filed, and ESA adds that condominium rules may not allow electrical work unless the corporation authorizes it. Whether a condo townhouse in Concord counts as a single dwelling is not settled by the bulletin, so ask ESA or a licensed electrician rather than guessing. A freehold townhome, where you own the land and the house, is a different case again.

If you rent the unit out, the contractor exemption disappears too. ESA says it only applies to an owner-occupied dwelling unit, so a rented condo needs a notification even for a like-for-like swap.

The low-voltage assumption

There is a notification exemption for wiring connected to the load side of an approved Class 2 power supply, and it is easy to read that as "low-voltage lighting needs nothing." The bulletin says otherwise at the edges. It states the installation does not include electrical equipment such as luminaires and decorative lighting strips, and gives the Class 2 limits as no more than 100 VA at 30 V rms, 42.4 V peak or 60 V dc. Under-cabinet lights are luminaires. Before you or a contractor decide a low-voltage kit is exempt, get that confirmed for the specific product, not assumed from the voltage.

Replacing an old under-cabinet light

If a previous owner left hardwired fixtures and one fails, this is the case the exemptions were written for. The new fixture goes in the same spot, fits the same wiring, and sits on a branch circuit no larger than 15 A and 130 V for an owner replacing it themselves. ESA also says that replacing a general-use switch with a dimmer, timer or motion sensor is covered for a single-dwelling owner. In a high-rise condo, the owner version of this does not apply, so a licensed electrician replacing it in an owner-occupied unit is the usual route.

Check the label before the lights go up

ESA requires that an electrical product be approved by an accredited certification agency before it is used, sold or advertised in Ontario, and that it carry the agency's official mark. It lists CSA, Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada, Intertek and NSF International among the recognized marks, and says installing and connecting unapproved equipment is against the law. Check the light and any driver or power supply for the mark on the product itself, not only the box or the online listing.

Condo and townhome questions to settle first

Who owns the wall? Wiring to a cabinet means a hole or a channel in a wall. Ask your property manager how your declaration treats the wall, and get the answer in writing.
Is there a backsplash or wall to patch? Fishing a cable behind a finished wall can leave drywall repair behind it. Our guide to patching drywall in a newer Concord build covers what is usually inside those walls.
Where is the switch going? A switch or dimmer on a new location is new wiring. Plan it before the cabinets get their lights, not after.
What does a quote include? The lights, the driver or transformer, the switch, the wiring, and the ESA notification. Cost is not quoted here, because we could not find a reliable Concord-specific price. Ask for a written quote that lists each of those lines separately.

Quick answers

Do I need an electrician to install under-cabinet lights in a Concord condo?

Not for a light that plugs into an existing receptacle. A hardwired light is a new installation, which needs an ESA notification filed by whoever does the work.

Does a plug-in under-cabinet light need an ESA notification?

No, a cord-connected light involves no new wiring, so there is nothing to notify. It must still carry a recognized certification mark, because ESA treats unapproved equipment as illegal to install.

Can I hardwire under-cabinet lights myself in a high-rise condo?

Legally yes under Ontario Regulation 570/05, but you must file an ESA notification. ESA says the homeowner exemption does not cover high-rise condos, and your condo rules may not allow electrical work.

Does low-voltage LED tape skip the ESA notification?

Not automatically. ESA's bulletin says its low-voltage Class 2 exemption does not include luminaires or decorative lighting strips, so confirm with an electrician or ESA before assuming.

What should I check on under-cabinet lights before buying?

Look for a recognized certification mark, such as CSA, ULC or Intertek, on the product itself. ESA says installing unapproved electrical equipment is against the law.

If you would rather have the whole job handled, you can get a fixed price from Rhodex.

Start with the plug, then decide

A plug-in kit with the right mark is a one-evening job with almost no paperwork. Cleaner results, a wall switch, or a dimmer on the circuit all push you into wiring work, and that is where the notification, the condo rules and a licensed electrician come in. Decide which of the two you want before you buy a single light.

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