Is my house in an Ottawa heritage conservation district?

Only the City can confirm it. Ottawa has over 300 individually designated buildings and 20 heritage conservation districts, and the City keeps a Heritage Register that also lists some properties that are not designated.

The difference matters for masonry work:

• A property designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act needs council's written consent before an alteration likely to affect its heritage attributes. Its own designation by-law says what those attributes are.
• A property in a heritage conservation district (Part V) needs a heritage permit to alter any part of the property other than the interior, unless the district plan exempts that class of work. The Centretown and Minto Park, Wilbrod/Laurier and Daly Avenue plans, for example, list repointing and foundation repairs as regular maintenance that needs no heritage permit; the other districts' plans may differ.
• A property listed on the Register but not designated: the City says "There are no restrictions on alterations to non-designated properties listed on the Heritage Register."

Under the Act, "alter" includes to restore and repair, which is why masonry work can be caught. Heritage approval is also separate from a building permit: the City says approval under the Act "must not be construed to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit."

To check your property, contact the City's heritage staff at heritage@ottawa.ca with your address, and ask which category it falls in and which plan or by-law applies before you book any masonry work.