How to Get a Building Permit in Montreal
Montreal building permits: the borough permit counter, the documents, the $9.80 per $1,000 fee, and the permit validity periods.
How to Get a Building Permit in Vancouver
Vancouver building permits: when you need one, the development permit question, the application package, fees after intake, and inspections.
Applies in: British Columbia
Vancouver runs building permits under its own Vancouver Building By-law, not the BC Building Code used in the rest of the province, and the permit is the City's tool for checking life safety, livability, accessibility, and sustainability. Construction projects and any change of land use or occupancy on private property need a building permit. This guide covers the City of Vancouver only. The process in another BC city runs under different rules and a different by-law.
Step 1: Check whether a development permit comes first
The City's first step is to determine if you need a separate development permit. Some projects need a development permit approved before the building permit application can be submitted, so do not start with the building permit form until you know which side of that line your project falls on. The City's building permit page points new duplexes, single detached houses, and laneway houses to one route, multiplexes to another, and home renovations to the renovation route. Pick the route that matches your project, because each one has its own steps and its own checklist.
Step 2: Assemble the drawing and document package
For a home addition or renovation, gather the drawings and documents on the Addition/Renovation Permit Application Submission Checklist, then complete the Development and/or Building Permit Application Form. New commercial buildings use the New Commercial Building checklist instead. The City's application form notes that you need a permit account, registered through the City's permit application page, and that the required documents come from the checklists for your project type. Incomplete packages are not accepted, so check every item on your checklist before you send anything in. The City also asks for a building grades survey and design where required, and for sewer connection requirements it directs applicants to email the City's engineering permits address.
Step 3: Submit the application and pay the fees after intake
Send the application package and the form through the City's online permit system. The City takes in the application first and then notifies you to pay the permit application fees and any deposits. Pay online by credit card through the City's permit payment page, and note that only the permit holder or applicant can make online payments toward a permit. In person, pay at the Development and Building Services Centre, 515 West 10th Avenue, Ground Floor, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4A8, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed on holidays. Cash payments are capped at $200. By mail, send a cheque payable to the City of Vancouver to the same address, with the permit number noted on the cheque. If you need help with the online account, the City publishes a building permit online account guide.
Step 4: Pass the detailed review
City staff teams review the submitted plans and documents in detail. After that review the City notifies you about the conditions and items to address before the permit can be issued, and about any payments for Development Cost Levies, Development Cost Charges, damage deposits, and sewer and water servicing fees. Answer the conditions in full before you expect the permit. The City's building permit page lists the next steps as beginning construction, getting trade permits, and booking inspections, then occupying the building.
Step 5: Book the field review inspection for a renovation
For a home renovation, once the City finishes processing your application it notifies you to book a field review inspection. If the inspector approves the proposed work based on the findings of the inspection, the permit is ready to be issued. The City also handles electrical, plumbing, building, fire sprinkler, gas, and sidewalk inspections through its inspections page, and trade permits are separate from the building permit, so a project that touches plumbing or electrical work needs those permits as well.
Step 6: Build to the approved drawings
When the City issues the permit, it sends an email with instructions to download and print the permit and the approved drawings. One printed copy of the City-approved permit needs to be available for viewing at the jobsite for City inspectors, and one paper set of City-approved drawings, full-sized and to scale and displaying the City accepted stamp, needs to be available at the jobsite as well. If the City accepted stamp is missing or the paper set is not at the jobsite, you will have to reschedule your inspection and may be charged a re-inspection fee. Build to the approved drawings, because the inspections check the work against them. For questions, the Development and Building Services Centre can be reached online or by calling 3-1-1, or 604-873-7000 from outside Vancouver, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Figures the opened City of Vancouver pages do not state
The opened City pages state the steps, the payment routes, the $200 cash cap, the centre address and hours, and the jobsite requirements set out above. They do not state a fee amount for any project type, a processing time, or how long a permit stays valid. The fee schedule is a separate City document, and the fee for your project is confirmed when the City notifies you to pay after intake. Those figures were cut from this guide rather than filled in from another source. Confirm the current fee schedule on vancouver.ca before you budget the project.
Related guides:
- How to get a building permit in Toronto: Toronto's building permit route, which runs under the Ontario Building Code and the City of Toronto's own process.
- How to get a building permit in Richmond, BC: Richmond's permit process, which runs under the BC Building Code rather than Vancouver's own by-law.
- How to start getting a building permit in British Columbia: the province-wide starting point for building permits outside Vancouver.
- How to be an owner-builder in BC: the owner-builder route in British Columbia, for people who want to build their own home.
The Vancouver building permit path
- Check whether a development permit comes firstSome projects need a development permit approved before the building permit application can be submitted
- Assemble the drawing and document packageThe application form plus the drawings and documents on the checklist for your project type
- Submit and pay the fees after intakeThe City notifies you to pay the permit application fees and any deposits after it takes in the application
- Pass the detailed reviewCity staff teams review the plans and list the conditions to address before the permit can be issued
- Book the field review inspectionFor a renovation, the City notifies you to book a field review inspection once processing is finished
- Build to the approved drawingsKeep one printed copy of the permit and one paper set of City-approved drawings at the jobsite
Questions people ask
Do I need a building permit for a renovation in Vancouver?
Yes, if the work is construction or a change of land use or occupancy on private property. The City of Vancouver states that a renovation such as adding an addition or moving or installing interior walls needs a permit. A small renovation that needs no major upgrades may use the field review process instead, so check the City's field review page for your project before you apply.
Do I need a development permit before a building permit in Vancouver?
Sometimes. The City's first step is to determine if you need a separate development permit, and a development permit has to be approved before you submit the building permit application for projects that need one. New houses, duplexes, laneway houses, and multiplexes have their own application routes, so start on the City's building permit page for your project type.
What drawings and documents go into a Vancouver building permit application?
The Development and/or Building Permit Application Form plus the drawings and documents on the checklist for your project type. For a home addition or renovation, that is the Addition/Renovation Permit Application Submission Checklist. New commercial buildings have their own checklist. The City does not accept incomplete packages, so work through the checklist for your project type before you submit.
When do I pay the building permit fees in Vancouver?
After intake. The City takes in your application, then notifies you to pay the permit application fees and any deposits. You can pay online by credit card through the City's permit payment page, in person at the Development and Building Services Centre at 515 West 10th Avenue, or by mail with a cheque payable to the City of Vancouver with the permit number noted on it. Cash payments in person are capped at $200.
What happens after I submit my Vancouver building permit application?
City staff teams review the submitted plans and documents in detail, then notify you of the conditions and items to address before the permit can be issued, and of any payments for Development Cost Levies, Development Cost Charges, damage deposits, and sewer and water servicing fees. For a renovation, the City then notifies you to book a field review inspection, and if the inspector approves the proposed work, the permit is ready to be issued.
What must be at the jobsite once the permit is issued in Vancouver?
One printed copy of the City-approved permit and one paper set of City-approved drawings, full-sized and to scale, displaying the City accepted stamp, must be available for viewing at the jobsite for City inspectors. If the City accepted stamp is missing or the paper set is not at the jobsite, you will have to reschedule your inspection and may be charged a re-inspection fee.
Sources
- City of Vancouver, Get a building permit — when a permit is required, the Vancouver Building By-law, the four steps, the project routes, the Development and Building Services Centre address and hours, and the inspections page.
- City of Vancouver, Renovate a home — the renovation application steps, the checklist and form, fees after intake and the payment routes, the $200 cash cap, the detailed review and the levies and deposits, the field review inspection, and the jobsite permit and drawings requirements.
- City of Vancouver, Development and/or Building Permit Application Form — the permit account requirement, the checklist route, and the multiplex application route.