The answer to the question “how long will it take to get my building permit in Ontario?” depends on a few other questions.
What type of project are you planning?
This answer can have the largest impact on timelines, if you’re planning a custom home build there are many more approvals than taking a wall out in a kitchen. For the sake of this post we’ll break things down into three categories: Custom Homes, Additions, Large Interior Renovations, and Small Interior Renovations. For all permit application types, Ontario has province wide regulations that require building departments to respond to a building permit application within 10 business days, this doesn’t mean approval or rejection, it means they have to provide comment, sometimes they’ll approve it in that time, but most times not.
Custom Homes
Custom homes are by far the most complex and time consuming during the permit process anywhere in Ontario, and it can vary in length drastically between municipalities.
The first bridge to cross is whether you are going to ask for any variances for your new home, you’re building your dream home so your top priority shouldn’t be speeding through approvals, you want to get what you want, what you’ve imagined and that can take time. Normal variances are things like, building closer to property lines, building a bit larger of a home on the lot or building slightly higher. If a variance is required for what you want to build you should expect to add 2-6 months to the application process.
If there are no variances required for your custom home, there is still a zoning review that is done by the zoning department and runs first, before the building department gets to look at your application.
Once the variance or zoning review process is completed, your application lands on the desk of the building department for their review. They’re looking at things like structural details, HVAC design, insulation specifications, and the grading of the proposed property. In most Ontario municipalities, the building department review for a complex custom home will be 2 to 4 months. For a more straightforward custom home the review process will likely be 2 weeks to 2 months before a permit is issued.
Additions
Though additions are major projects, generally their applications are more straightforward than custom homes in Ontario. An addition can require a variance if you’re asking to build closer to the property boundaries or a larger area than the zoning allows. If that’s the case, you can expect the same timelines to apply that do for a custom home zoning process.
Typically for an addition project to be approved and the permits be issued, the timeline can be as little as 2 weeks and up to 2 months, the normal being 1 month.
Large Interior Renovations
Some may ask why do I need a permit for my Large interior renovation? If you are altering structure, plumbing or HVAC, you are going to need a permit, electrical change permits are handled by the electrician through the ESA, which is separate from your local building department.
Large interior renovations bypass some of the main impediments to the permitting process, there is no zoning review required and therefore, no need for a variance process. The speed that a large interior renovation permit is approved in Ontario largely depends on the quality of the package that is put in front of building department and if all the requirements are met. If for example, an HVAC design is required for the scale of renovation, but not included, it will push things back, allowing for the time to complete the design and then review it.
If all the ducks are in a row, a large interior renovation permit in Ontario should take 2 weeks to 1 month to go from submittal to issuance.
Small Interior Renovations
Some small interior renovations will require a permit in Ontario, others will not. If you are changing any of the structure, HVAC, or plumbing, you need a permit. If however, you’re just changing fixtures, then no permit is required. For example, if you’re going to renovate your bathroom and are leaving all the plumbing where it is and you’re just going to re-tile, install a new vanity, sink, shower fixture and toilet, no permit is required. However, if you are changing the locations of those plumbing fixtures, which will require changing supply, waste and venting lines, then a permit certainly is a necessity.
Another good example would be a typical kitchen renovation. If you’re going to rip your kitchen out, keep the plumbing where it is, and not remove any structural walls, you’re fine to do that renovation without a permit in Ontario. If you are going to move plumbing or remove a structural wall, get a permit.
The timelines for a small interior renovation permit to be approved in Ontario is definitely on the shorter end of the spectrum, usually 2 weeks to 1 month.
Conservation Authorities
For a new custom home or addition build in Ontario, especially in, but not limited to, rural areas, there is a possibility of having to satisfy the local conservation authority before beginning the permit submission process with the municipal building department.
Most times, a site plan and project description is required to obtain a clearance letter or certificate from the conservation authority that has jurisdiction. This approval doesn’t usually take very long, in most cases if the proposed building doesn’t encroach on any conservation limit you will have an approval within 1 month. If, the conservation authority requires studies of the land or animals that may be on the property, these studies can take a year and sometimes more to be completed, reviewed and approved. They may also lead to stipulations by the conservation authority, things like the demolition of structures can only take place within a certain window of time due to impact on a specific creature in the immediate vicinity.
Even if the application is approved, it’s important to remember that there may be implications with services (hydro, gas, water, sewer) that are not considered at this stage but may come up later on.
Final Thoughts
We hope this is a helpful guide that can help you assess the possible timelines for the approval of your residential construction project in Ontario. As always we are more than happy to discuss your specific project with you and try to set a path that best meets your needs
