How Do I Get A Building Permit In Ontario

As a homeowner in Ontario, if you have determined you require a building permit for your home renovation. You now have two options:

Option 1: Hire Mignon or an Architect

The Ontario Building Code requires that designer or architect preparing plans are qualified and registered. They must provide information about their qualifications, design responsibility, and their Building Code Identification Number (BCIN) on every document submitted for a building permit. You can confirm your designer’s qualifications here.

Option 2: Doing it Yourself

If you have a good working knowledge of house construction and the Ontario Building Code, you may design a home renovation intended for your own use. In some cases, such as if you plan on lowering a basement floor (underpin existing foundation walls), you will need to hire an Engineer to prepare the drawings for that portion of the renovation.

Step 1

Get a Property Survey. The first step in the building permit application process is getting a property survey. You will need to request a new one if your property has never been surveyed, or get access to the existing one. If a previous owner of the property applied for a permit in the past, you can request the existing survey directly from the city here, otherwise there is a company called Protect Your Boundaries you can check here.

Step 2

Check Zoning Bylaws. Next, the architect or firm, will begin to determine the zoning and applicable laws to your property. Every home renovation is unique. Before beginning your project, you must know whether the work you plan on doing will comply with the Zoning Bylaw. Research your property on the City of Toronto's Zoning By-Law Interactive Map. This lets you input your property address and it shows which bylaws are applicable to your property. You can then determine building size limits, setbacks, parking, square footage etc.

Step 3

Building Permit Application or Committee of Adjustment. Once the zoning bylaws are identified, the architect or firm will provide you with two options:

• either your home renovation complies with the zoning bylaws and you can proceed with the regular building permit process.

• or you require additional square footage etc. that is out of the bounds of what is permitted. So an application through the Committee of Adjustment is needed.

Step 4

Prepare Zoning Drawings. The architect will put together your property survey, a site plan, existing plans and elevations, proposed plans and elevations. When submitting drawings to the City, it is important that they are complete and of high quality. Sketches are not acceptable drawings. A plan examiner can only approve a project when all of the information is on the drawings.

Step 5

Submit Application for Preliminary Zoning Review. The City of Toronto offers a service called preliminary zoning review, in order for you to determine whether your project complies with the zoning requirements for your property before applying for a building permit. The preliminary zoning review is not mandatory, but getting a preliminary zoning review means that when you are ready to apply for your building permit, it can be processed faster. They offer two types of preliminary zoning reviews for residential projects: a Zoning Certificate Review and a Preliminary Project Review. review your proposal in order to determine compliance with the Zoning Bylaw and municipal and provincial building regulations (which are known as Applicable Law). Once this is approved, you know that your home renovation is permitted and the architect can continue.

Step 6

Prepare Construction Drawings. The architect will put together your construction details, lot grading plan, HVAC design and roof plan.

Step 7

Submit Application for Building Permit. The following need to be completed by the architect or firm: application to construct or demolish, energy efficiency summary, infill public notice declaration form, municipal road deposit form, designer information form, tree declaration form. Applications can then be submitted by email to bldapplications@toronto.ca. The Building Code Examiner will then review your plans in order to determine compliance with all of the requirements of the Ontario Building Code.

Step 8

City Decision. Two things can happen: your permit is issued or rejected. If everything is in order, it will be approved and you may begin building in accordance with the approved plans. If your application does not satisfy certain requirements or compliance is a problem, you will be issued a notice documenting why your project does not comply. You will have to submit further information or a revision. You can check the status of your permit here.

Step 9

Complete Construction. Hire your contractor, trades, order materials and complete the home renovation.

Step 10

Closing your permit. Following your final inspection, confirm your permit has been closed by calling the Toronto Building TelePermit number. It is your responsibility as the owner of a property to ensure that all inspections are carried out, including the final inspection, and that your permit is closed upon project completion. Your permit is closed when all necessary inspections have been completed and the work you carried out is safe and meets the requirements of the Building Code and other applicable law, according to the inspector.

Notes:

If you plan to store construction materials or containers on the street, you need a Street Occupation Permit.

The City of Toronto also requires homeowners to provide a security deposit, generally known as a Municipal Road Damage Deposit in case any work damages the sidewalk.

When doing any work, you need to consider the impact on trees. A permit is required if you plan on removing or may damage any trees on your property.

For any property listed on the Toronto Heritage Register, you must get Heritage Approval before starting work.

If you live close to a stream, river, valley, or watercourse of any kind, a wetland or on the waterfront, you may need approval from the TRCA (Toronto and Region Conservation Authority) before proceeding with any work.

If the proposed work is located within a regulated area, the owner must apply for a Development, Interference with Wetlands and Alterations to Shorelines and Watercourses permit from the TRCA. Check here.