The Building Permits Process in Toronto

All major residential architecture projects in Toronto require a building permit—whether you’re building your home, building an addition, or, in many cases, simply finishing your basement. Despite the fact that these permits are so frequently required, the process of applying for and obtaining them remains difficult and frustrating for anyone not accustomed to it, and time-consuming even to those who are.

For this reason, a homeowner will often prefer to bring in an expert who understands the complexities and the rigamarole of getting through the building permit process. If you’re a Toronto homeowner who is preparing a residential architecture project and you choose to offload the burden of this process onto an experienced architect, Lorne Rose wants you to know what you can expect. (Please note that, though the process may be similar in other areas, this information is specific to Toronto.)

Here’s Lorne’s process: As the homeowner, the first thing you should do is to obtain the topographic survey of your property, as well as an arborist report. Having delivered these documents to Lorne, he would review your property’s zoning information and then develop a design for your house. (We’ve previously blogged about what to look for in a residential architect.) Once you’ve approved the designs, Lorne would submit them to the zoning review, who would in turn highlight any variances to the bylaws, a process which can take between two weeks and two months. Lorne will then bring the project before Toronto’s Committee of Adjustment in order to resolve the variances; this hearing can take 1–4 months. (Like we said, it can be time consuming and is best left to those with appropriate expertise!)

Once Lorne and the CoA have resolved the variances, there will be a 21-day appeals process. (Depending on the hearing’s outcome, the CoA’s decision may be appealed by the homeowner, or the neighbours or the City.) Some other factors may come into play: if your project will involve the injury or removal of trees, it must go through a 8-12-week approval for this aspect as well (which would occur simultaneously with the CoA hearing).

Following all this, Lorne and his staff would prepare the construction documents that would be used to apply for a building permit for the house. In a perfect world, your project can get underway; but in a less perfect one, the issuer may identify some ‘deficiencies.’ Again, this will be an area where your residential architect’s expertise and experience will prove invaluable: Lorne will work through all the deficiencies until approval is secured. Generally, this will take six months, sometimes as much as nine. Luckily for you, though, you can remain relatively undisturbed through this process: if this were a football game, Lorne sees himself as the quarterback, and the homeowner as the coach. Lorne will consult with you, keeping you abreast and taking your input, but shouldering the bulk of the workload himself.

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