Hey everyone! This blog post is a special one, as we’ve taken snippets from our very first podcast episode to bring you key insights. If you want to dive deeper and hear the full conversation, head over to the Acadia DC’s YouTube channel for more!
Max: I’m Max, and joining me today is my co-host and colleague, Zac, from Acadia Design Consultants. We’re here to tackle a topic that can often feel like a puzzle: zoning bylaws, building codes, and permits in Ontario. It’s super important stuff, and we’re breaking it down to make it easier to understand and, dare we say, even a little fun!
Navigating Building Permits in Ontario: The Essentials
Zac: So, let’s start with building permits. What should the average homeowner know when applying for one in Ontario?
Max: Great question! First off, every municipality in Ontario has a checklist on their website for what you need. It’s crucial because if you don’t follow it, they won’t even review your application. We see people come in with just sketches, and they get sent away.
Zac: Wow, so it’s not just about having drawings, but specific ones? Like, what exactly do you need?
Max: Exactly. For a new house, you’d need site plans, elevations, sections, and floor plans. Plus, you’ll need mechanical drawings for HVAC, and sometimes plumbing drawings too, depending on the municipality. It’s a lot of documents. The frustrating part is, municipalities don’t always explain clearly what’s needed. My advice? Check online for your specific project. If you feel confident, go for it. Otherwise, get a consultant like us.
Zac: So, theoretically, a homeowner can apply for permits themselves? And when is a permit absolutely mandatory? Like, what kind of renovations?
Max: Yes, theoretically, you, as a homeowner, can apply for permits for your own house. As for when it’s mandatory, my rule is: anytime you disturb a certain system in a building, it needs a permit.
Zac: “Disturb a system”? Can you give examples?
Max: Sure. If you’re doing anything structural, like removing a load-bearing wall, you need a permit. If you move a sink, you’re disturbing the plumbing system, so that needs a permit. However, just changing out fixtures in a bathroom without moving pipes? No permit needed, as you’re only changing finishes. Modifying your HVAC system? Permit. And if you open an exterior wall to change insulation, you typically have to upgrade it to current codes, which also requires a permit.
Common Roadblocks: Why Permits Get Delayed or Denied
Zac: Okay, that clarifies a lot. My next question: What are the most common reasons building permit applications get delayed or denied in Ontario?
Max: There are three main reasons: the homeowner, the consultant, and the municipality.
Zac: Let’s start with the homeowner aspect.
Max: Homeowners often submit insufficient documentation. They try to save money by doing it themselves, but they just don’t know what’s needed. They go back and forth with the municipality, creating frustration.
Zac: So, trying to save money can actually cost them more?
Max: Exactly. Think of a secondary unit, it’s a business. Every month you don’t get a tenant, you lose money. Many try to submit their own drawings, get denied, and repeat the cycle. As I used to tell my students, “An answer is only as good as the question.” If you don’t know how to ask the right questions about zoning or permits, you’ll get vague answers.
Zac: What about the consultant’s role in delays?
Max: Unfortunately, some homeowners pick the wrong consultant – often younger, less experienced ones who charge less. You think you’re saving money, but they essentially get paid to train on your dime. They get denied repeatedly, wasting months of your life. An experienced company might cost more upfront, but they save you significant time and potential lost income. The cheapest option isn’t always the best for consulting.
Zac: And the municipalities themselves? You mentioned incompetence.
Max: Yes. During COVID, many experienced municipal professionals retired, leading to rapid hiring of untrained new employees. This has caused a lot of misunderstandings and “silly arguments” between consultants and municipal staff who aren’t fully familiar with codes or bylaws.
Zac: Can you give an example of those arguments?
Max: Sure. The City of Toronto, for instance, allows up to four apartments in a house for affordable housing. Great intention! But if a building has more than three apartments, it’s considered an “apartment building,” triggering much stricter fire rules than residential homes. They create redundant rules, making it very difficult and expensive to build, like requiring costly modifications to partition walls in semi-detached homes. This makes affordable housing unaffordable, with costs passed to renters. Meanwhile, applying for permits, they ask for unnecessary things, forcing you to argue and cite code sections, wasting months. You could lose months of rental income, plus pay more for renovations and city fees. Our job as good consultants is to fight those redundant requirements, saving clients thousands that can be invested in better finishes. That’s the goal: happy clients.
The Consequences of Building Without a Permit
Zac: What are the consequences if you don’t get permits in Ontario?
Max: That’s a great question, because we get a lot of calls about this. There are two kinds of people who build without permits: the “innocent” ones and the “chance-takers.”
Zac: “Innocent”?
Max: Yes, the innocent person thinks, “This is my property, my house, I should be able to do whatever I want.” Wrong! I always tell clients, “This house actually belongs to the municipality; you just own the air you’re breathing!” Anything beyond basic finishes – additions, sheds (certain sizes), pools, cabanas – needs a permit.
Zac: So, what about the “chance-takers”? What if a neighbour reports you?
Max: Ah, the chance-takers. Sometimes they succeed, like people finishing their basements without permits. But if a neighbour complains, an inspector will come. If construction is ongoing, they’ll stop it. If it’s finished, they’ll issue an “order to comply” and you have 30 days to apply for a permit. If you don’t, the city can take legal action.
Zac: Wow, legal action? Would they send people to demolish it?
Max: No, they don’t send people to demolish anything. They nicely ask you to demolish. If you don’t start the permit process, they’ll give another warning, then sometimes a court notice. You don’t want the city spending time on their lawyers because of your case, because someone eventually pays for it, and that’s you. In my experience, most people realize they shouldn’t mess around, but yes, we’ve had clients in lawsuits with the city.
Zac: What are the hidden costs of building without a permit?
Max: Usually, contractors working without permits don’t follow all the codes. They say they do, but they’re not familiar with all the small stuff like R-values. So, when an inspector comes after a complaint, even if you’ve invested $80,000 in a basement, you might have to demolish parts of it. Your ceiling assembly might be wrong, or the insulation might be insufficient. The city doesn’t care how much you spent; you’re in trouble.
Zac: Oh wow! So, how do you avoid this?
Max: So, you’d need a consulting firm like ours to check the work. If it’s correct, you’re lucky. But most cases are terrifying: people have to reopen walls, ceilings, redo drywall. That can cost $30,000 to $40,000 just to bring it up to code. At that point, you have no choice.
Zac: What would you suggest to homeowners?
Max: My personal suggestion to homeowners: get your permits before you start renovations. Our former administrator, Maggie, had a great saying: “If you think it’s expensive to build with a permit, wait until you build without one.” People don’t understand that permits, which seem expensive, are actually cheaper than redoing everything.
Zac: How much is an application fee, roughly?
Max: Every application is different, based on square footage and building type. It’s a full spectrum. Just call a consultant like us; we’re happy to answer.
Expediting Your Permit Process: Pro Tips for Homeowners
Zac: So, how can homeowners fast-track the building permit process, and what common mistakes should they avoid?
Max: Great question. My biggest suggestion is to hire a competent consultant. Don’t try to avoid costs by getting a cheaper consultant or doing it yourself, even though it’s allowed. There’s a reason good companies like ours exist. You wouldn’t go to court without a lawyer, right? We’re the lawyers for construction and architecture. Our design team’s job is literally to know bylaws and building codes.
It’s common sense: faster permits mean faster building, and less wasted money on mortgage payments.
Zac: How should homeowners approach permits?
Max: Understand that when you approach building permits, you should approach them as a businessman. If you try to save a penny as a homeowner, you’ll lose it later in construction.
For example, a small, cheaper designer might take longer to get a permit, costing you months. And they might lack experience in structural aspects. I can propose a beam that costs X, but an inexperienced one might propose something that costs more. You, as the homeowner, won’t know that. But paying an experienced professional a bit more upfront for permits is worth it. Permits are a contract, so everything must be built per the design.
You don’t want someone creating a design that will cost you 20-30% extra in construction later. Professionals who know what they’re doing – for structural, mechanical, architectural, plumbing, and HVAC designs – save you a lot more money because they have better resources.
Zac: Can you give an example?
Max: Think about it: Designer X costs $6,000, Designer Y costs $8,000. Designer X’s home renovation design might lead to a $30,000 construction cost, while Designer Y’s, with different materials and strategies, results in a $20,000 cost. You saved $2,000 on design, but lost $10,000 in construction, and you’d never know because contractors quote what they see on the drawings. For instance, a drawing might show a steel beam needing 6-8 people to install, costing $2,500 in materials, when a wood beam costing $800 and needing 2-3 people could have worked. You’d lose thousands on material and labour without even realizing.
It’s tough to explain to homeowners, but it’s a fact. They might think a “one-man operation” is cheaper, and for drawings, maybe. But that one-man operation’s drawings could cost you more in construction and add months to your project.
Zac: So, basically, running back and forth between drawings and contractors costs you, right?
Max: Yes! A company that charges a little more upfront will save you those five or six months in construction, which saves you much more money. When applying for permits, look at it from a business perspective: you need the base that gives you the biggest return on investment. Faster execution means more money made, or less money lost.
Zac: So the conclusion is always about having professionals who know what they’re doing?
Max: Absolutely. Construction is like investing in stocks. You don’t invest in a bad stock that will lose. You invest in the right stock for a return. Construction firms are the same. You invest a lot in this team, and they need to give you a return on investment, without hassles or miscommunications.
How To Find A Good Construction Company?
Zac: How do you define whether a designer or a construction company is professional? What questions should I ask?
Max: Good construction companies won’t worry about giving you information; they share openly to ensure you’re happy and to avoid misunderstandings. Bad companies try to hold back. For example, a client came to us because their company had been “in permits” for seven months with no answers, only for us to find out the application hadn’t even been opened!
Zac: Oh wow! That is so annoying for the client.
Max: Another real story: a close friend hired a contractor to build a pool. During COVID, the contractor started, then just stopped, always saying “next week.” He’d put in a few stones, then disappear. He collected a lot of money but eventually needed more for “equipment,” using new clients’ deposits to cover old jobs. Eventually, he disappeared entirely, and my friend had to take him to court.
Zac: It can be so hard to find a professional contractor that you trust!
Max: Professionals make their job look easy. You might even think, “I could grab a hammer and do this myself!” That’s the sign of a good team. They explain things in non-technical terms, so you understand the process and what’s next. They talk to you as a professional, giving you all the information and insights, and they’ll ask what you already know about bylaws or setbacks to adjust their explanation.
Zac: So it’s all based on the client’s knowledge base?
Max: Again, like investing in the stock market, you don’t invest without checking the company’s background. You need to research, understand the background, and ensure the company is professional and transparent before investing your money. Construction is a huge investment. So invest in the right person. It not only saves money but also a lot of time.
Zac: Yes, sir.
Max: And of course, another thing that is very important is good communication. Do you want your contractor to be like, “Oh, not now”? Or do you want your contractor to be there for you, explaining everything to make sure it all works?
Zac: Speaking of communication, I feel like this is the reason why we shot this episode. It’s about communicating to our viewers to educate you guys, to know more about the pitfalls to avoid when applying for permits or choosing the right contractors. Designer, consultant, like us. We basically do the whole process, the whole service.
Max: So we do everything just like Amazon from A to Z! Many people don’t know Amazon’s logo with the arrow means “from A to Z” – they see a smile, but it’s an arrow meaning “we supply everything from A to Z.” We’re the same. We are from A to A, you know.
We don’t just build. We are there during design, during permits, during construction submission (submitting everything to the city), and during construction. When you pay a lot of companies separately, you usually pay more. And you also need to communicate a lot of information between four different entities, which gives you more space for errors. Luckily, that’s not happening much in Acadia. Our team is together, we have on-site and off-site meetings to discuss everything and make sure that we are on schedule, on budget, and everything else.
Zac: So, wow, this is real full-service construction! This is incredible! And just like that, our first episode is complete!
Max: Yes, we are! This episode was awesome, right?
Thank you to everybody who tuned in to watch. I hope you had fun, and I hope that was interesting enough for you. But as I said before, and as I’m always going to say now that we finished with it, back to work! Thank you very much!