Building Permits in Toronto: What Home Renovations Require a Permit?

Quick answer: Not every renovation needs a building permit in Toronto. Replacing cabinets, retiling a shower or swapping a toilet in the same spot usually doesn’t. Moving walls, adding or relocating plumbing, underpinning a basement, building an addition or creating a basement apartment usually does.

The deciding factor is the scope of work, not the room. Two bathroom renovations can look identical when finished, yet one needs a permit and the other doesn’t, depending on whether the drains moved or a wall came down.

This guide walks through how the City of Toronto decides, which common projects need a permit, which don’t, how to apply, and what it costs in 2026. It’s based on Toronto Building’s current guidance and Ontario’s Building Code, with links to the official pages so you can check the details for your own project.

Permit or no permit? Quick examples

Here’s how Toronto’s rules apply to common projects. Each one is explained in more detail below.

When do you need a building permit in Toronto?

Under Ontario’s Building Code Act, you need a building permit to construct or demolish a building, build an addition, or make a material alteration to a building. In plain terms, that usually means work affecting the structure, plumbing, heating, fire safety or exits, or the way the house is used.

In Toronto, permits are issued by Toronto Building, which reviews plans against the Ontario Building Code and the City’s Zoning By-law. Since January 1, 2025, the code in force is the 2024 edition of Ontario’s Building Code, and all new applications have been reviewed under it since April 1, 2025.

A few principles, drawn from the City’s When Do I Need a Building Permit? guidance, help you sort most projects:

• Structure triggers a permit. Removing or adding walls that change room sizes, cutting new openings, or altering beams, joists or foundations all count as material alterations.
• Plumbing and heating changes trigger a permit. New or modified piping, drains or heating systems need one. Replacing fixtures in the same location does not.
• More units or a new use triggers a permit, even with no construction, such as turning a single-family house into one with a basement suite.
• Like-for-like replacement usually doesn’t. New finishes, cabinets, or a same-size window in the same opening are generally exempt.

Two cautions apply to everything below. First, the homeowner, not the contractor, is ultimately responsible for getting required permits. Second, work that doesn’t need a building permit can still be subject to the Zoning By-law, the Ontario Electrical Safety Code, or other rules.

What home renovations require a building permit?

Here’s how the rules apply to the projects Toronto homeowners ask about most.

Basement renovations

Finishing a basement does not need a permit if the work includes no structural or material alterations, no new plumbing, and no additional dwelling unit. Insulating and finishing the exterior walls, adding a ceiling and laying floors typically fall into this category.

New interior partitions are a grey area. The City’s exemption covers finishing without material alterations, but its permit list includes adding walls that change room sizes or uses. If your plan divides the basement into new rooms, such as a bedroom or an office, confirm with Toronto Building whether your layout needs a permit.

You do need a permit if your basement project includes any of the following:

• structural changes, such as removing a load-bearing wall or altering beams or posts
• new or relocated plumbing, like adding a bathroom, laundry or wet bar
• installing or modifying the heating system
• underpinning, lowering the floor, excavating, or new foundations
• a separate basement entrance or walkout
• a new or enlarged window or door opening, such as a bedroom egress window
• a second suite (a legal basement apartment), even if the space is already finished

If you’re weighing a bigger basement renovation, settle the scope first: adding a bathroom or a separate entrance changes the permit picture entirely.

Bathroom renovations

Replacing a bathtub, shower, toilet or vanity in the same location is fixture replacement, and the City lists repairing and replacing plumbing fixtures as permit-free. Retiling, new lighting fixtures and paint don’t need a building permit either.

A permit is needed when the plumbing itself changes: moving a toilet or shower to a new drain location, adding fixtures, or adding a new bathroom. Removing or moving a wall to enlarge the room also needs one. Any new wiring, such as an exhaust fan circuit or heated floors, needs a separate ESA notification (more on that below).

The layout decision is often the biggest cost driver too. Our guide to bathroom renovation costs in Toronto explains why, and you can see the full scope of a bathroom renovation on our services page.

Kitchen renovations

New cabinets, countertops, backsplashes and flooring don’t need a permit, and the City specifically lists installing cabinetry and millwork as exempt. Replacing appliances in their existing locations generally doesn’t either.

A permit becomes necessary if you move the sink or add plumbing (for example, an island sink), or add or remove walls in a way that changes room sizes, as in an open-concept layout. Gas and electrical changes follow their own separate rules. Planning a kitchen renovation around the existing plumbing is one of the simplest ways to keep a project permit-free.

Removing or moving interior walls

In Toronto, the permit trigger isn’t limited to load-bearing walls. The City’s list of work that needs a permit includes adding or removing walls that change room sizes or uses. So taking down a non-structural partition to merge the kitchen and dining room generally counts as a material alteration, just like removing a structural wall.

Non-structural walls can also matter for fire safety. Toronto Building’s Homeowner’s Guide includes changes to fire separations in its definition of a material alteration. That covers walls such as the one between an attached garage and the house, or the walls around a basement suite.

Small changes that don’t affect a room’s size or use, like removing a short decorative half-wall, aren’t clearly addressed in the City’s list. If you’re unsure where your project falls, ask Toronto Building before you start.

If the wall is load-bearing, the beam, posts and footings that replace it have to be designed, typically by a structural engineer, and those drawings form part of your application. Searches for “removing load bearing wall without permit” are common, but this is exactly the kind of work inspectors need to see before it’s closed in.

Home additions and structural changes

All additions need a building permit, including second- or third-storey additions, rear additions, attached garages and carports, sunrooms, solariums and porches. (Decks follow a height rule, covered in the next section.) So do changes to floor joists, beams, foundations or other structural supports, and any new or enlarged window or door opening.

For larger projects, such as a full whole house renovation, expect structural drawings and a zoning review. If you’re deciding between finishing the basement and building out, see basement finishing vs. a home addition.

Decks, sheds, fences and demolition

Outdoor projects have their own thresholds, and a few centimetres or square metres can make the difference.

In 2026, a permit for a residential deck, porch or carport is a flat $214.79. Decks and porches go through Toronto Building’s online Express service.

Fence height limits depend on where the fence sits on your lot and what it borders, so check Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 447, Fences before you build.

What renovations can you do without a building permit?

The City of Toronto gives these examples of work on a house that doesn’t need a building permit. Each comes with conditions, so read the fine print:

• Cabinetry and millwork: installing kitchen and bathroom cabinets, built-ins and trim.
• Plumbing fixtures: repairing or replacing fixtures, as long as the piping behind them isn’t changed.
• Insulation: adding or replacing it.
• Windows and doors: replacing one in the same opening of a detached, semi-detached or row house, provided the size and location don’t change, the structural support isn’t affected, and no new exit is created.
• Roofing: replacing roofing material when no structural work is needed.
• Heating and cooling: replacing a furnace or boiler, or adding air conditioning, a gas fireplace, an air cleaner, an in-line humidifier or a hot water tank.
• Skylights: installing one in a house of up to 3 storeys if no more than one rafter or joist is removed (trusses excluded).
• Basement: waterproofing repairs, installing a sump pump, and finishing a basement with no structural or material alterations, no new plumbing and no new unit.
• Re-cladding: with non-combustible material other than brick or stone veneer, on a house of up to 3 storeys.

Surface finishes like paint, flooring and tile aren’t building permit work at all.

Keep two things in mind. The City says its list isn’t exhaustive and judgment depends on the project. And “no building permit” doesn’t mean “no rules”: zoning still applies, gas work has its own licensing and safety rules, and most electrical work still needs an ESA notification.

Do you need a permit for electrical or plumbing work?

Often, yes, but not always from the same place. In Ontario, plumbing and heating fall under the City’s building permit, while electrical work is handled separately by the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). Many renovations need both.

Electrical work: an ESA notification, not a City permit

A City of Toronto building permit does not cover electrical work. Instead, the Ontario Electrical Safety Code requires almost all electrical work to be reported to ESA by filing a “notification of work,” which people often call an electrical permit. ESA then reviews or inspects the work and issues a Certificate of Acceptance once it passes.

Who can do the work matters:

• If you hire someone, Ontario law requires a Licensed Electrical Contractor, and they file the notification.
• Homeowners can do electrical work in their own home, but they must file the notification themselves. Friends, relatives or a handyperson can’t do it for you.

Electrical work done without a notification is a real problem at resale. ESA warns that an open notification passes responsibility for fixing defects to the next owner, and insurers may ask for the Certificate of Acceptance.

Plumbing: a City permit when piping changes

Installing new plumbing, or altering existing supply lines, drains or vents, needs a City building permit. Repairing or replacing fixtures in place does not. Backwater valves and backflow prevention devices need their own permits.

Plumber is a compulsory trade in Ontario, so anyone you hire for plumbing work must be authorized under provincial trades law. If you’re planning to do plumbing in your own home yourself, confirm the requirements with Toronto Building before you apply.

Heating and cooling

Installing or modifying a heating system needs a building permit. In a house, though, the City lists replacing a furnace or boiler and adding air conditioning as permit-exempt.

How to apply for a building permit in Toronto

According to Toronto Building’s review streams, a complete building permit application for a house is reviewed within 10 business days. Many smaller residential projects qualify for Express service, where the City aims to review eligible applications within 3 business days. That’s a review target, not a guarantee that the permit will be issued in that time. The other catch is the word “complete”: an application missing its zoning certificate has no review deadline at all.

In practice, getting a permit takes longer than the review deadline suggests. In our experience at Acon Renovations, most permits for house renovations in Toronto are issued within 4 to 8 weeks, though we’ve seen anything from 7 days to 4 months. Delays usually come from incomplete drawings, zoning questions or revision requests from the examiner.

The application process, step by step

1. Define the scope. Decide exactly what’s changing: walls, plumbing, openings, units. This determines which drawings and approvals you need.
2. Get zoning clearance. Most house projects need a Zoning Applicable Law Certificate (ZAP), which confirms the plans meet the Zoning By-law and other applicable law. The City treats an application without an issued ZAP as incomplete.
3. Prepare permit drawings. Expect a fully dimensioned site plan and construction drawings. Structural work, such as removing a load-bearing wall or underpinning, typically needs an engineer’s design. When drawings for a house bear a professional engineer’s seal, Toronto Building carries out an expedited review of the sealed content.
4. Submit the application. Include the completed application form, drawings and any documents listed in the City’s application guide for your project type, signed by the owner or the owner’s authorized agent. Full fees are due with the application.
5. Receive the permit. Work can begin once the permit is issued, not before.
6. Book inspections. City inspectors check the work at set stages, such as framing and plumbing rough-in, before it’s covered up. Request each one as the work reaches that stage.
7. Close the permit. A final inspection closes the file, which buyers and lenders may ask about later.

You don’t have to manage these steps yourself. A contractor or designer can apply as your authorized agent and coordinate the inspections, though as the owner you remain ultimately responsible for the permit. If your contractor is handling it, put that in writing: the contract should say who applies for the permit, books the inspections and closes the permit at the end.

Make sure the permit is really closed

A passed final inspection should close the permit, but it’s worth double-checking. On a full four-piece bathroom renovation we completed in Toronto, the final inspection with the City inspector passed and the permit showed as closed online. A few weeks later, our clients received a letter from the City saying the permit was still open. We contacted the City of Toronto, which reviewed the inspection records, corrected the file and closed the permit.

The lesson: keep a record of each inspection, including the date, the inspector’s name and the result, and check the permit status again a few weeks after the final inspection. An open permit can come up later, for example when you sell or refinance, and records make it much easier to sort out.

That’s also why we photograph the work at every major stage, such as framing, plumbing rough-in and insulation, before anything is covered. Photos don’t replace an inspection, because inspectors need to see the work itself, but they give the homeowner, the City and us a clear record if questions come up later about what was done and when.

Which projects qualify for Express service?

For a house with no more than two units, Toronto’s Express service covers projects such as detached garages, carports and sheds, decks and porches, interior alterations, basement walkouts and underpinning, conversions from one to two units, and standalone plumbing and drain permits.

How much does a building permit cost in Toronto?

Most house renovation permits in Toronto start at $214.79, the 2026 minimum fee. Larger jobs are priced by area: the City multiplies the floor area affected by a rate for that type of work. These are the 2026 rates most relevant to homeowners, effective January 1, 2026:

For example, finishing a 60 m² (about 650 sq. ft.) basement works out to roughly 60 × $6.20 = $372 in permit fees, plus $23.20 for each new plumbing fixture and the zoning certificate if one is required.

What moves the total:

• Floor area covered by the work.
• Type of work, since new floor area costs more per m² than interior alterations.
• Separate items, such as plumbing fixtures, HVAC or fireplaces.
• Revisions, since revised plans submitted after review are charged at least $214.79 or $92.79 per hour.
• Professional fees for drawings and engineering, which are separate from City fees.

Those professional fees are usually the larger part of the bill. In our experience, preparing a permit drawing package typically costs $2,500 to $5,000 for an interior renovation and from $8,500 for an addition, depending on the scope and the engineering involved.

The City updates its fees each year, so check the official fee schedule before budgeting.

What happens if you renovate without a required permit?

The City of Toronto warns that skipping a required permit can lead to costly construction delays, legal action, or removal of work already completed. In practice, that can mean:

• A higher fee. If construction starts before a permit is issued, Toronto adds a charge of 50% of the permit fee (at least $214.79 and up to $29,456.99 per permit) on top of the regular fee.
• Opening up finished work. To approve work after the fact, inspectors need to see what’s inside walls, ceilings and floors, which can mean removing new drywall or finishes.
• Orders and fines. Toronto Building can issue orders to comply or stop work. Under the Building Code Act, an individual convicted of an offence such as building without a permit can be fined up to $50,000 for a first offence and up to $100,000 for subsequent ones.
• Trouble when you sell or make a claim. Buyers, lenders and insurers may ask for permit and inspection records. For electrical work, an open ESA notification passes responsibility for defects to the next owner.

If you’ve already started without a permit, or bought a home with unpermitted work, the path forward is to apply now with drawings showing the work as it exists, and expect inspectors to ask for parts of it to be exposed.

A contractor who suggests skipping a required permit to save time is a red flag. Our tips on how to choose a renovation contractor cover other warning signs.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to finish my basement in Toronto?

Not for insulating, finishing exterior walls, ceilings or floors. You do need one for structural changes, new plumbing, underpinning, a new entrance or window opening, or a second suite. New interior partitions are a grey area, so check with Toronto Building first.

Do I need a permit to renovate my bathroom?

Not for replacing fixtures in the same spot, retiling or updating finishes. You need one if you move drains, add fixtures, add a new bathroom, or add or remove walls that change the room’s size.

Do I need a permit to remodel my kitchen?

Not for cabinets, countertops, backsplash or flooring. You need one to add or remove walls that change room sizes, or to add or relocate plumbing.

Can I remove a load-bearing wall without a permit?

No. Removing any wall that changes room sizes is a material alteration that needs a permit, and a load-bearing wall also needs a structural design for the new beam and supports.

Do I need a permit to move plumbing?

Yes. Installing or modifying plumbing needs a City permit. Replacing a fixture where the existing piping stays the same does not.

Do I need a permit for electrical work?

You need an ESA notification for almost all electrical work, which is separate from a City building permit. If you hire someone, they must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor.

Do I need a permit to build a deck in Toronto?

Yes, if the deck surface is more than 60 cm (24 in.) above the ground. A lower, uncovered deck that isn’t part of a required exit doesn’t need one.

How long does it take to get a building permit in Toronto?

Complete applications for houses are reviewed within 10 business days, and Express projects within a 3-business-day target. Incomplete applications have no set timeline. In our experience, most house renovation permits are issued within 4 to 8 weeks.

Can a homeowner apply for a building permit?

Yes. The application must be signed by the owner or the owner’s authorized agent, such as a designer or contractor. According to Toronto Building’s Homeowner’s Guide, you can also design a residential project for your own use, though some work, like underpinning, may require an engineer’s drawings.

Plan the permit before you plan the finishes

The short version: if your renovation changes the structure, plumbing, heating, foundation, openings or number of units, you’ll need a building permit in Toronto. If it only replaces finishes or fixtures in place, you usually won’t. Electrical work is a separate track through ESA either way.

Sorting this out early shapes the whole project, from the design to the budget to the start date. When in doubt, check the City’s guidance or call 311 before work begins.

Acon Renovations has been renovating Toronto homes since 2008. We’re licensed in Toronto, carry WSIB coverage and $5,000,000 in liability insurance, and back our work with a warranty.

If you’re unsure whether your project needs a permit, we can review your plans and help you find out. When a permit is required, we bring in a structural engineer where the design calls for one, and we can handle the process for you as your authorized agent: preparing and submitting the application, booking the City’s inspections at each stage, and seeing the permit through to the final inspection that closes it.

Planning a basement, bathroom, kitchen or whole-house renovation? Get in touch to talk through your project.

Official sources

• City of Toronto: When Do I Need a Building Permit? (updated July 21, 2026)
• City of Toronto: Building Permit Fees (fees effective January 1, 2026)
• City of Toronto: Building Permit Review Streams (updated June 26, 2026)
• City of Toronto: Decks and Porches application guide
• City of Toronto: Fences and pool enclosures
• City of Toronto: Municipal Code Chapter 447, Fences
• Toronto Building: Homeowner’s Guide to Building Permits
• Government of Ontario: 2024 Building Code Compendium
• Government of Ontario: Building Code Act, 1992 (section 36, offences and penalties)
• Government of Ontario: Compulsory trades and enforcement
• Electrical Safety Authority: Notifications and Inspections
• Electrical Safety Authority: Do-It-Yourself Electrical Work
• Electrical Safety Authority: Information for Real Estate Agents

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