Building Permits

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COVID-19 Update: Building and sign permit applications can be made by mail, courier or drop-off.
City staff will contact individuals regarding building permits that are ready for pick-up. Appointments will be scheduled and will take place at the Access Richmond Hill counter (ground floor, 225 East Beaver Creek Road).

A building permit is formal permission from Richmond Hill to start a building project. Richmond Hill staff must review your permit plans to make sure that they follow the Building Code Act (BCA), Ontario Building Code (OBC) standards, local zoning by-laws and other regulations that apply to your project.

Building Permit Fees

Building permit fees are calculated according to By-law 71-10. Building permit fees are calculated according to By-law 71-10.

Building permit fees are calculated according to By-law 55-19.

Fees for all classes of permits that fall under By-law 55-19 (Building By-law) can be found in Schedule "A", Section (3), By-law 55-19. Please note: fees will increase effective April 1, 2020. See the revised revised building permit fee schedule for more information.

All permit fees are due at the time of permit application. Permit applications with a fee in excess of $20,000 may elect to pay 50% of the fee at the application stage and the balance at the time of permit issuance.

Additional Information

How do I apply for a building permit?

Building permits are issued by the Building Services Division of Richmond Hill's Planning and Regulatory Services department. Building Services is located in the main Municipal Offices at:

225 East Beaver Creek Road, 3rd Floor
Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3P4

You must apply for a building permit in person. The person applying must be the owner of the building or property, or have written permission to apply for a permit on the owner's behalf.

Make sure you have everything you need when you apply, including:

A completed application
All required permit plans
All required specifications
All required permit fees

Designers (other than the homeowner), who prepare any permit plans and specifications for the application must be registered with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing or have a valid, qualified and registered architect's or engineer's licence.

View the Common Building Permit Application Form from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Learn about:

Development charges that may apply to your project
Non-residential permits
Residential permits
Frequently asked questions about building permits

Call our Building Services Division at 905-771-8810 for more information, or email building@richmondhill.ca.

When do I need a permit?

Examples of projects that require building permits include:

A new building, including temporary and farm buildings
Renovating a building, or a material alteration of a building
An addition to a building, including sunrooms
Building a deck
Altering the interior of a building, including finishing a basement
Moving a building
Demolishing a building
Changing the use or occupancy of a building
Building a fireplace and chimney
Installing a woodstove or chimney
Altering or remodelling a plumbing and/or HVAC system
New signs and alterations to existing signs
Installing or modifying a sprinkler system
Installing or modifying a fire alarm system
Constructing a retaining wall and any other designated structures
Installation or alteration to an on-site sewage system

When is a permit not required?

You don't need a building permit for the following projects:

Constructing a detached accessory building that has an area of 10 m² or less and contains no plumbing
Painting or decorating
Installing kitchen or bathroom cupboards
Landscaping
Roof shingling, unless it is a clay tile roof
Eavestroughing
Damp-proofing a basement
Making minor repairs to bricks or blocks

Projects that do not require a building permit still need to follow Richmond Hill's zoning by-laws.

Why do I need a building permit?

The BCA requires that a building permit be issued before you start any work on a new house, an addition or any material alterations to an existing building. Permits and other requirements of the OBC are in place to for the health and safety of homeowners, building occupants, future owners, businesses, tenants and the community.

Building Permit Volumes

Historical building permit volumes are contained in the below accordions.

List of Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Permit Values

List of Permit Values 2001 - 2018
Year	Residential		Commercial		Industrial		Institutional
	Const. Value	# of Permits	Const. Value	# of Permits	Const. Value	# of Permits	Const. Value	# of Permits
2001	369,751,929	2,323	41,948,605	418	27,271,875	48	71,487,694	62
2002	407,256,788	2,574	35,416,986	476	5,280,648	41	58,691,460	58
2003	348,343,416	2,148	26,142,854	429	16,012,873	47	34,242,466	38
2004	439,325,783	2,383	25,919,771	455	38,825,363	58	29,848,456	38
2005	535,445,508	3,267	45,565,722	486	14,385,321	38	56,619,328	38
2006	245,138,926	1,560	45,682,971	495	13,271,602	38	25,267,752	33
2007	201,382,877	1,352	96,282,991	596	22,929,000	40	12,683,086	39
2008	158,155,858	747	35,321,957	685	20,301,078	39	45,520,600	40
2009	190,101,486	1,369	31,577,735	670	25,238,955	36	24,356,600	44
2010	283,690,742	1,655	29,129,411	989	24,725,450	52	56,205,969	62
2011	240,562,862	1,296	18,371,503	954	11,850,912	34	34,433,100	55
2012	236,695,898	1,088	25,462,881	962	11,191,388	28	93,638,000	45
2013	194,087,404	1,239	24,834,118	911	15,417,749	34	15,962,500	50
2014	198,285,364	1,302	49,811,452	911	1,790,790	16	8,466,500	36
2015	247,861,064	1,108	16,435,687	890	10,931,740	33	8,868,260	45
2016	512,870,417	1,223	59,999,121	950	22,881,446	38	17,449,300	34
2017	296,069,569	987	40,208,664	937	8,630,425	32	18,416,140	31
2018	398,076,057	1,148	49,232,912	931	23,149,654	36	15,774,500	27
2019	330,146,146	1,069	40,736,654	818	51,370,577	38	28,459,100	47

Total Permit Values

Total Permit Values 2001 - 2018
Year	Total # of Permits	Total Const.Value	# of Dwelling Units
2001	2,851	510,460,103	2,157
2002	3,149	506,645,882	2,311
2003	2,662	424,741,609	1,810
2004	2,934	533,919,373	2,269
2005	3,829	652,015,879	2,946
2006	2,126	329,361,251	1,250
2007	2,027	333,277,954	1,054
2008	1,511	259,299,493	981
2009	2,119	271,274,776	989
2010	2,758	393,751,572	1,500
2011	2,339	305,218,377	1,206
2012	2,123	366,988,167	1,711
2013	2,234	250,301,771	812
2014	2,265	258,354,106	1,249
2015	2,076	284,096,751	1,459
2016	2,245	613,200,284	2,086
2017	1,987	363,324,798	874
2018	2,142	486,233,123	1,056
2019	1,972	450,712,477	894

Annual Building Permit Fee Reports

Annual Building Permit Fee Reports required by Ontario’s Building Code Act, 1992, Section 7(4).

2014

Income and Expenses

January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014

Total fees collected		$4,534,944
Cost to deliver services related to the administration and enforcement of the Building Code Act:
	Direct cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including the review of permit applications and inspection of construction	$3,231,722
	Indirect cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including support and overhead costs	1,063,737
	Capital costs	20,020
	Total	(4,315,479)
Amount transferred to (from) the Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund		$219,464

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Period ending on December 31, 2014

Opening balance: January 1, 2014	$3,028,569
2014 Interest Revenue (Actual)	121,681
Amount transferred from operations	219,464
Balance: December 31, 2014	$3,369,714

2015

Income and Expenses

January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015

Total fees collected		$3,503,551
Cost to deliver services related to the administration and enforcement of the Building Code Act
	Direct cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including the review of permit applications and inspection of construction	$3,344,906
	Indirect cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including support and overhead costs	1,091,181
	Capital costs	20,018
	Total	4,456,105
Amount transferred to (from) the Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund		$952,554

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Period ending on December 31, 2015

Opening balance: January 1, 2015	$3,369,714
2015 Interest Revenue (Estimated)	40,337
Amount transferred to operations	952,554
Balance: December 31, 2015 (Estimated)	$2,457,497

2016

Income and Expenses

January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016

Total fees collected		$5,031,477
Cost to deliver services related to the administration and enforcement of the Building Code Act
	Direct cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including the review of permit applications and inspection of construction	$3,512,101
	Indirect cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including support and overhead costs (Estimated)	975,046
	Capital costs (Estimated)	20,403
	Total	4,507,550
Amount transferred to the Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund		$523,927

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Period ending on December 31, 2016

Opening balance: January 1, 2016	$2,457,497
2016 Interest Revenue (Estimated)	30,629
Amount transferred to operations	523,927
Balance: December 31, 2016 (Estimated)	$3,012,054

2017

Income and Expenses

January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017

Total fees collected		$4,730,835
Cost to deliver services related to the administration and enforcement of the Building Code Act
	Direct cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including the review of permit applications and inspection of construction	$3,295,666
	Indirect cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including support and overhead costs (Estimated)	1,116,608
	Capital costs (Estimated)	18,519
	Total	4,430,793
Amount transferred to the Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund		$300,449

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Period ending on December 31, 2017

Opening balance: January 1, 2017	$3,012,053
2016 Interest Revenue (Estimated)	46,165
Amount transferred from operations	300,449
Balance: December 31, 2017 (Estimated)	$3,358,667

2018

Income and Expenses

January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018

Total fees collected		$5,325,035
Funding from Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve		88,200
Cost to deliver services related to the administration and enforcement of the Building Code Act
	Direct cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including the review of permit applications and inspection of construction	$3,607,438
	Indirect cost to administer and enforce the Building Code Act, including support and overhead costs (Estimated)	1,138,550
	Capital costs (Estimated)	20,316
	Total	4,766,304
Amount transferred to the Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund		$646,931

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Period ending on December 31, 2018

Opening balance: January 1, 2018	$3,358,667
2017 Interest Revenue (Estimated)	80,022
Amount transferred from operations	646,931
Balance: December 31, 2018 (Estimated)	$4,085,620

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Building Permits

Building Permit Fees

Additional Information

Building Permit Volumes

Annual Building Permit Fee Reports

Income and Expenses

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Income and Expenses

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Income and Expenses

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Income and Expenses

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

Income and Expenses

Fee Stabilization Reserve Fund Balance Sheet

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