Straight answers.
11 answers · Verified facts for people who build in BC & Alberta
All answers
One question per page. The first sentence is the answer, with the figure in it. Every page shows the date its sources were last checked and links the primary source. When a figure changes, the page changes and the verified date moves. The long-form analysis behind most of these lives in The Brief.
Permits & Approvals
- Does the City of Surrey publish building permit approval times? Yes, as a rolling average: Surrey's permitting timelines page reported 4.7 weeks for a new single-family or duplex building permit and 1.6 weeks for an addition or renovation as of August 31, 2026, but its open data carries no application date, so those figures cannot be independently checked.
- How long does a building permit take in Calgary? The City of Calgary issued its median building permit 24 days after application in 2026, up from 16 days in 2021, while its queue of waiting applications grew from 2,348 at the end of 2021 to 7,370 in July 2026.
- How long does a building permit take in Vancouver? The City of Vancouver issued its median building permit 62 days after application in 2026, down from 118 days in 2022, measured on every permit in the city's open data that carries both an application date and an issue date.
Renovation Permits
- Can I add a legal secondary suite in my basement in Vancouver? In many cases, yes, subject to zoning: the City of Vancouver allows 1 secondary suite per single-family home, requires a permit to add or legalize one, and treats a suite as a legal dwelling unit only once it has been approved through permitting and has passed final inspection.
- Do I need a building permit to finish a basement in Vancouver? Yes, in almost every case: the City of Vancouver requires a permit for renovations that move interior walls or existing plumbing, electrical or gas lines, for structural repairs and for adding a secondary suite, and its penalty for starting without one is typically 2 times the permit fee.
- Do I need a building permit to renovate a bathroom in Surrey, BC? Usually, yes: the City of Surrey requires a building permit for interior renovation work in a house, with plumbing and electrical permits issued separately after it, exempts only same-location fixture replacement from a plumbing permit, and fines unpermitted work $400 to $50,000 per offence.
Wildfire Recovery
- How long does it take to rebuild a house after a wildfire in BC? Three to five years, on the record so far: five years after the 2021 Lytton fire only 20 homes had been rebuilt and occupied, and 21 months after the 2023 McDougall Creek fire West Kelowna had received 44 applications to rebuild a home out of 191 destroyed.
- How much does an archaeological assessment cost to rebuild a home after a wildfire in BC? In Lytton, ten homeowners rebuilding after the 2021 fire were quoted between $26,000 and $46,000 for the archaeological assessment their building permit required, and one homeowner was quoted $82,000 and cancelled the permit rather than pay it.