What cities does this work for?

This site is currently in beta and supports a small handful of Canadian cities including Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary, with more cities coming soon! Check back later or sign up for a free account to receive site updates.

Why should I search building permits for a property?

There are a few, but the biggest reason is if you're looking to buy a house, you should absolutely search the permit history. It can give you a good indication of any major renovations that may have been completed in the last two decades, and will also give you an early heads up if there are open permits to deal with. While you're at it, why not search neighbouring homes as well and see what's going on in the neighbourhood. Is the person across the street planning on a loud major multi-year renovation? Is your nextdoor neighbour building a basement suite? These are all good things to know before you make the biggest purchase of your life.

Do I need to make an account? Does it cost money?

You do not need to make an account. Searching is free and there is no limit on the number of searches. However making an account does give you some added features like allowing you to save your searches to a personal watchlist of properties, and also gives you the option of signing up for e-mail updates about site improvements and other exciting updates (no spam, we promise).

I'm trying to search for a townhouse/condo/strata but I can't find it in the address dropdown or in the records. Why?

This site uses Google for address validation, and sometimes separate units aren't recognized as distinct addresses by Google. Try to search the address without the unit number, and then skim the descriptions for a unit number. That said, if you are looking to buy a condo, townhouse, or other non-freehold property, the status certificate and related documentation (which should be proactively provided by the seller) will contain much better information that this site will.

How far back do records go?

It depends on the city you're searching. With some exceptions (cough, Vancouver, cough) most cities started digitizing permit records around the early 2000s, so most records start in the 2000-2005 range and go until present. The years where digital records are available will be noted on the bottom of every search, depending on the city. For older records, you’ll need to go to city hall.

How often is this data updated / how current is this data?

Daily, for the most part. This could vary a little depending on the city you're searching (and bearing in mind that city workers don't work the weekends updating permit records), but the data is current.

Won’t my real estate lawyer/realtor do this for me? What’s the point of me checking?

Your realtor might, or they might not. Your lawyer will likely check for open permits prior to closing (as in, a week-ish before you get your keys), but by that time you're already going to be so far down the purchase rabbit hole that backing out would at best be extremely stressful and inconvenient, or at worst could open you up to litigation from the seller. It's best to check if there are any permit issues before you make an offer on a house.

What does it mean when there’s no permit history?

No permit history is not inherently good or bad. Quite simply, it could just mean that no work requiring permits was ever completed on the property. If the property is older than 20-ish years and seems like it hasn't had much done to it, then having no permit history probably makes sense. On the other hand, if it looks like it's been extensively renovated and there's no permits, that might be bad. We say "might" because bear in mind that many "aesthetic" renovations like redoing a kitchen or bathroom (assuming the plumbing isn't moving) or redoing flooring doesn't typically require permits.

Wouldn't there still be permits from the home's original construction?

Yes, however, many homes on the resale market were built many decades ago, and as a result, those permit records would not be digitized.

Ok there's a permit history! Is that good? Bad?

It really depends on the status of the permits. Status terminology is different for every city, but if the permits are for work that has a completion date and was "closed" or "completed" (or cancelled), that's usually a good thing, meaning whatever was done was done according to building standards and signed off on by inspectors at varying stages. If there are permits that have an application date but don't have a completion date, that's called an open permit, which in the context of buying a house, is usually bad.

What is an open permit and why is it bad?

An open permit means that an application was submitted to start some work, the permit was issued, but the work was never completed. In rare cases, it could be that the person changed their mind and didn't get around to cancelling the permit, or the permit was closed and someone at city hall lost some paperwork under a filing cabinet. More often, it means that the work didn't pass inspection and rather than remedy the work and have the city reinspect, they just...did nothing. Check the issue date for the open permit. If it's recent and for a property you're merely curious about, it could just mean the work simply hasn't been finished yet or is awaiting final inspection. No biggie. But if there are open permits showing on a property you're interested in buying, this is a BIG red flag, especially if the permit is multiple years old. Read the description for details, and absolutely 100% talk to your realtor and/or real estate lawyer. It's likely indicative of shoddy work somewhere in the house. Even if you have it inspected and find no issues, having an open permit on the books can interfere with (and even quite possibly even prevent) closing and title transfer.

What do all the different permit statuses mean?

Every city uses different terminology, but it's fairly intuitive. Things like "closed" and "completed" are good things. It means that an inspector gave the final sign off and the city is satisifed that everything was done correctly. End of story. If a permit is in some other stage, such as "inspection", that's not necessarily a bad thing. But if the permit is many years old and and seems "stuck" at some stage, that could be indicative of an open permit, which could be a big problem if the property you're searching is one you're looking to buy.

Why does this site only work for big cities? There are other places in Canada you know.

Because building permits are the under the authority of each individual city/municipality, each local government stores their data separately, and in different ways. There is no standardization of how it is made available. This means that making each city work is it's own unique undertaking. It should also be noted that not every locale makes this data available digitally, if at all. We've prioritized the largest real estate markets in Canada, and are working to add more. If you're in a city that you'd love to see here, let us know!