If you were renovating your home and a building permit was required, would you obtain the permit or would you try to have the work done without a permit?  Write your answer down now and compare it to your answer when you finish reading this.

Building permits are always required when you build a new home and are often required for renovations as well, depending on the scope of the renovation. In a nutshell, the permit process requires you to submit your plans to the city for review. If the plans comply with the Building Code, you receive a permit. At certain intervals during your renovation, a city inspector will inspect the work to ensure that the plans are being followed and that everything is being done to Code. The purposes of this process are to ensure that the work is done properly so as to avoid health and safety risks both during or after the renovation and to prevent one neighbour from interfering with another neighbour’s enjoyment of his or her property (by building an unusually tall home that would block all the neighbour’s sunlight, for example).

Don’t get the impression that permits are optional. The circumstances under which a permit are required are spelled out quite clearly, but human nature is such that there will always be those who try to avoid the rules.

Why are some people tempted to break the rules? If you avoid the time it takes to go through the permit process, you can start your job sooner. Your contractor won’t have to deal with an inspector looking over his or her shoulder. You’ll also save on permit fees and your contractor may cut you a better deal because there’s less paperwork involved. On the other hand, you’ll give up the added layer of protection provided by the permit process. Your home may not be as attractive to buyers who want the comfort of knowing everything was done properly. And you yourself may want to question the quality of work done by a contractor who is willing to circumvent the permit process. Is it because they dont’ think their work will meet the requisite standards or because they plan on cutting corners?

There’s also another major problem you may encounter if you proceed without a permit when one is required. You already know this potential problem, probably by name. This potential problem is your neighbour. Just yesterday, an agent I know told me about Bob’s dilemma. Bob was having his basement renovated without a permit. Everything was proceeding smoothly, until Bob’s neighbour, Stan, advised Bob that his contractor had scratched Stan’s car. Or at least that’s how Stan saw it. Stan was a little upset, not surprisingly, and wanted either Bob or his contractor to pay for the repair. They disagreed with Stan’s interpretation of how the scratch occurred and refused to pay. Stan promptly called the building department to complain. When the inspector appeared, he quickly realized that the work was being performed without a permit and put an immediate halt to the renovation. Now Bob can’t complete his renovation because his plans don’t comply with Code. He could change his plans and apply for a permit, but then he won’t get the basement he wants and he probably won’t be the city’s favorite customer after trying to do an end run around the process, if  you get my drift. As things stand now, he’s out the $15,000 he’s already paid his contractor and his basement looks like an unfinished construction site. (It’s worth noting that even if Bob did have a permit, an angry neighbour could complain to various city departments and find other ways to add costs and cause delays to his renovation, thereby making Bob’s life miserable. It wouldn’t be the first time someone moved after completing their renovation because they didn’t want to live next to their neighbours any longer.)

The moral of the story? You get two for the price of one. First, there are risks, sometimes unknown and unpredictable risks (just ask Bob), in not obtaining a building permit when one is required so proceed with caution. Second, always be a nice neighbour, whether you’re renovating or not, because it’s the right thing to do.

Now, if you were renovating your home and a building permit was required, would you obtain the permit or would you try to have the work done without a permit?