Richmond prices most house work from its own per-square-metre values, takes applications on MyPermit, issues gas permits but not electrical, and treats the whole city as floodplain. Here is what it costs, how to apply, what you can build and who to call.
Who this is for. Homeowners and small builders working inside the City of Richmond. Vancouver, New Westminster and Delta run their own building departments; if the address is near a boundary, confirm it with the Permit Finder. Not sure the job needs a permit at all? Start with the permit quiz.
Richmond sits on the Fraser River delta, and the whole city is designated floodplain. That shapes almost every new house and addition. Applications for houses, small-scale multi-unit housing and residential additions and alterations go through the City’s MyPermit portal. Fees come from the Consolidated Fees Bylaw No. 8636; the current consolidation includes Amendment Bylaw 10702 (adopted November 10, 2025), which set the 2026 rates from January 1, 2026 (Bylaw 8636 consolidation, PDF).
Is my project allowed? Zoning decides setbacks, height, lot coverage and whether a suite is allowed on your lot. Check it before you draw or apply for the permit: look up your address on the map, then read your zone in the bylaw.
Checked October 26, 2026 (City of Richmond): Richmond Interactive Map · Zoning Bylaw 8500
| Item | What the City publishes |
|---|---|
| Permit fee | $98.25 up to $1,000, then $16.75 per $1,000 or part to $100,000, $14.25 to $300,000 and $11.00 above (Bylaw 8636, 2026 rates) |
| Construction value | Set by the City from deemed values per m² for houses, garages, decks, interior finishing and additions (up to six units) |
| Plan processing fee | Paid at application, credited at issuance: $759 for one or two units; otherwise the greater of $85.50 or 50% of the estimated fee (max $10,000) |
| Processing time | Not published |
| How to apply | MyPermit on MyRichmond; in person or one email to BuildingApplications@richmond.ca is also listed |
| Trade permits | Building, plumbing, gas and sprinkler permits from the City; electrical from Technical Safety BC |
| Inspections | Online at inspections.richmond.ca; requests before 8:00 pm for the next business day |
The City’s Guide for the Homeowner/Builder (PC-32, rev. March 14, 2023) lists permits as required to:
The same guide, and the City’s Building Approvals FAQs, say no permit is needed for one accessory building under 10 m² (107.6 ft²) with no operating mechanical equipment, patios and decks under 600 mm (2 ft) above grade (but see the deck conflict below), fences, sidewalks and driveways, roofing and siding repair or replacement, painting and cupboards. Zoning and the BC Building Code still apply to that work, and fences must meet the intersection sightline rules (Guide for the Homeowner/Builder, PDF). Fence heights and the corner-lot triangle are in our fence checklist.
Checked October 9, 2026: homeowner guide PC-32 (PDF) · FAQs · InfoCentre: decks and sheds · Building Regulation Bylaw 7230 (PDF)
Flood Plain Designation and Protection Bylaw No. 8204 designates all of Richmond as floodplain. Habitable floors must meet the Flood Construction Level for the area unless a listed exemption applies (Bylaw 8204, PDF; floor areas below the FCL, PL-8). The homeowner guide also tells owners to check title for a flood-plain Building Elevation Restriction, a noise covenant or restricted access. Ask Building Approvals for your lot’s FCL before you fix the floor elevation; changing a slab height after plan review is expensive.
The bylaw has two building-permit ladders. The lower ladder applies only where the owner has retained registered professionals for design and field review in every discipline plus a coordinating registered professional, and the City relies on their certification (Building Regulation Bylaw 7230 s.5.13.6). Most homeowner projects use the “all other building types” ladder:
| Construction value | Building-permit fee (all other building types) |
|---|---|
| Up to $1,000 (minimum) | $98.25 |
| $1,000 to $100,000 | $98.25 + $16.75 per $1,000 or part over $1,000 |
| $100,000 to $300,000 | $1,756.50 + $14.25 per $1,000 or part over $100,000 |
| Over $300,000 | $4,606.50 + $11.00 per $1,000 or part over $300,000 |
The professionally certified ladder (s.5.13.6) is $98.25 minimum, then $16.25, $14.00 and $10.75 per $1,000 with bases of $98.25, $1,707.00 and $4,507.00. Either fee doubles if construction started before the permit was issued.
Richmond sets the construction value for you on houses and on garages, decks, porches, interior finishing and additions to buildings with up to six units. It multiplies floor area by these deemed values:
| Work | Single-family, per m² | Other buildings up to 6 units, per m² |
|---|---|---|
| New first storey | $1,446 | $3,017 |
| New second storey | $1,334 | $3,017 |
| Additions | $1,446 | $3,019 |
| Detached garage | $742 | $1,120 |
| Decks or porches | $613 | $926 |
| Interior finishing of an existing building | $686 | $1,036 |
Plan processing fee, paid when you apply and credited to the permit fee at issuance: $759 for one or two dwelling units (a house with a suite counts as two), $1,517 for three or four, $2,377 for five or six. For other applications it is the greater of $85.50 or 50% of the estimated building-permit fee, to the nearest dollar, up to $10,000. It is non-refundable and is forfeited if you don’t pay for and pick up the permit within 30 days of being told it’s ready; after 60 days the application is cancelled (Bylaw 7230 s.5.4). The bylaw table does not say whether the per-unit amounts also apply to additions and alterations of an existing house, so ask when you apply.
Worked examples (our arithmetic from Bylaw 8636, 2026 rates, all other building types; estimates only, confirm with the City). A 20 m² deck on a house: deemed value 20 × $613 = $12,260, so $98.25 + (12 × $16.75) = $299.25. Finishing a 30 m² basement: 30 × $686 = $20,580, so $98.25 + (20 × $16.75) = $433.25. A 40 m² detached garage: 40 × $742 = $29,680, so $98.25 + (29 × $16.75) = $584.00. A $50,000 alteration: $98.25 + (49 × $16.75) = $919.00; if the 50% plan processing rule applies, that is $459.50, which we round to $460, paid up front and credited at issuance.
A new house with a 150 m² first storey ($216,900) and a 120 m² second storey ($160,080), deemed value $376,980: $4,606.50 + (77 × $11.00) = $5,453.50, of which the $759 plan processing fee is paid at application. Plumbing, gas, the damage deposit, development cost charges (Bylaw 9499) and servicing are extra.
Other 2026 lines: plan review and design modification $154 an hour; re-inspections $102 / $141 / $273 for the third, fourth and fifth visit, then doubling; provisional occupancy inspection $350; demolition inspection for a building over 50 m² $544; temporary building $673; permit transfer or extension the greater of $85.25 or 10% of the original fee. Plumbing is $33 per fixture with an $87.50 minimum. A domestic gas permit for a one-family house is the greater of $85.25 or $32.25 per appliance (by our arithmetic, $96.75 for three appliances). Building records cost $20 per property plus $5.25 per file.
Damage deposits (refundable, plus a non-refundable inspection fee) are listed on the City’s damage deposit page: $500 + $211 for additions and accessory buildings over 10 m², pools and demolitions; $1,500 + $211 for single-family construction and move-offs; $2,000 + $211 for a combined demolition and new house.
Refunds: if no work has started and the permit has not expired or been extended, the owner can ask in writing for 70% (to the nearest dollar) of the building permit fee less the plan processing fee (Bylaw 7230 s.5.6).
2027 rates: Amendment Bylaw No. 10774, which would set new rates from January 1, 2027, is on Council’s October 13, 2026 agenda for first to third readings. It has not been adopted, so this page and our estimator use the 2026 rates. Check the City’s bylaw page for any application made in 2027.
For a planning figure, the BC permit fee estimator applies the same 2026 ladder and plan processing rule (rounded to the nearest dollar, as the bylaw says) to the value you enter.
Checked October 9, 2026: Bylaw 8636 consolidation (PDF) · Bylaw 7230 s.5.4, 5.6 and 5.13 (PDF) · damage deposits
Not published. Richmond’s Building Approvals pages give no review targets or current times, and its monthly permit reports list permits issued, not how long they took. Track an application online with the 8-digit folder number on your invoice (plan review status). Compare cities on our BC building permit wait times page.
Checked October 9, 2026: MyPermit · Know Before You Apply · residential building information · Bylaw 7230 s.5.10
More on packaging files: how to submit building permit drawings in BC.
The City’s sources disagree on low decks. Its FAQs and homeowner guide say patios and decks under 600 mm (2 ft) above grade need no building permit, but its InfoCentre answer says “a building permit is required for all deck structures”, and Building Regulation Bylaw 7230 exempts only a single storage building under 10 m² (s.5.1.2), not decks. Ask Building Approvals (604-276-4118) before you build any deck, and get the answer in writing. Decks 600 mm or higher clearly need a permit and must meet setbacks. Decks and porches are valued at $613 per m² on a single-family house for the fee. Our deck inspection checklist covers footings, framing and guards stage by stage.
One accessory building under 10 m² with no operating mechanical equipment is exempt from a building permit, but it must still meet zoning. Zoning Bylaw 8500 s.4.14 limits detached accessory buildings in residential zones to 3.0 m (pitched roof) or 2.5 m (flat roof) when under 10 m², and 4.0 m or 3.0 m when larger. Accessory buildings may not be used as a dwelling unit. Unless a zone says otherwise, detached accessory buildings up to 70 m² may sit in the rear yard if together they cover no more than 40% of it, are more than 20 m from the front lot line, and are at least 1.2 m from the rear and interior side lot lines where the wall facing the line is 6 m or shorter (s.4.7.7; longer walls need more).
A detached garage is an accessory building and is valued at $742 per m² on a single-family lot. Richmond’s housing legislation page says the City allows at least one secondary suite and/or an accessory dwelling unit such as a coach house or granny flat per lot; which one you can build depends on your zone, so check it in Zoning Bylaw 8500 or ask the Zoning Inquiry Line.
Zoning Bylaw 8500 s.5.4 sets the suite rules: the suite must be entirely inside the principal dwelling unit (not in a detached accessory building), one per dwelling unit, with a City water meter on the lot. Minimum size is 33 m² in a single detached house and 25 m² in town housing and SSMUH; maximum is the lesser of 40% of the unit’s floor area or 120 m². A suite is not allowed with a bed and breakfast, and on lots fronting the arterial roads mapped in the bylaw one extra parking space is required (except where SSMUH parking rules apply). A house with a suite counts as two units for the $759 plan processing fee.
Richmond brought in the province’s SSMUH rules through the RSM zone (Bylaw 10573, adopted June 24, 2024; height raised from 9 m to 10 m in March 2025). Bulletin Planning-09 (revised April 9, 2026) summarizes them:
Bylaw 10560 (adopted June 24, 2024) designates TOAs within 800 m of five Canada Line stations: Bridgeport, Capstan, Aberdeen, Lansdowne and Richmond-Brighouse. No bus exchanges were designated. In a TOA the City cannot require minimum residential parking (accessible spaces aside), and the SSMUH rules above do not apply; the provincial TOA heights and densities apply to land designated for residential use, subject to federal airport zoning limits (Bulletin Planning-08; housing legislation page).
Checked October 9, 2026: Zoning Bylaw 8500 Section 4 (PDF) · Section 5 specific use regulations (PDF) · Bulletin Planning-09 (PDF) · Bylaw 10573 (PDF) · Bylaw 10560 (PDF) · Bulletin Planning-08 (PDF)
Book, cancel and view results online at inspections.richmond.ca with the permit number and access code printed on the permit. Building, demolition, gas, plumbing, sprinkler and site service inspections can be requested there. Requests made before 8:00 pm are scheduled for the next business day; the cancellation cut-off is 7:00 am, and the City can’t promise morning or afternoon visits. Inspectors take calls and email from 8:15 to 9:00 am and 4:15 to 5:00 pm (inspection requests). The homeowner guide’s outline of inspections, where they apply:
| Trade | Inspections |
|---|---|
| Building | Forms (before concrete) · survey certificate · radiant heating · elevation and vapour barrier (before concrete) · crawlspace under 600 mm (before subfloor) · frame, including ductwork · sheathing (before exterior finish) · insulation · final building |
| Plumbing | Underground · rough-in · shower/bath · water service · final plumbing |
| Site service | Sanitary sewer connection · storm sewer, including roof drainage · final site |
| Gas | Gas vent · gas piping · air test · final gas |
| Trees | Tree removal permit · tree protection barriers · tree planting |
To avoid a refused inspection: post the address, make sure the inspector can get in, have the work complete, and keep the reviewed drawings and truss certificates on site. Don’t cover anything until it has been approved in writing (inspections required, PDF).
| Purpose | Contact |
|---|---|
| Building Approvals (permits, plan review, inspections) | 604-276-4118 · building@richmond.ca |
| Permits Section | 604-276-4285 |
| Applications by email (where MyPermit is not available) | BuildingApplications@richmond.ca (one email per application) |
| Zoning inquiries | 604-276-4017 · zoning@richmond.ca |
| Public Works (services, driveway crossings) | 604-244-1262 |
| Tree Bylaw clerk | 604-247-4684 |
| Fire Prevention | 604-278-5131 |
| City Hall and MyPermit help (Customer Service Centre) | 6911 No. 3 Road, Richmond, BC V6Y 2C1 · 604-276-4000 · infocentre@richmond.ca (Mon–Fri 8:15 am–5:00 pm) |
| Gas permits | City of Richmond, Building Approvals Permits Section (above) |
| Electrical permits | Technical Safety BC: 1-866-566-7233 |
Checked October 9, 2026: Building Approvals · MyPermit contact · homeowner guide contacts (PDF)
Planning a deck, shed or fence as well? The deck, shed and fence checklists and the deck, shed and fence materials calculator help you price and prepare the job. Use the Permit Finder to confirm the right office for an address.
Most homeowner jobs use the "all other building types" ladder in Consolidated Fees Bylaw No. 8636 (2026 rates, Amendment Bylaw 10702): $98.25 up to $1,000, then $16.75 per $1,000 or part to $100,000, $14.25 to $300,000 and $11.00 above. By our arithmetic a $50,000 alteration is $919.00 and a 20 m² deck, at the City's deemed value of $613 per m², is $299.25. Plan processing, plumbing, gas and deposits are separate. These are estimates; confirm with Building Approvals.
It is paid when you apply and credited to the permit fee at issuance. Bylaw 8636 sets $759 for one or two dwelling units (a house with a secondary suite counts as two), $1,517 for three or four, $2,377 for five or six, and otherwise the greater of $85.50 or 50% of the estimated building permit fee to the nearest dollar, up to $10,000. It is forfeited if you do not pay for and pick up the permit within 30 days of being told it is ready (Building Regulation Bylaw 7230 s.5.4).
For sheds, yes: one accessory building under 10 m² (107.6 ft²) without operating mechanical equipment needs no building permit (Building Regulation Bylaw 7230 s.5.1.2); bigger or second accessory buildings, and anything with mechanical equipment, need one. For decks, the City's own sources disagree. Its FAQs and homeowner guide say patios and decks less than 600 mm (2 ft) above grade need no permit, but its InfoCentre says a building permit is required for all deck structures, and Bylaw 7230 has no deck exemption. Ask Building Approvals (604-276-4118) before you build any deck. Zoning setbacks and heights still apply either way.
Richmond does not publish processing times. Track your file online with the 8-digit folder number on your invoice, and ask Building Approvals (604-276-4118) for a current estimate.
Through MyPermit, the City's online portal on MyRichmond. You need a MyRichmond account. The MyPermit page lists single family, small-scale multi-unit housing and residential addition and alteration building permits as available online, along with gas, demolition, tree and some plumbing and sprinkler permits. The City's Know Before You Apply page still offers in-person applications or a single email to BuildingApplications@richmond.ca.
Gas permits come from the City of Richmond. Electrical permits come from Technical Safety BC (1-866-566-7233). Technical Safety BC lists Richmond as issuing gas permits only, and the City's homeowner guide sends electrical questions to the provincial safety authority. High-pressure gas systems in buildings other than single family dwellings also go to the province.
Under the RSM zone (Bylaw 10573, adopted June 24, 2024), up to 3 units on lots of 280 m² or less, up to 4 on larger lots, and up to 6 on lots over 281 m² within 400 m of a prescribed bus stop, with exemptions such as ALR, heritage, lots of 1 acre or more and transit-oriented areas. Six units need an affordable housing contribution or unit, and five or more need an architect. Check your lot on the Richmond Interactive Map.
Online at inspections.richmond.ca with your permit number and access code. Requests made before 8:00 pm are scheduled for the next business day, and the cancellation cut-off is 7:00 am.
Check with the City before you build. This is independent information, not the City of Richmond. It is a planning aid, not legal, engineering or building-code advice. Fee examples are our arithmetic from the published bylaw and are estimates only. Bylaws, fees and processes change, and the building official for your address has the final say. Confirm every requirement and fee with Building Approvals before you design, apply or dig.
This guide relies on the official pages below. Rules, fees and processes change, so check the authority before you apply or spend money.
Links checked October 9, 2026. Found an error or a broken link? Report it.