How to close an open building permit in Toronto depends on one question: what happened to the work? If it was finished, you book a final inspection. If it never started, you ask Toronto Building to revoke the permit. Everything in between needs an inspector to look at the site first. Good building permit services start by pulling the permit history, because the answer is often a surprise to the owner.
An open permit stays on the property, not with the person who took it out. The current registered owner is responsible, even for a permit from a previous owner. If the file shows unfinished work you want to complete, our home building permits service can take over the drawings and inspections. The table below sets out the situations Toronto Building describes and what each one requires.
| Situation | What Toronto requires | Extra documents that may apply |
|---|---|---|
| Work recently finished | Book a final inspection | None if earlier inspections passed |
| Work started, not finished | Book an inspection to assess progress | Next steps set by Toronto Building |
| Work never started | Request permit revocation | Written revocation request |
| Work finished, never inspected | Book a final inspection | Architect or engineer reports confirming compliance |
| Previous owner’s permit, you want to continue | Apply for a permit transfer | Transfer application and fee |
| Previous owner’s permit, you will not continue | Book an inspection so the City can assess closure | Anything the inspector asks for |
Building permit status in Toronto by address
To look up building permits by address in Toronto, start with the City’s Building Permit Application & Inspection Status page. Search by address to see each permit’s status and inspection record, updated as of the previous business day. It has a limit that trips up buyers: it only covers active permits up to 10 years old from the date of application, and permits closed or cancelled within the last month. A permit from 2012 that was never closed may not appear there at all.
For anything older, a Property Information Report from Toronto Building is the more complete route; the 2026 routine compliance search fee for one is $214.79 per request. If you need the drawings behind an old permit, the City’s records disclosure service provides copies at $76.98 per plan or record. Read the building permit status Toronto shows alongside the inspection list: a permit marked issued with only a framing inspection recorded is open, however finished the room looks.
When an open building permit becomes dormant
A permit stays open until every required inspection is complete and Toronto Building closes it. Once a permit has gone 18 months without an inspection, the City treats it as dormant. Owners of permits more than 18 months old with no inspections requested receive a Notice of Intention to Revoke.
That notice does not cancel the permit. It sets a date. Before that date you can request an inspection to close the permit, request an inspection to keep it open and carry on working, or let it be revoked. To keep it alive, the inspection has to show that construction or demolition has genuinely started. If no inspection is requested, or it shows nothing was built, the permit is revoked on the date in the letter.
Revocation has consequences if work was actually done. Restarting means applying and paying for a new permit, and any work completed under the revoked permit may be treated as a violation of the Building Code Act and the Toronto Municipal Code. An open permit can also hold up a new one, since Toronto Building may ask you to resolve the old file before issuing a new permit on the same property.
Open permit when buying a house in Toronto
An open permit when buying a house in Toronto is a question for the purchase agreement, not after closing. The City itself notes that open permits can delay or complicate a sale, that buyers and lenders may want proof the work was inspected, and that a lawyer may advise against buying a property with an outstanding permit. Once you take title, the permit becomes your responsibility, including any inspection, report or correction it needs.
The practical step is to search the address before the conditions come off, and to ask the seller for the permit number, the drawings and the inspection record for any renovation you can see. A basement, kitchen or addition with no matching permit is a different problem, covered in our guide on renovation done without a permit. Your real estate lawyer can advise on how to handle an open file in the agreement itself.
How to close an open building permit in Toronto
Closing starts with an inspection request, made online through the City’s Request a Building Inspection page or by calling Toronto Building Inspections at 416-397-5330, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The inspector compares the work with the approved permit drawings and the Ontario Building Code. If there are deficiencies, you get a list of corrections to make before the file can close.
Work that was covered up before its inspections is the hardest case. Toronto Building may ask for architect or engineer reports confirming the hidden work complies. Have the permit drawings on hand before the visit, since the inspector checks against them. If a previous owner held the permit and you are unsure what was done under it, contact Toronto Building Inspections first to confirm, then decide between a transfer, which carries a $214.79 fee, and an inspection to close the file. When every required inspection has passed, Toronto Building closes the permit and sends confirmation.
An open permit where the work is visible and matches the drawings is usually a scheduling task; the slow files are those where work was covered up or nobody knows what was built. Search the address, match each permit to the work you can see, and book the inspection before a revocation date or a sale forces the timing. If the file needs drawings, reports or a transfer, send us the property address, the permit number and any documents you have, and we will map out what the City will ask for.