◆ North York home projects

North York Building Permit Services: Custom Homes, Multiplexes and Garden Suites

iPermit handles building permit services North York owners need for replacement houses, additions, multiplexes and garden suites, from the zoning certificate to the issued permit. As a building permit company working across Toronto, we see the same issues on most files here: older houses on wide lots, ravines along the Don and Humber branches, mature trees, and replacement homes that need a variance before they can get a permit.

Multiplexes and Garden Suites on North York Lots

North York follows Toronto’s city-wide rules. Since May 2023, a lot zoned for houses can hold a multiplex of up to four units, either as a new building or by converting an existing house, and a detached garden suite or laneway suite can be added on top of the main building where the lot qualifies.

Sixplexes are a different story. In June 2025, council allowed them as of right in nine wards: eight in Toronto and East York plus Scarborough North. None of the seven North York wards was included. Councillors in the remaining wards can ask the Chief Planner to opt in, so we check the current status for your ward before a six-unit design is drawn.

What usually decides a North York multiplex is not the unit count but the lot:

Replacement houses. Many older North York bungalows sit on wide lots, which makes a new house or a fourplex look easy until the side yard setbacks, building depth and height limits are applied.
Garden suites. The City publishes pre-approved garden and laneway suite plans that already meet the Building Code, which takes most of the design cost out. Each one still needs a site-specific permit and a zoning review for your lot, so setbacks, fire access, servicing and grading are checked as usual.
Laneways. Public laneways are far less common in North York than in the old city, so most second buildings here are garden suites in the rear yard rather than laneway suites.
Development charges. A garden or laneway suite can qualify for Toronto’s development charge deferral program for ancillary units.

Our residential building permits cover multiplexes, garden suites, additions and new custom homes.

◆ Feasibility first

The Zoning Certificate Comes Before the Permit

In Toronto, a house permit application is incomplete until the project has a Zoning Applicable Law Certificate. The certificate is a preliminary review of your drawings against the zoning by-law and other applicable law, it allows up to three rounds of review, and it has to be issued before the building permit application is accepted.

Most North York lots are covered by city-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013, but lots that were left out of it, or carry site-specific exceptions, can still be governed by the former North York Zoning By-law 7625. Sorting that out comes before design, and it is the first thing a building permit consultant in North York should check. When the house cannot meet the by-law, the variance goes to the North York panel of the Committee of Adjustment: $2,228.98 in 2026 for an addition or alteration, or $5,011.08 for a new dwelling with up to three units.

For a question before anything is drawn, Toronto Building gives general zoning information by appointment at its North York district office, on the first floor of the North York Civic Centre at 5100 Yonge Street. Appointments run 30 minutes and have to be booked in the district where the property is.

Ravine Protection and North York's Big Trees

Three reviews shape North York projects more than the Building Code does.

Ravines. Much of North York backs onto the East and West Don and their tributaries, so many lots sit in the City’s Ravine and Natural Feature Protection area, and often in TRCA’s regulated area too. The rules sit in Chapter 658 of the Municipal Code, and since September 1, 2026 they carry their own permit fees: $262.72 for a ravine tree affected by construction, $549.08 for a boundary or neighbour tree in the same situation, and $632.51 to alter grade where no trees are involved.

Trees. A private tree 30 cm (about 12 in.) or more in diameter cannot be injured or removed without a permit, and a City street tree is protected at any size. The September 2026 changes also added a distinctive tree class for healthy trees wider than 61 cm, and the City may refuse their removal. On a wide lot with one large oak in the building envelope, that can decide where the house goes. Trees planted as a condition of a permit are now protected from the day they go in the ground, with no minimum size.

Lot grading. A new house that is not under site plan control needs a grading plan from a qualified consultant, such as an Ontario Land Surveyor, engineer or architect, and the owner files a letter of undertaking confirming that consultant is retained. Side yards drain at a slope of at least 1.5%, the front yard falls 2% to 6% toward the curb, and no new ponding is allowed on the neighbours’ lots. When final grades are in, the consultant issues a lot grading certificate to Toronto Building.

◆ North York step by step

Two Applications, One North York House

In Toronto the zoning review is its own step, so a North York house permit is really two applications in sequence: the zoning certificate first, then the building permit.

Engineering can shorten the second half. Under Toronto’s Professional Engineer’s Seal program, the City relies on sealed engineering drawings for parts of its review, and its early data shows about a month saved, on average, between permit submission and occupancy.

Assess

Site and ravine check

Look up the permit record, then map the ravine protection line and any protected trees on or next to the lot.

Intake

Check

Zoning certificate

Settle whether 569-2013 or the old North York By-law 7625 governs, then go for the certificate or plan the variance.

Feasibility

Prepare

Permit drawings and grading plan

Prepare the architectural set, grading plan and arborist input, and coordinate structural, HVAC and plumbing design where the project needs it.

Drawings

File

Permit application

File the permit with the certificate attached, and work through the examiner’s comments until it is issued.

Municipal

◆ North York work we handle

North York Permit Services by Project

A North York basement unit and a North York deck follow different rules. Choose the page that fits your project.

RENOVATIONS

North York Interior Renovations

Kitchens, washrooms and wall removals in North York houses, reviewed in Toronto’s House stream.

SECOND UNITS

Basement Units in North York

Basement units in existing houses, planned around fire separation, exits and the unit count the zoning allows on your lot.

ADDITIONS

Additions to North York Homes

Rear and upper-floor additions, with ravine limits and tree protection zones worked into the design.

DECKS

North York Decks and Walkouts

Decks, porches and walkouts, including the ravine review that applies when the rear yard slopes toward a valley.

GARAGES

Garages and Garden Suite Garages

Detached garages and garages built as part of a garden suite, with the setback checks the zoning certificate will test.

ZONING

Zoning Certificates in North York

Zoning certificate applications and variance strategy, before a single construction drawing is started.

Toronto Rates on a North York Custom Home

There is no separate North York fee schedule; permits here are charged at Toronto’s city-wide rates, mostly by floor area. The 2026 numbers:

Project	2026 City fee
New house, semi, townhouse or garden suite	$18.56 per m²
Residential interior alteration	$13.41 per m²
Deck, porch or detached garage	$214.79 each
Minimum permit fee	$214.79
Examination beyond 5 hours	$92.79 per hour
Ravine permit: tree affected by construction	$262.72
Ravine permit: grade change, no trees	$632.51
Minor variance: addition / new dwelling	$2,228.98 / $5,011.08

Two details matter on a North York custom home. The zoning certificate has its own fee, paid before the permit application, and a file that needs more than five hours of examination starts paying by the hour. A tree or ravine permit is billed separately again. We price our own work after seeing the lot, because a garden suite and a 4,000 sq ft replacement house are nothing alike.

Toronto Review Streams for North York Files

Toronto Building sorts applications into review streams, and each has a target for a complete application. Without the zoning certificate, the application is incomplete and the clock never starts.

Review stream	Target (business days)
House stream (up to two units, garden and laneway suites)	10
Small buildings, including most multiplexes	15
Large buildings	20
Complex buildings	30

That rule shapes how we run building permit application services in North York: the certificate first, then a permit package that already matches it, so the examiner is not reviewing a different design from the one zoning approved. For how the whole timeline adds up, see our guide on how long a building permit takes in Toronto.

Comments come back after the first review, and the file cycles until nothing is left open. A permit expediter North York builders trust earns the fee in those rounds: one response letter covering every comment, with the revised sheets marked so the examiner can check them quickly. Toronto Building makes the final call, and its dates are never guaranteed.

Building in North York?

Send the address and your plans or sketches, and we’ll start with what the zoning certificate will test.

◆ Why iPermit?

Hiring a Permit Company for a North York Home

When you interview firms for a North York house, ask who will stamp or sign the drawings, who runs the zoning certificate and any variance, and who responds to the examiner. Our office sits just north of the city line in Vaughan, and our Ontario permit work goes back to 2006. In North York we worked on the Maplehurst Residence and Maplehurst 2 Residence, two new custom homes where the permit and engineering work ran together from the first drawing. The drawings and the application are ours to coordinate. Review, issuance and inspection belong to Toronto Building.

◆ What North York owners ask

North York Permit Questions, Answered

North York owners usually want to know two things: what the lot allows, and what must happen before the permit. The answers below reflect Toronto’s rules as of fall 2026.

Can I build a sixplex in North York?

Not as of right under the June 2025 decision, which covered nine other wards. A fourplex is allowed, and a sixplex needs either a ward opt-in or a rezoning for your property. We check the current status before any design work.

Do I need a zoning certificate before applying for a house permit?

Yes. Toronto treats a house permit application without an issued Zoning Applicable Law Certificate as incomplete, so the certificate is the first real milestone on the file.

What changed for trees on September 1, 2026?

Healthy private trees over 61 cm are now distinctive trees, and the City can refuse a permit to remove them. New ravine permit fees also started that day. The 30 cm threshold for other private trees did not change.

Can I use a pre-approved garden suite design?

Yes. The plans already meet the Building Code, so you save most of the design work, but the City still issues a site-specific permit and reviews zoning, setbacks, fire access, servicing and grading for your lot.

What if there is an old open permit on the house I bought?

It is worth closing before you apply for new work, since it can come up during review and when you sell. Our guide on how to close an open building permit in Toronto explains the options.

Can I get zoning advice before I apply?

Yes. Toronto Building offers 30-minute appointments for general zoning information at the North York Civic Centre, 5100 Yonge Street. They are booked by district, so a North York address goes to the North York office.

Is a laneway suite an option in North York?

Only where the lot backs onto a public lane, which is uncommon in North York. Most owners here look at a garden suite in the rear yard instead, which has its own setback and fire access rules.