At a glance
- Building permits in the City of Duncan are handled by the Building Department at City Hall, 200 Craig Street.
- Anything structural, plumbing, or electrical inside city limits goes through the city. If you’re outside city limits, you’re in the CVRD and that’s a different office.
- Fees aren’t posted online — you find out after staff review your application.
- The phone number you actually need is 250-746-6126. The email is developmentservices@duncan.ca.
- Plan on at least one meeting with the Building Inspector before anything gets approved.
Estimated read time: 6 minutes
Why I wrote this
I live in Duncan. I’ve lived in this valley most of my adult life, sold cars 15 minutes from here at Duncan Honda for fifteen years, and watched plenty of neighbours get tangled up trying to figure out whether they need a permit for a deck, a shed, a new bathroom, or a granny suite. The answer is almost always “yes, and here’s the part nobody tells you” — so this is the part nobody tells you.
This is the homeowner’s version. Not the contractor’s version, not the architect’s version. Just what you need before you pick up the phone.
First question: are you actually in the City of Duncan?
This trips people up more than anything else. The City of Duncan is small — under two square kilometres. If your address says Duncan but your property is technically in North Cowichan, the CVRD, or one of the surrounding electoral areas, you do not deal with the City of Duncan for permits. You deal with the Cowichan Valley Regional District or with North Cowichan.
Quick check:
- City of Duncan handles permits only within actual city limits (the few blocks around downtown).
- North Cowichan handles most of the surrounding area — Maple Bay, Crofton, Chemainus, most of the rural stretches.
- The CVRD handles the unincorporated areas farther out.
If you’re not sure, call 250-746-6126 and ask. They’ll tell you who actually owns your file in about ten seconds.
When you need a permit in Duncan
The City of Duncan follows the 2024 BC Building Code, same as everywhere else in the province. The general rule is: if you’re changing the structure, the layout, or any regulated system (plumbing, electrical, gas), you need a permit.
That includes:
- Building a new house, addition, or accessory building over a certain size
- Adding or modifying a secondary suite (granny suite, basement suite)
- Moving interior walls or changing structural elements
- Installing or moving plumbing fixtures
- Putting in a deck above a certain height above grade
- Demolishing a building or part of one
- Changing the occupancy of a building (turning a garage into a living space)
- Putting in a wood stove or solid fuel appliance
What usually doesn’t need a building permit:
- Painting, flooring, cabinet swaps where you’re not moving plumbing
- Repairing or replacing a faucet, fixture, or hot water tank without changing the piping layout
- Small accessory buildings under the threshold
- Fences (though there are bylaw rules)
- Low decks below 600 mm above grade
But here’s the part I keep telling my neighbours: electrical work is its own permit, separate from the building permit, and it goes through Technical Safety BC — not the City of Duncan. Same with gas. If you’re hiring a tradesperson, the licensed one pulls their own permit. If you’re doing it yourself, you pull it yourself, and you’d better know what you’re doing.
The application process — step by step
Here’s how it actually works in Duncan, based on the city’s own application checklist:
Step 1: Talk to staff first. Before you submit anything, you meet with the Building Department to confirm your use is permitted under the City of Duncan Zoning Bylaw, check parking requirements if applicable, and find out what other regulations apply to your specific property. This step is free. Skip it and you’ll waste weeks.
Step 2: Meeting with the Building Inspector. Before the full review, the applicant and Building Inspector go through the application together. This is your chance to catch problems before they cost you money.
Step 3: Site review. The Building Inspector reviews the actual site — not just your paperwork. They want to see the property.
Step 4: Plan review against the BC Building Code. The Inspector checks your drawings against local bylaws and the BC Building Code. If there are problems (and there usually are), you’ll get a list of required changes. Revising drawings is on you — get your designer or contractor lined up before you start, because rev rounds eat time.
Step 5: Permit issued. Once your drawings clear, the permit gets issued with a condition: construction must match the approved drawings. Period. You change something mid-build, you come back to the office.
Step 6: Inspections. The permit comes with an inspection card listing the inspections you need to schedule — framing, plumbing, insulation, final, and so on depending on the scope. The approved drawings must be on site for every inspection. Miss one or close walls before they’re checked and you’re tearing it back open.
What you submit with the application
This list is straight from the city’s tenant improvement / building permit checklist. Even for a residential job, expect most of these:
- Completed building permit application
- Application fee (amount confirmed after staff review the scope)
- Appointment of Agent form if someone other than the owner is applying
- Site plan with property dimensions, north arrow, street names, building location, parking, access
- Floor plans to scale (¼” = 1′ or 1:50) showing existing and proposed construction
- All outside dimensions and total square footage
- Room dimensions and use
- Interior partitions including partition height
- Door sizes and swing direction
- All plumbing fixtures (new and existing identified)
- Construction details: wall structure, fire ratings if applicable, fire stopping for service penetrations, structural changes
For Part 3 buildings (apartments, commercial) you need engineer-stamped structural drawings and a Schedule B Letter of Assurance. For most residential jobs you don’t — but if you’re touching the structure, an engineer is going to be involved one way or another.
The big one most people forget: incomplete applications are not accepted. They get sent back. You don’t lose your spot in line because you never got into the line.
How long does it take?
The City of Duncan doesn’t publish a public timeline the way Vancouver does. From people I’ve talked to and from what the CVRD lists as their target for their own area (4 weeks for a complete application), here’s the rough shape:
- Simple residential reno: 3 to 6 weeks once your application is complete
- Suite addition or larger reno: 6 to 12 weeks
- New build, addition, or laneway-type project: 10 to 18 weeks
These are estimates. Add time for every revision round. Add time if your file gets bounced to other agencies (Vancouver Island Health for septic, Ministry of Transportation for highway access, etc.).
One thing I keep hearing from my old Honda customers turned homeowners: the timeline starts the day your application is complete, not the day you walk in the door. If staff need three things from you, the clock isn’t ticking until you’ve handed all three over.
What it costs
City of Duncan doesn’t publish a fee schedule on their public website. The application fee is set after staff review your scope. The actual permit fee in BC is almost always a percentage of construction value — at the CVRD it’s 1.4% under their building bylaw, and Duncan is in the same ballpark.
Rough math for a $50,000 reno: figure $700 to $900 in permit fees, plus an application fee of a couple hundred. For a $300,000 addition: figure $4,000 to $5,000 in permit fees alone. You’ll also potentially owe Development Cost Charges (DCCs), trade permits for plumbing and gas, and inspection fees.
Call the city and ask. They’ll tell you on the phone. 250-746-6126.
What happens if you build without a permit
I’m going to be straight with you: people do it. Some get away with it. Many don’t.
What goes wrong:
- The city finds out (neighbour complaint, sale of the property, insurance claim)
- You face a stop-work order and have to apply retroactively, often with double fees
- You can’t sell the property without disclosing it, and the buyer’s lawyer or home inspector finds it
- Your home insurance won’t cover damage tied to unpermitted work
- Your mortgage lender can refuse to refinance
I sold cars for twenty years. I know the temptation to skip a step to save a buck. Permits are the one place on a renovation where skipping a step costs you more, not less. Pay the application fee. Sit through the meeting. Get your drawings right.
Who you actually call
| What you need | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Building permits inside Duncan city limits | City of Duncan Building Department, 250-746-6126, developmentservices@duncan.ca |
| Building permits in North Cowichan, CVRD areas | CVRD Building Inspection |
| Electrical permits anywhere in BC | Technical Safety BC |
| Gas permits | Technical Safety BC |
| Health approvals (septic, food service, pools) | Island Health (VIHA) |
| Anything you’re still confused about | Call 250-746-6126 and ask |
City Hall: 200 Craig Street, Duncan, B.C. V9L 1W3
FAQ
Do I need a permit for a deck in Duncan?
If the deck surface is more than 600 mm (about 2 feet) above grade, yes. Below that, generally no — but check with the city before you start, because attachment to the house can change the answer.
Can I pull my own permit as the owner?
Yes. Owners can apply for permits on their own property. If someone else applies on your behalf (designer, contractor, friend), they need an Appointment of Agent form signed by you.
How long is a Duncan building permit valid?
BC standard is generally one year before work has to start and several years to complete. Specific terms are on your permit. Don’t let it expire — renewal fees stack up.
Does the City of Duncan accept electronic submissions?
Most BC municipalities have moved to email submission. Confirm the current process when you call — small municipalities update their procedures more than the website reflects.
What if I’m replacing a roof or siding?
Like-for-like replacement of roofing or siding typically doesn’t need a permit. Replacing with dissimilar materials (changing siding type, or roofing type) usually does.
My property says “Duncan” on the mail but I’m not sure if it’s in the City of Duncan.
Call 250-746-6126 and give them your address. They’ll tell you in 30 seconds. If you’re not in the city, they’ll route you to North Cowichan or the CVRD.
Bottom line
The permit process in Duncan isn’t fast and isn’t cheap, but it’s not the nightmare people make it out to be. Talk to staff before you submit. Get your drawings right the first time. Keep the approved set on site during every inspection. And confirm whether you’re actually in the City of Duncan or in the CVRD before you call the wrong office.
If you’ve got a project in mind and you’re not sure where to start — start with the phone call. 250-746-6126. They’ve heard it all before.
Related guides from Homer Shack Hub:
- Cowichan Valley Building Permit Guide
- Victoria, BC Building Permit Guide
- Trades for People Over 40
- How to Spot a Tradesperson Worth Hiring
Brew approves the messages. — Mark Dupuis, Duncan, BC
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