The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says municipal governments can address the national housing shortage by simplifying their permitting processes and reducing red tape.

A Tuesday report from the CFIB evaluated the types of permits and fees in 12 cities across Canada for what CFIB calls a “micro scenario”: converting a powder room to a full bathroom, with a price point of $20,000. 

“We found that some of the simplest projects, such as a bathroom project, could have some serious red tape,” Duncan Robertson, senior policy analyst with the CFIB and co-author of the report, told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview.

“We believe that cutting red tape and the permitting and approval process is a cost-efficient way to really speed up the home construction process.”

Francesca Bata, research analyst at the CFIB, said the problems outlined in the report reflect larger roadblocks to addressing the housing crisis in Canada. 

“If there are this many obstacles for a simple bathroom renovation, imagine how costly and time-consuming it is to permit a secondary suite, a complete renovation or a new build,” Bata said in a press release.

Bathroom renovations

Out of the 12 municipalities assessed, Vancouver had the highest permitting fees with costs reaching more than $2,000, as well as the most demanding document requirements, asking for up to 10 documents for a bathroom renovation.

In a statement, the City of Vancouver said the CFIB’s report did not reflect the average cost of permits for the assessed type of bathroom renovation. The City said comparable bathroom renovations in Vancouver carry permit costs of around $1,179, assuming $5,000 in electrical work in addition to other costs.

The City also noted that the time it takes to obtain building permits varies “significantly” depending on the type of project. It said it has taken efforts to fast-track permits for simple renovations, and bathroom renovation permits can be processed “within a week.”

The other municipalities examined were Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Moncton, Charlottetown, and St. John’s, N.L.

Based on CFIB’s evaluations, an average of seven additional documents were required for bathroom renovation projects in these cities, with permit costs ranging from $180 to $2,029. 

Beyond upfront permit costs based on the value of a project, the CFIB found that homeowners may also need to foot extra costs for various documents to support project applications, which can take months to obtain approval. 

“If it costs a substantial amount in both money and time to get a simple project done, imagine what it would take to build an entire house or even a large scale development,” Robertson told BNN Bloomberg. 

“It’s a micro example of a macro issue.”