Renovating or Extending a House

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The following information pertains to carrying out work on a residential dwelling. If you are creating or adding apartments, see the Adding an Apartment section.

If you require a building permit, please complete the application and submit to Inspection Services.

Required plans include:

structural details and sections
a survey plan
floor layout (existing compared with new)
for extensions: elevations and site plans if there is an increase to the house ‘footprint' or space it occupies relative to the lot dimensions

If a house is being extended, consideration must be given to required yard setbacks or easements. For example, in a particular zone, a proposed extension cannot project into a side yard restricted area of 1.2 metres from your side property line or a rear yard restricted area of 6 metres from your rear property line, and it cannot extend into an easement.

With interior renovations, walls, columns or beams which are load bearing should not be tampered with. If the wall must be removed, loads must be adequately transferred. Sometimes a preliminary inspection is required to look at existing construction prior to a permit being issued.

Only electrical and plumbing contractors licensed to operate in the City of St. John's can pick up electrical and plumbing permits, carry out work, or request electrical and plumbing inspections.

For information on the stages of inspections, refer to the Building a House page.

Costs

Building permits for the renovation or extension to a house are based on the cost of the work being carried out; you'll be asked to provide an estimate to determine the permit cost.

Please refer to the Permit Fees and Rates page for information on permit costs.