29 municipalities, one crew standard.
Toronto and its five former boroughs, then Peel, York, Durham and Halton. Each city page says who issues the permit there, what the housing stock does to the job, and which reviews come before the drawings.
City of Toronto.
One permit office, Toronto Building, for the old city and all five former boroughs. Narrow lots, shared driveways, ravine rules and a laneway and garden suite by-law that lets a second house go up as-of-right on many lots. The zoning review comes before the drawings are final.
Peel Region.
Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon each issue their own building permits. Peel runs from lakefront tear-down lots in Port Credit and Lorne Park to 1980s subdivisions ready for a second storey and, in Caledon, rural lots on wells and septic where the conservation authority has a say.
York Region.
Nine municipalities from Thornhill to Lake Simcoe. Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham are custom home and addition country; Aurora, Newmarket and King bring heritage cores and estate lots; East Gwillimbury and Georgina bring growth and shoreline. Each town or city issues its own permit.
Durham Region.
Pickering to Clarington along the 401, with Uxbridge and Scugog north on the moraine. Postwar stock in Oshawa and Ajax, lakefront lots in Pickering and Whitby, and rural properties north of Highway 7. Permits come from each local municipality.
Halton Region.
Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills. Estate lots and heritage districts by the lake, escarpment lots inland where Conservation Halton reviews the site, and new subdivisions in Milton where the job is usually a basement, a kitchen or a finished-in-place renovation.