How long permits take across Metro Vancouver
Permit timelines differ across Metro Vancouver, and so does how openly each city reports them. Surrey publishes current processing times against its own targets and updates them regularly. Richmond states that a fixed timeline is difficult to give because the time depends on the type, size, and complexity of the application. Anyone planning a project needs the figure for their own municipality, for their own permit type, taken at the time they apply.
Part of Building permits in Metro Vancouver. Figures re-verified 2026-09-23.
Key takeaways
- Surrey reported a residential building permit processing time of 5 weeks against a 10 week target, published 21 September 2026.
- Surrey reported residential addition and renovation permits at 3.2 weeks against a 6 week target.
- Surrey's minor tenant improvement permits ran at 1 day against a 3 business day target.
- Surrey residential rezoning ran at 12.9 weeks against a 12 week target, the one category above target.
- Richmond does not publish a fixed processing time, citing application type, size, and complexity.
- A city's published figure measures its review stage, not the whole journey from first drawing to permit in hand.
What Surrey publishes, and what it means
Surrey maintains a public page of current permit processing times against established targets, and the figures below were published on 21 September 2026. They are the clearest picture available of what a Metro Vancouver city is currently achieving, because most municipalities do not publish comparable numbers.
Read them with the City's own qualification in mind. Surrey states that the processing timeline does not begin at submission, and starts instead after referrals are complete, site servicing is reviewed, or major deficiencies are resolved, depending on the permit type. The figures describe the review stage rather than the full journey.
Note also which category sits above its target. Residential rezoning ran at 12.9 weeks against a 12 week target, while every building permit category ran below target. A project that needs a rezoning before it can apply for a building permit carries that difference on top of everything else.
| Permit type | Current processing time | Established target |
|---|---|---|
| Building permit, residential | 5 weeks | 10 weeks |
| Building permit, residential addition and renovation | 3.2 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Building permit, new tenant improvement | 3.9 weeks | 10 weeks |
| Building permit, minor tenant improvement | 1 day | 3 business days |
| Building permit, medical clinic tenant improvement | 2.6 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Rezoning, residential | 12.9 weeks | 12 weeks |
| Rezoning, multi-family, commercial, industrial | 9.7 weeks | 16 weeks |
Cities that do not publish a number
Richmond's position is that specific time limits are difficult to provide, because the time required varies with the type, size, and complexity of the application, the number of applications already in progress, and the applicant's ability to supply information when it is requested.
That is a fair description of how permit review works, and it leaves the owner without a planning figure. The practical response is to ask the city directly for a current estimate for your permit type at the point you apply, and to ask what stage that estimate covers.
Vancouver publishes information about its permitting programme on its own website, and the figures there move as the programme changes. This guide quotes no Vancouver processing figure, because a number that is right one quarter and wrong the next is worse than no number at all. Confirm current Vancouver timelines with the City directly for your permit type, rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere, including figures quoted by contractors.
Why a neighbour's experience is a poor guide
Three things differ between municipalities: the review process itself, the current volume of applications, and what the published figure measures. A friend's twelve week experience in one city predicts little about your own project in another.
The process differences are real and current. Burnaby's change effective 1 July 2026, requiring a development permit before a building permit for some projects, adds a review stage that a neighbouring city may not have at all.
Volume moves too, and it moves seasonally. A figure published in one quarter is a description of that quarter, which is the reason Surrey republishes its numbers rather than posting them once.
The part of the timeline you control
Two stages belong to the owner and the builder rather than the city. The first is everything before submission: design, consultant reports, and assembling a complete package. The second is response time inside the correspondence cycle, where a file sits waiting for the applicant rather than the reviewer.
Surrey states that the best practice for meeting its processing times is to submit complete and accurate applications, and that unfulfilled requirements require further communication between staff and applicant and longer processing times. Both halves of that sentence describe applicant controlled time.
Set the schedule around this honestly. Add the consultant lead times, add the review figure the city gives you for your permit type, and add contingency for at least one round of comments. A schedule built on the review figure alone will be wrong before the application is filed.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a residential building permit take in Surrey?
Surrey reported a residential building permit processing time of 5 weeks against a 10 week target in figures published on 21 September 2026. Residential addition and renovation permits ran at 3.2 weeks against a 6 week target. Surrey notes the clock starts after referrals, servicing review, or resolution of major deficiencies, so the figure covers the review stage rather than the full journey.
Which Metro Vancouver city publishes its permit processing times?
Surrey publishes current processing times against established targets and updates them regularly, with the figures on this page published on 21 September 2026. Most Metro Vancouver municipalities do not publish comparable current figures. Richmond states that specific time limits are difficult to provide because the time varies with application type, size, complexity, and the volume already in progress.
How long does a renovation permit take compared with a new house permit?
In Surrey's published figures, residential addition and renovation permits ran at 3.2 weeks while residential building permits ran at 5 weeks, against targets of 6 and 10 weeks. Renovation work is generally reviewed faster because the scope is narrower. The figures describe Surrey specifically, so confirm comparable numbers with your own municipality rather than applying these across the region.
Why does a rezoning take longer than a building permit?
A rezoning changes what the law permits on the lot, so it involves policy review and a council decision rather than a technical check against existing rules. In Surrey's figures published 21 September 2026, residential rezoning ran at 12.9 weeks against a 12 week target, while every building permit category ran below target. A project needing both carries the rezoning time before the permit time.
Can a city tell me how long my permit will take before I apply?
Many will give a current estimate for your permit type if you ask, and it is worth asking two questions rather than one: what the current processing time is, and what stage that figure covers. Richmond states that fixed limits are difficult to provide because timing depends on type, size, complexity, current volume, and how quickly the applicant supplies requested information.
How long do permits take in the City of Vancouver?
Vancouver publishes permitting information on its own website, and those figures move as the programme changes. This guide quotes no Vancouver number, because a figure that is right one quarter and wrong the next misleads anyone planning a schedule around it. Confirm current Vancouver timelines with the City directly for your specific permit type, rather than relying on figures quoted by third parties including contractors.
Do permit timelines change through the year?
Yes. Processing time depends partly on the volume of applications already in the queue, which moves seasonally and with market conditions. This is why Surrey republishes its figures rather than posting them once, and why a number quoted from an earlier quarter may not describe the current position. Take the figure at the point you apply rather than when you start planning.
Why do two neighbouring cities take different times for the same house?
Because the review process, the current application volume, and the definition of the published figure all differ by municipality. Process differences can be substantial. Burnaby began requiring a development permit before a building permit for some projects on 1 July 2026, which adds a review stage that a neighbouring city may not require at all for identical drawings.
What part of the permit timeline can I actually control?
Two stages. Everything before submission, which covers design, consultant reports, and assembling a complete package, and your own response time when a reviewer issues comments. Surrey states that submitting complete and accurate applications is the best practice for meeting its processing times, and that unfulfilled requirements create further communication and longer processing times.
How should I build a realistic project schedule around permits?
Add three pieces rather than one: the lead time for consultant reports and design, the current review figure the city gives you for your permit type, and contingency for at least one round of reviewer comments. A schedule built only on a published review figure omits the stage before the clock starts and the stage where the file waits on your response.
Go deeper in the Journal
Sources and references
Rate and regulation figures on this page were re-verified on 2026-09-23. Construction cost ranges come from Venture Pacific's own Metro Vancouver projects and are described as such wherever they appear.
- Permitting TimelinesCity of Surrey. Figures published 21 September 2026. Accessed 23 September 2026.
- Building Approvals, frequently asked questionsCity of Richmond. Accessed 23 September 2026.
- General Building InformationCity of Burnaby. Accessed 23 September 2026.
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