Burnaby, New Westminster
Home Renovations in Burnaby
Whole interiors, basements, legal suites and condo renovations in Burnaby and New Westminster, from our office on 232 Street in Langley Township. We apply for the permits and book every inspection with your city.
Winner, Best Kitchen Renovation over $200,000, Georgie Awards 2026
Renovating in Burnaby and New Westminster
Burnaby and New Westminster are separate cities, each with its own building permits, inspectors and bylaws.
A renovation in Burnaby or New Westminster runs the same way as our home renovations in Langley. Randy Ferchoff, our Director of Operations, is your project manager. In Burnaby we book each inspection at least 24 hours ahead, as the City requires. Before work starts, you choose fixed price or open-book cost-plus pricing.
What We Renovate in Burnaby and New Westminster
- Home RenovationsOne floor or the whole interior, planned together.
- Basement RenovationsUnfinished basements built out from bare studs, or finished ones redone.
- Legal Basement SuitesA secondary suite added to a house, built to the BC Building Code and the City's suite rules.
- Condo and Townhouse RenovationsKitchens, bathrooms or the whole unit in a condo or townhouse, built to the strata's rules and the City's.
- Home AdditionsMore floor area or a bigger footprint, permitted in Burnaby as an addition.
- Accessible and Aging-in-Place RenovationsWider doorways, zero-step entries and curbless showers for aging in place, by a CHBA Qualified Adaptiv Home Specialist.
Renovation Permits and Rules in Burnaby
Burnaby splits renovation work into alterations and additions. Both need a building permit, applied for online and issued digitally.
Alteration Permits in Burnaby
In Burnaby, a change inside or outside the house that adds no floor area is an alteration, such as building or taking down walls, adding a bathroom or adding a secondary suite. Each needs a building permit through the City's My Permits Portal. Replacing fixtures, cabinets or flooring, painting inside and minor non-structural repairs outside need no permit.
City of Burnaby, home improvement permitsAdditions, Decks and Garages
Any change to the footprint or increase in floor area is an addition in Burnaby. That includes enlarging a garage, a deck, a patio cover, a fence, a retaining wall or a hot tub, and building an attached garage. A new detached garage is classed as a new building.
City of Burnaby, home improvement permitsElectrical, Plumbing and Gas Permits
Burnaby issues its own trade permits. Electrical, plumbing, gas and fire protection permits are applied for by a trade licensed in the city and issued once any building permit the work needs is in place. An owner who lives in a detached house can take out a trade permit to do their own work, but not in a duplex or on a property with a suite or laneway home.
City of Burnaby, building permits and inspections guideAsbestos in Older Houses
WorkSafeBC asks homeowners to have a house tested for asbestos before a renovation or demolition starts, and anything found has to be removed or contained before the work begins. For a partial renovation, only the areas being renovated need surveying. Since January 1, 2024, asbestos abatement contractors in BC have had to be licensed.
WorkSafeBC, asbestos questions for homeownersRepairs After Fire or Flood Damage
In Burnaby, restoring a house after a fire, a flood or similar damage may need a building permit, and that application is made in person at City Hall rather than online. Repairs to a damaged roof, foundation or structure need a building permit.
City of Burnaby, home improvement permitsOld Heating Oil Tanks
Taking an old heating oil tank out of service needs a decommissioning permit, and in Burnaby the Fire Department processes all of them. If a tank leaks, the leak has to be stopped and cleaned up right away, and a neighbour whose property the contamination reaches has to be told in writing.
City of Burnaby, oil tanks bulletin
Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations in Burnaby
In Burnaby, replacing cabinets, fixtures or flooring needs no permit, but adding a bathroom is an alteration that needs a building permit. A new kitchen or bathroom layout that moves plumbing, runs a gas line or adds circuits also needs plumbing, gas or electrical permits from the City. On our kitchen renovations and bathroom renovations, we apply for those permits and book the inspections.
Secondary Suites in Burnaby
Burnaby allows a secondary suite in a single-family home, a duplex, a multiplex or a rowhouse on an R1 lot, and a basement suite is fine wherever the lot qualifies. In a duplex the two homes have to sit side by side or front to back, because the BC Building Code does not allow a suite in a stacked duplex. Under the R1 district, each primary home can have one suite, it counts toward the lot's total number of units and it stays on the same title. Adding a suite takes a building permit and the trade permits. A suite built without a permit needs one now, so it can be checked against the BC Building Code.
Legal Basement SuitesRenovating in New Westminster
New Westminster issues its own building permits. Renovating or adding onto a house needs one, and so does a new accessory building over 10 m². The application comes with a title search no older than 30 days, plus the strata's consent where the property is in a strata, and some jobs also need a tree permit or a heritage permit first. Queen's Park is the city's one Heritage Conservation Area, where design guidelines apply to Protected houses. A house on the City's Heritage Register needs no permit beyond the building permit, though Council can temporarily withhold one. Since July 6, 1998, New Westminster has allowed one authorized suite per single detached house, and a suite only counts as authorized if it was built under a building permit.
Burnaby and New Westminster Neighbourhoods
- Burnaby Heights
- Capitol Hill
- Brentwood
- Metrotown
- Edmonds
- South Slope
- Deer Lake
- Queen's Park
- Sapperton
- Glenbrook North
- Moody Park
- Queensborough
Common Questions
Something else? Ask us directly.
Do I need a building permit to renovate a house in Burnaby?
Yes, a renovation in Burnaby needs a building permit when it alters or adds to the house, inside or out. The City classes interior or exterior changes that add no floor area, such as new walls, an added bathroom or a new suite, as alterations, and changes to the footprint or floor area as additions. Replacing fixtures, cabinets or flooring, painting inside and minor non-structural repairs outside need no permit.
Am I responsible for unpermitted work done before I bought my house in Burnaby?
Yes, the City of Burnaby holds a homeowner responsible for any unpermitted work on the property, even work done before they owned it. The City also says unpermitted work is generally not covered by home insurance and may affect the coverage of the rest of the property. To fix it, confirm the work with the Building Department and apply for the permits it needs.
Do I have to declare a rented suite in Burnaby?
Yes, every Burnaby homeowner has to file a Supplementary Utility Fees Declaration stating whether any part of the property is rented, and file a new one within 30 days of a change in ownership or in the property's rental status. A rented suite pays a supplementary water and sewer fee. Renting an unregistered suite can bring a $1,000 fine, and an owner who rents out a suite without living on the property needs a business licence.
What are the construction hours for a renovation in Burnaby?
Construction hours in Burnaby run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, under the City's Noise or Sound Abatement Bylaw. On Sundays and statutory holidays major construction such as an addition or a demolition is not allowed, but an owner or their contractor may carry out minor alterations and repairs to a house from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Do I need a Heritage Alteration Permit to renovate in Queen's Park, New Westminster?
A Protected house in New Westminster's Queen's Park Heritage Conservation Area needs a Heritage Alteration Permit for renovations to its front, its sides or a roof visible from the street, and the building permit follows once that is approved. Interior alterations, paint colours, routine maintenance and work at the rear need none. Alterations to a Non-protected house in Queen's Park need no Heritage Alteration Permit.
How big does a secondary suite have to be in New Westminster?
A secondary suite in New Westminster has to be at least 350 square feet under section 190.29 of the City's Zoning Bylaw, and only one is allowed per house. Outside a transit-oriented development area, the property needs one off-street parking space for the house and one more for the suite, and the suite needs private outdoor space, a covered entry and a hard-surface path from that entry to the sidewalk. In Queensborough, a suite cannot sit below the flood construction level.
Tell Us About Your Project
We will get back to you within one to two business days.
- Phone
- 778-999-0772
- info@pro-style.ca
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm