Home records, explained › The home and the lot
What building permits are on record for the home?
A building permit is the City's record of work it approved for an address: additions, basements, decks, pools, plumbing, demolitions. Ten Ontario cities publish their permit records as open data, and the check lists the permits on file for the address, with any that still show as open.
Report check: Permits and renovations. Entry reviewed 20 Oct 2026; each source below shows its own data date.
How a report shows itsample, made-up home
3 permits on record. The 2019 basement underpinning permit is still open.
- 2008
- Deck · closed
- 2014
- Basement finish · closed
- 2019
- Basement underpinning, est. $85,000 · open
Where we read it
- Toronto
- Ottawa
- Hamilton
- Guelph
- Barrie
- Brampton
- Cambridge
- Kingston
- Kitchener
- Greater Sudbury
- Waterloo
- Other Ontario
the town's own records– not in our reports there yet
Published byCity of TorontoCity of OttawaCity of GuelphCity of BramptonCity of Kitchener+5 more
What the record is
Each record carries the type of work, the date issued and its status (issued, inspected, closed, cancelled). A permit that was never closed means the City's inspections were not completed. Work done without a permit leaves no record to find.
The report line counts the permits on file for the address, names the main ones with their years, and lists any older permit still showing as not closed. Where a city doesn't publish permits as open data, the line says how its building department can be asked.
Where it runs
What the report reads for this check depends on what each municipality publishes.
What we read in each town12 towns, each with its source and date
| City | What the report reads |
|---|---|
| Toronto |
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| Ottawa |
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| Hamilton |
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| Guelph |
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| Barrie |
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| Brampton |
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| Cambridge |
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| Kingston |
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| Kitchener |
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| Greater Sudbury |
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| Waterloo |
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| Other Ontario | Not in our reports here yet. The municipality doesn't publish its building permits as open data we can use. Its building department can say which permits are on file for the address (some ask for a written request or a fee). List of Ontario municipalities |
Sources
- City of Toronto Building Permits (active and cleared): data date updated daily
- City of Ottawa construction, demolition and pool enclosure permits: data date monthly, 2011 on
- City of Guelph Residential Building Permits: data date Jun 2025
- City of Brampton Building Permits: data date updated daily
- City of Kitchener Building Permits: data date updated weekly
- City of Waterloo Building Permits: data date updated weekly
- City of Cambridge Building Permits: data date updated weekly
- City of Greater Sudbury Building Permits: data date updated daily
- City of Kingston Building Permits: data date updated weekly
- City of Barrie Issued Building Permits (2018 on): data date updated weekly
Contains information from the City of Brampton, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY). Contains information licensed under the Open Data Licence – City of Greater Sudbury. Contains information licensed under the Open Data Licence – City of Kingston. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Barrie. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Guelph. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Kitchener. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Ottawa. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Toronto. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License – City of Cambridge. Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence.
Check one address
This check answers the dealbreaker “Permits and renovations” on the order form. It is in the full report, with the other 54 checks, for any Ontario home.
Public-record information, not legal, financial, insurance or inspection advice. Records change and can be incomplete, and this page describes the records, not any particular home. Spotted an error, or have a question about this record? Email [email protected]; we answer from the record, and corrections are listed on the guide index. What we cover, city by city.