Garden Suite Permit Package for the parts the free plans leave out
Send us your plans, kit drawings or a sketch and a survey. We send back a fixed price, then we put together the permit set your building department actually asks for. Packages start at $1,499.99 + HST, and you get the price before you pay a cent.
At a glance
All prices + HST. Municipal permit fees, surveys, development charges and engineering not listed in your quote are extra.
A garden suite permit package is everything the building department needs besides the house drawings themselves: site plan, grading and drainage, HVAC heat loss design, forms, and on rural lots a septic design. Ours start at $1,499.99 + HST for a pre-approved urban plan, $1,999.99 + HST for a prefab or kit, and $2,499.99 + HST for a rural lot.
The Free Plans Are Free. The Permit Is Not.
A lot of Ontario towns now hand out pre-approved garden suite drawings. That is a genuinely good thing. It saves you thousands on design, and the plan examiner has already seen the building.
Here is the catch. A pre-approved plan is approved for the building, not for your lot. Your lot has its own slope, its own trees, its own sewer lateral and its own neighbour who watches everything from the kitchen window. None of that is in the free PDF.
Mississauga says it plainly on its own page: a site plan and grading plan are still required, along with a grading and drainage plan, a water service decision (and a Water Service Pipe Sizing Form if you share the connection), an Applicable Law Form, and permit fees. The city even suggests you hire a design professional for the site and grading plans. Most towns with pre-approved plans work the same way.
So people download the free plans, feel great for a weekend, and then get a letter back from the building department listing six things that are missing. That letter is where we come in. Better still, before it.
Three Packages, Priced by How Much Is Missing
The price depends on how much of the permit set you already have. A city lot with a pre-approved plan needs the least. A rural lot with a well and no sewer needs the most.
Urban Pre-Approved Wrapper
For a serviced city or town lot where you are using a municipal pre-approved or certified plan.
- Site plan showing lot lines, house, suite, setbacks, coverage and the fire access path
- Grading and drainage coordination
- Permit forms and the Applicable Law checklist filled out
- HVAC heat loss and duct design if your town asks for it
- Answers to the examiner’s comments on the pieces we prepared
Prefab / Kit Permit Pack
For a factory-built suite or a kit, where the maker supplies the building drawings but not the ground it sits on.
- Foundation interface: how the unit lands on your footing, slab or piles
- Site plan and grading coordination
- HVAC heat loss and duct design
- Septic design if the lot is rural (through our partner)
- Permit forms and examiner responses on our pieces
Rural Garden Suite Pack
For lots on a private well and septic, often under a temporary use by-law. Usually ends up between $2,499.99 and about $4,500 + HST depending on the lot.
- Septic design through SepticReplacement.ca
- Heat loss and HVAC design through OntarioHeatLoss.ca
- Site plan showing well, septic, setbacks and driveway
- Permit forms and coordination of the whole set
Need the house drawings too? If you do not have a pre-approved plan or a kit, our BCIN-registered design partner prepares full garden suite permit plans. Our standard permit plan set is $999 and it can be combined with any package above. Tell us what you have and the quote will show it as one price.
Four Steps. No Surprise Invoice.
You do not pay anything until you have a fixed price in writing and you have said yes to it.
Send what you have
Plans, a kit brochure, a napkin sketch, your property survey, a few photos of the yard and the address. Use the permit package form. If you have no survey, tell us; we will say whether you need one.
We reply with a fixed quote
We check the zoning, the servicing and what your building department asks for, then send a written quote listing exactly which pieces we prepare, who stamps each one, and what is not included.
You pay and we start
Pay online. We gather anything missing (often a topographic detail or a septic soil test on rural lots) and get the pieces drawn by the right people.
You get the permit set
You receive the drawings and forms as PDFs, organized the way the building department wants them. If the examiner comments on a piece we prepared, we answer it. You submit and pay the town’s fees directly.
Not sure your lot can take a suite at all?
Start with the $399 + HST Feasibility Report, delivered in 48 hours. It checks zoning, setbacks, servicing and septic, and the $399 + HST is credited toward your permit package.
What Is Included and What Is Not
Half the arguments in construction come from two people picturing a different list. Here is ours.
| Item | Included? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Site plan | Yes, all packages | Drawn from your survey. Shows setbacks, coverage, parking and the fire access path where your town requires one. |
| Grading and drainage | Coordinated | Some towns accept a site-plan grading note; others want a stamped lot grading plan from an engineer or Ontario Land Surveyor. If yours does, it is quoted as a separate line. |
| HVAC heat loss and duct design | Yes, where required | Prepared and BCIN-stamped through OntarioHeatLoss.ca. |
| Septic design | Rural pack and kit pack on rural lots | Done through SepticReplacement.ca. Soil tests or test pits are extra if the lot needs them. |
| Foundation interface | Kit pack | How the unit ties to the foundation. Anything needing a structural engineer (piles, unusual spans) is quoted separately. |
| Architectural drawings | Only if ordered | Our BCIN-registered partner’s $999 permit plan set, or you supply pre-approved or kit drawings. |
| Permit forms | Yes | Filled out for you to sign. You are the applicant unless you authorize an agent. |
| Survey | No | Hire an Ontario Land Surveyor if you have no usable survey. We tell you what kind you need. |
| Municipal fees, DCs, deposits | No | Paid by you directly to the town. |
| Minor variance or temporary use by-law | No | Planning applications are a separate job. We tell you early if one is likely. |
| Building the suite | No | Simcoe County and Georgian Bay owners can build with ICFhome.ca. Elsewhere you hire your own builder. |
Last checked October 2026 · Source: City of Mississauga, pre-approved garden suite plans
Who stamps what. In Ontario, the person who designs a part of a house for a permit has to be qualified for that kind of work under the Building Code, or be an architect or engineer. We do not pretend one person covers everything. The heat loss is stamped by the HVAC designer, the septic by the septic designer, the house plans by our BCIN-registered design partner, and engineering by an engineer. We coordinate the set so the pieces agree with each other, which is where most permit delays come from.
Five Mistakes Examiners See Every Week
- Old survey, new shed. The survey is from 1987 and shows none of the deck, pool or shed. The site plan has to show what is really there, because setbacks are measured from it.
- The fire path is guessed. Many towns limit how far a firefighter has to walk from the street to the suite door and how wide and clear that path must be. Mississauga, for example, lists a path at least 1.2 m wide and 2.1 m high. Measure it before you fall in love with the back corner.
- Grading drains onto the neighbour. A suite plus a new walkway changes where the rain goes. Examiners check that water moves away from both buildings and not onto the next lot.
- The heat loss is missing or does not match. The HVAC design has to match the walls, windows and insulation on the drawings. Change the windows, and the heat loss should change too.
- Rural septic left for last. On a private system, the septic often decides where the suite can go and how big it can be. Find out first. Moving a building on paper is free. Moving it after the footing is poured is a very expensive lesson.
None of these are hard. They are just easy to miss when nobody owns the whole set. That is the job.
Before You Send Us Anything
- Run the free Rules Checker for your town. If it flags a problem, fix that first.
- Find your survey. It is usually in the folder from your lawyer when you bought the house.
- Decide on water and sewer: shared with the house or separate. It changes the drawings and the cost.
- Take ten photos of the yard, including the side yard path to the street.
- If you are buying a kit, get the maker’s foundation loads and drawings in writing before you send them.
For the bigger picture on drawings, fees and timelines, see our garden suite permit guide and the round-up of pre-approved garden suite plans in Ontario.
Send us what you have. Get a fixed price back.
Plans, kit drawings, a sketch and your survey are enough to start. No charge for the quote, and no obligation to say yes.
Permit Package Questions
Do I still need a permit package if my town gives me free pre-approved plans?
Usually yes. Pre-approved plans cover the building itself. You still need a site plan for your lot, grading and drainage information, a decision on water and sewer connections, and the town’s forms. Mississauga, for example, says a site plan and grading plan are still required with its free plans. Some towns also want an HVAC heat loss design. Our Urban Pre-Approved Wrapper, from $1,499.99 + HST, covers those pieces.
How much does a garden suite permit package cost in Ontario?
Ours start at $1,499.99 + HST for a serviced urban lot using a pre-approved plan, $1,999.99 + HST for a prefab or kit, and $2,499.99 + HST for a rural lot with a well and septic. Rural packs usually land between $2,499.99 and about $4,500 + HST depending on soils and site. Your town’s permit fees, surveys and any development charges are paid separately to the town.
Do you do the architectural drawings?
Our BCIN-registered design partner does. Our standard garden suite permit plan set is $999, and it can be bundled with a permit package in one quote. If you already have pre-approved plans or kit drawings, you do not need them.
Who stamps the drawings?
Each piece is signed by someone qualified for that piece. HVAC heat loss through OntarioHeatLoss.ca, septic design through SepticReplacement.ca, house plans by our BCIN-registered design partner, and anything structural that needs an engineer by an engineer. Your quote lists who signs each item, so nobody is guessing at the counter.
How long does it take?
We send the quote after we have looked at your documents, usually within a few business days. Once you pay, an urban wrapper is typically the quickest because the building is already designed. Rural packs take longer when a septic soil test or site visit is needed, and weather can slow that in winter. The quote states a target date. The town’s review time is separate and set by the town.
What if the building department sends comments back?
If the examiner comments on a piece we prepared, we answer it and revise that piece at no extra charge. If the comment is about something outside our scope, such as a zoning problem needing a minor variance or a change you made to the plans, we tell you what it will take and quote it before doing any work.
Can you get my permit if my lot does not meet zoning?
No permit package can fix a zoning problem. If the suite is too big, too close to a lot line or over the coverage limit, you need a minor variance or a redesign. That is why we check zoning before we quote. If you are unsure, start with the free Rules Checker or the $399 + HST Feasibility Report, which is credited toward your package.
Do you build the garden suite too?
In Simcoe County and the Georgian Bay area, yes, through ICFhome.ca, which has been building custom homes since 1979. Outside that area, the permit package is drawings and coordination only, and you hire your own builder. If you want a second opinion on a builder quote, book a Talk to a Builder call.