Building permits & inspections - accessory (secondary) suites
Accessory (Secondary) suites
Developing an accessory (secondary) suite in your home requires permits and inspections to ensure it complies with provincial and municipal regulations. Accessory (secondary) suites must meet specific requirements for smoke control, egress, ventilation, sound transmission and other life safety requirements.
Secondary suite means a self-contained dwelling unit located in a building or portion of a building of only residential occupancy that contains only one other dwelling unit and common spaces, and where both dwelling units constitute a single real estate entity.
Process
Before submitting your permit application, review the specific requirements for each permit and ensure all required plans, documents, and forms are complete. Required documents include:
Homeowner accessory (secondary) suite application
Fire safety plan
Electrical load calculation (must be completed by a licensed master electrician)
Floor plan/layout of the proposed suite
Copy of the Issued Development Permit
You must obtain all required permits before starting work, and approval times may vary based on application volume.
We will review your application to confirm it meets provincial and municipal regulation, and you can track its status and submit payments through the online permitting portal.
You can schedule your inspection by submitting a request through the permitting portal. Please include a phone number or site contact in the request. Once the inspection is booked, you can refer to the portal for the confirmed date. The confirmed inspection date may differ from the requested date due to inspector availability. No specific inspection times are guaranteed.
A minimum of two inspection per permit is required for an accessory (secondary) suite, including any of the following:
Framing (Building) - Prior to drywall
Rough in (Plumbing & Electrical) - Prior to drywall
Final (Building, Electrical & Plumbing)- when the suite is complete
These inspections ensure that all work completed is compliant with provincial and municipal regulations. Once complete, a PDF copy of the inspection report will be sent to the email on file. Any questions or concerns can be emailed to safety.codes@cochrane.ca.
Once the inspections are completed and compliant, your permits will be closed. Project related documents are retained permanently.
Application
See application below. Once filled out, submit the application and supporting documents to safety.codes@cochrane.ca.
