Do You Need a Permit to Renovate a Bathroom in Victoria, Saanich or Oak Bay?
Short answer: a like-for-like bathroom renovation usually needs no plumbing permit, but moving or adding fixtures does — and in a house built before 1990, WorkSafeBC expects a hazardous-materials test before anything is demolished. Here is how it works across Greater Victoria.
Plumbing permits: the rule that matters most
Plumbing permits are issued by each municipality. The rules are similar across Greater Victoria, but check yours before relying on them.
City of Victoria
Under the Building and Plumbing Regulation Bylaw and the BC Plumbing Code 2024, a plumbing permit is required before adding or removing fixtures (sinks, a shower, a clothes washer). It is not required for replacing existing fixtures in the same location.
Saanich
Plumbing work may be done by a certified plumber, a supervised apprentice, or the registered owner-occupant with isometric drawings approved by the Saanich plumbing official.
Central Saanich
A plumbing permit is needed for new or altered systems — adding a bathroom or relocating existing fixtures. Repairing or replacing existing fixtures and new flooring do not need one.
Oak Bay
A plumbing permit is required for new or altered plumbing — adding a bathroom or relocating fixtures — issued to a ticketed plumber or a homeowner with an isometric drawing. Strata properties need a letter of approval from the strata corporation with a building-permit application, and contractors and sub-trades need a valid business licence to work in Oak Bay.
Esquimalt, View Royal, Langford, Colwood, Sidney, Sooke
Each runs its own building and plumbing permits. The principle — moving or adding fixtures needs a permit — is the same, but forms and fees differ. We check your municipality at the estimate.
Electrical permits
The City of Victoria issues its own electrical permits through its Permits and Inspections Division. Elsewhere in Greater Victoria, electrical permits come from Technical Safety BC. A licensed electrical contractor applies for the permit on your behalf; Technical Safety BC notes that owners of a strata unit cannot get a homeowner electrical permit and must hire a licensed contractor.
Business licences
Contractors working across Greater Victoria use the Inter-Municipal Business Licence, recognised by all 13 municipalities in the region — worth asking any contractor about before they start.
What this means for your bathroom
We tell you at the estimate whether your project needs a permit and build it into the schedule, so an inspection never surprises you halfway through.
Asbestos and older Victoria homes
WorkSafeBC is clear that homeowners share responsibility: before a renovation or demolition, a qualified testing company or asbestos surveyor should identify whether asbestos-containing materials will be disturbed, and a WorkSafeBC-licensed abatement contractor must remove them if they are found. WorkSafeBC estimates there are over 700,000 homes in BC built before 1990, and asbestos can hide in materials such as linoleum and sheet vinyl, wallboard and filling compound, textured ceilings and some floor tiles.
The regulation itself does not name a year — 1990 is the practical guideline WorkSafeBC and many municipalities use. In a Fairfield, Oak Bay or Gordon Head bathroom that has never been opened up, assume a test is needed. Testing is quick; finding out after the floor has been broken up is not. If anything is found, removal by a WorkSafeBC-licensed abatement contractor is quoted separately and done before we start.
Condo and strata bathrooms
Strata corporations usually want a written alteration request, the contractor’s insurance and WorkSafeBC documents, booked elevator times and agreed working hours. Water shut-offs to a riser are booked with the building. See condo bathroom renovations.
Official sources
- City of Victoria — Plumbing permits
- District of Saanich — Plumbing permits
- District of Central Saanich — Residential permits
- WorkSafeBC — Homeowners share responsibility for asbestos
- District of Oak Bay — Plumbing permit
- Technical Safety BC — Electrical permits
- BC Government — Mobile (inter-municipal) business licences
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change — confirm with your municipality before work starts.
Permits & asbestos FAQ
Do I need a permit to renovate my bathroom in Victoria?
In the City of Victoria a plumbing permit is required before adding or removing fixtures — sinks, a shower, a clothes washer — but not for replacing existing fixtures in the same location. So a like-for-like renovation usually needs no plumbing permit, while moving a drain or adding a fixture does. Electrical work needs its own permit from the licensed electrician.
Is a tub-to-shower conversion a permit job?
If the shower drain goes where the tub drain was, it is usually treated as replacing a fixture in the same location. If the drain moves or a fixture is added, a plumbing permit is needed. We confirm this for your municipality at the estimate.
Who can do plumbing work in Saanich?
Saanich lists a certified plumber, an indentured apprentice supervised by a certified plumber, or the registered owner and occupant of the home (with isometric drawings and approval from the Saanich plumbing official).
Does my house need an asbestos test before the bathroom is renovated?
WorkSafeBC says homeowners must hire a qualified testing company or asbestos surveyor before a renovation to find out whether asbestos-containing materials will be disturbed, and a qualified abatement contractor if they are found. In practice this matters most for homes built before 1990.
Do I need strata approval for a condo bathroom?
Almost always. Most strata corporations require a written alteration request, proof of the contractor’s insurance and WorkSafeBC coverage, and agreed working hours before work starts. We provide our documents for the council.
Not sure what your project needs?
We look at the plumbing, the age of the house and the strata rules at the free estimate.
- Free on-site measurement across Greater Victoria
- One firm written price — not an hourly rate that grows
- I’m on site for every job — tile and waterproofing are never subcontracted
- 3-year written workmanship warranty