Deciding to Build
What Are the Steps to Build a Multiplex in Vancouver, and How Long Does It Take?
The short answer
The City of Vancouver sets out six steps: check eligibility, complete the prerequisites (BC Hydro, sewer and water connection permits, rainwater rules), apply, pay fees, get permits, and build. A multiplex needs a development permit, a building permit for each building and a demolition permit if a house comes down, and work must start within 6 months of the building permit. The City's page gives no total time. Ask any builder for a written schedule that names each stage.
Sources checked on November 8, 2026. Rules change, so confirm them before you act.
Step 1: Check That Your Lot Qualifies
The City's multiplex page defines a multiplex as 3 to 8 homes in one or more buildings on a single site, each with its own outside entrance. It lists the zones where one is allowed, including R1-1, RT-7, RT-9, and the R3, R4 and R5 zones. For R1-1 lots, see how many homes fit on your lot.
The City also asks you to check early whether the site sits on an artesian well or aquifer, has an underground fuel tank, contains a protected archaeological site, or is in the Japanese beetle regulated area. It recommends hiring a residential designer or architect to prepare the plans and get the permits.
Step 2: The Work Before You Apply
Three things come before the application, so start them during design:
- BC Hydro: the City says to contact BC Hydro several weeks before you apply, and to request an electrical design connection so BC Hydro can check the site's needs and the existing transformer capacity.
- Sewer and water: a multiplex needs a commercial sewer connection permit and a commercial water connection permit. Your BC-registered professional engineer applies for both before the building permit application.
- Rainwater: the City says that from July 1, 2025, most new projects must follow its rainwater management requirements.
Steps 3 to 5: Apply, Pay and Get Your Permits
You apply online through the City's Development and Business Services website. A multiplex needs 1 development permit, 1 building permit per building, and 1 demolition permit if you are taking down an existing building. The City says to apply for the development permit first and the building permits later. When every building on the site has 1 or 2 homes and the site is outside First Shaughnessy, you may apply for all the permits together.
Once the application is complete, the City contacts you to pay fees. After review by its staff teams, it sends a list of conditions to address and any amounts owing, such as Development Cost Levies, Development Cost Charges and damage deposits. Then it issues the permits with the approved drawings.
Step 6: Build, Inspect and Move In
Once the building permits are issued, work can begin, and it must begin within 6 months or the permit becomes invalid. Trade permits for plumbing, electrical, gas and fire sprinklers are applied for separately. During construction, keep a printed copy of the permit and a full-size set of the approved drawings on site, and book City inspections at each stage. When the building is done, you apply for occupancy permits.
On our side, the build follows the five stages on our process page: design and planning, pre-construction, construction, handover and warranty. Our construction manager checks completed work against the plans before the next stage starts, and we come back for inspections at 3, 6 and 12 months after handover.
What Sets the Total Time
In our experience, review time depends on the City's workload and on how complete your drawings are, and building time depends on the number of homes, the soil, the weather and the decisions you make on finishes. A schedule from a builder should name each stage, its expected length and what has to happen before the next stage starts. Ask for it in writing, and ask what it assumes.
Other Questions People Ask
What permits do I need to build a multiplex in Vancouver?
One development permit, one building permit per building, and a demolition permit if you take down an existing building, according to the City's multiplex page. Your engineer also applies for commercial sewer and water connection permits, and trade permits are applied for separately.
How soon must construction start after the permit?
Within 6 months of the building permit, or the permit becomes invalid, according to the City.
When should I contact BC Hydro?
Several weeks before you apply for permits, the City says, so BC Hydro can check whether your site needs electrical upgrades.
Can I apply for the development and building permits together?
Only when each building on the site has 1 or 2 homes and the site is outside the First Shaughnessy District. Otherwise the City asks for the development permit first.
Sources
Every rule and figure on this page comes from the pages below, each opened and read on the date shown.
- Build a multiplex (Internet Archive copy of March 31, 2026, the newest copy available)City of Vancouver. Checked 2026-11-08. The definition of a multiplex, the eligible zones, every step and permit, the BC Hydro, sewer, water and rainwater prerequisites, the fees, and the 6 month start rule. vancouver.ca refuses automated requests, so the archived copy was read.
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