Hot take: City permits are a total scam for small renos

I was gonna redo my basement bathroom in Edmonton last month. Figured I needed a permit for the plumbing rough-in. Called the city and they told me it would be $450 and take 3 to 5 weeks to review. Are you kidding me? I talked to a guy at Rona who said most people just pull the toilet and do the work without a permit for stuff like this. Found a stat online that says less than 20% of small bathroom renos in Edmonton ever get permitted. So I skipped it. Saved $450 and finished the whole thing in a week. Has anyone else here just ignored permits for small jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopher_singh9223d ago

Skip the permit. Save the cash. Spent the savings on beer and a better faucet.

abby_martin2823d ago

Totally get the appeal of saving money, but skipping permits honestly just feeds into the whole "rules don't apply to me" mindset that's way too common now. My neighbor did this exact thing with his bathroom reno last year, ended up with a leak that ruined the drywall below because the work didn't pass any inspection. @christopher_singh92, you're right that it seems harmless, but it's like those people who don't return shopping carts - small stuff that adds up to a messier world for everyone.

nora_barnes23d ago

Is the shopping cart thing really the hill we want to die on though? Like, I'm pretty sure skipping a permit and forgetting to return a cart are on totally different levels of chaos.