Do You Need a Permit to Demolish a Building in the Comox Valley?

Demolition permits in the City of Courtenay

Courtenay's Building Bylaw No. 3114 requires a building permit before you demolish, build, repair or alter most structures. The demolition permit fee is $150, and a single- or two-family home also needs a $3,000 security deposit before the permit is issued, held until the site passes its final inspection. Under the bylaw, all municipal services have to be capped and terminated at the property line before the permit issues, and you give the City a vacancy date and pay the capping and inspection fees.

Demolition permits in the Village of Cumberland

Cumberland requires a building permit to demolish a building or part of one. The fee is a $100 application plus a $100 permit fee, plus a refundable $1,500 deposit, set under Fees Amendment Bylaw No. 1261, 2026. Cumberland also asks for a Hazardous Materials Declaration form as part of the application.

Demolition permits in the Town of Comox

The Town requires a demolition permit under Building Bylaw No. 1472. No separate demolition fee is published — the general building permit fee applies, a minimum of $100 plus $10 per $1,000 of construction value, and no demolition deposit appears in the bylaw. Water and sewer disconnections here are carried out only by the Town of Comox.

Capping utilities before demolition

Courtenay is the only one of the three that requires a property-line capping step written into its bylaw before it issues a permit. Comox carries out its own water and sewer disconnections rather than letting a contractor do it. We coordinate the capping and disconnection with your municipality as part of the job.

Asbestos and hazardous materials

WorkSafeBC has required asbestos abatement contractors to hold an abatement licence in BC since January 1, 2024. WorkSafeBC's own guidance is that you can't tell whether a material contains asbestos just by looking at it — testing is the only way to know. We hold a WorkSafeBC asbestos abatement licence.

How permits work with Courtenay Demolition

1. 1

   Site visit — we confirm what's coming down and which municipality's bylaw applies.

2. 2

   Permit application — we file with the City of Courtenay, the Village of Cumberland or the Town of Comox, whichever your property falls under.

3. 3

   Utility capping — we coordinate capping and disconnection with your municipality before work starts.

4. 4

   Demolition and inspection — we complete the work and it's inspected against the permit.

What the safety regulation covers

WorkSafeBC's OHS Regulation Part 20 sets out requirements under three headings that apply to a demolition site: structural integrity (20.111), hazardous materials (20.112), and disconnecting utility services (20.113).

Why permits differ so much between towns

Each municipality we work in sets its own demolition permit process, under its own building bylaw, with its own building department. There's no single regional demolition permit. The fee, the deposit and the paperwork all depend on which town your property sits in, so we confirm the details for your address before we quote the permit into your price.

What the deposit protects

A security deposit is your municipality's way of making sure the site gets finished properly — graded, cleared, and passed on inspection. The town holds the deposit until that final inspection is signed off. We include the deposit amount in your quote, so you know the full written price before you commit to anything.

What happens if your plans change

If your scope changes after we've filed the permit — a garage coming down along with the house, say — we update the application with your municipality rather than starting the paperwork over. We keep you posted on where the permit stands, so you always know whether it's been issued.