Wasaga Beach Building Permit

The Permit Is the Last Signature

For a new house in Wasaga Beach, three or four other approvals have to land before the building permit can. Get the order right and the permit itself is quick.

Request a Quote

Our service

Permits & Approvals

Zoning review, permit drawings, conservation authority and septic approvals.See the service →

It is easy to assume a Wasaga Beach building permit takes months, and then to learn that the province gives the Town 10 days to decide on a house. Both can be true. The 10 days only start once the application is complete, and in Wasaga Beach a complete application for a new house depends on approvals that sit outside the building department: an accepted lot grading plan, a road occupation permit, and sometimes a conservation authority, provincial or County sign-off.

So the useful question is not how long the Wasaga Beach permit takes. It is what has to happen before it, in what order, and what each step costs. This page sets that out from the Town of Wasaga Beach’s own checklists, policy and fee by-law.

$1.39Per sq ft, new single family dwelling

$5,000Refundable lot grading deposit

10 daysOntario’s clock for a house, once complete

24 monthsTo certify grading and recover deposits

What the Town Asks For on a New House

The Town of Wasaga Beach’s Single Family Dwelling Application Checklist is one page. The documents a Wasaga Beach house needs are:

the building permit application form and the Schedule 1 designer form
construction drawings and a site plan with all dimensions and setbacks
a legal survey
HVAC design with heat loss and gain calculations, and an Energy Efficiency Design Summary
a lot grading plan with the Town’s lot grading checklist
a road occupation form
a septic application, if the lot is not on sewer
a truss layout with stamped profiles, and a floor layout with stamped beam profiles

The checklist adds that NVCA or MTO approval may be applicable and that more may be asked for. Read as a list it looks like paperwork. Read as a sequence, three items on it, the grading plan, the road occupation permit and the agency approvals, decide when the rest can move.

The Order That Decides Your Wasaga Beach Building Permit Date

Wasaga Beach’s Infill Lot Grading and Drainage Policy, number 8-4 in the Town’s policy manual, applies to every new house on an infill lot, and it spells out the dependencies.

Outside agencies come first. Section 5 says a Wasaga Beach property within the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority’s regulated area needs NVCA approval before the building permit is issued. Within 400 metres of a provincial highway corridor, a Ministry of Transportation permit may be needed first. On a County of Simcoe road corridor, a County permit is required first. Next to a provincial park, Ontario Parks may need to issue a letter of authorization.

The road occupation permit comes before the grading plan is accepted. Section 6 says the owner must apply for a Road Occupation Permit, with its fees and deposits, before the lot grading plan can be marked “Accepted for Construction”. The two are then issued together.

The grading plan comes before the permit. In Wasaga Beach, section 4 requires the proposed plan to be submitted and accepted prior to issuance of the building permit, prepared by a P.Eng. or C.E.T.

Then the clock. Once the Wasaga Beach application is complete, Ontario’s Building Code gives the chief building official 10 days to issue the permit or refuse it in writing with reasons.

Sequence from the Town of Wasaga Beach Infill Lot Grading and Drainage Policy 8-4 (Revision 9, April 2025) and Article 1.3.1.3 of Division C of the Ontario Building Code. Which agencies apply depends on where the lot is.

What It Costs, Line by Line

Wasaga Beach sets building fees in Schedule H of its fees and charges by-law, 2025-66, in the version effective March 26, 2026. For a new Wasaga Beach house the permit fee is a rate times the floor area, with basements left out of the area:

single family dwelling: $1.39 per square foot
attached garage: $0.56 per square foot
minimum fee for any permit: $190

Where the infill lot grading policy applies, which it does to a new house on an infill lot, Schedule H adds a $620 lot grading review fee and a $5,000 refundable deposit. The fee covers two plan submissions, a pre-sod site review and a final review; each review beyond that comes out of the deposit at $62. A separate road occupation deposit is set by the Town’s road occupation policy.

A worked Wasaga Beach example, using only those rates: a 2,000 square foot house with a 500 square foot attached garage would carry a permit fee of $2,780 plus $280, then the $620 grading fee, with $5,000 held on deposit. Taxes are extra where they apply, and every rate except decks, pools and irrigation rises 2.5% each January 1. Development charges are a separate and much larger line, set by their own by-laws.

Illustrative arithmetic for a hypothetical house, using the Town of Wasaga Beach’s published 2026 rates. The chief building official decides the classification of any application, and the Town confirms the fee.

After the Permit: Inspections and the Deposit Clock

The checklist lists the inspections a new Wasaga Beach house goes through. Two Wasaga Beach rules tie the end of the job back to the grading plan.

Ten inspection stages

Footings, foundation, underground plumbing, framing, water and sewer connection, insulation, HVAC and plumbing rough-in and final, occupancy, and a final inspection. The Town notes more may be required.

Weeping tile before backfill

Policy 8-4 says inspectors will not do the backfill inspection until the builder confirms in writing that the weeping tile invert matches the accepted grading plan.

No final without the certificate

The final building inspection is not done until the Lot Grading Certificate, signed by a P.Eng. or C.E.T., has been accepted, with ground cover established.

24 months, or forfeit

The owner has 24 months to finish grading and obtain the certificate. After written notice, unfinished work means the grading and road occupation deposits are forfeited.

The Line on the Form That Asks Who Builds It

The permit application Wasaga Beach accepts is Ontario’s standard form, and the current version, effective February 16, 2026, asks two questions in Section F: whether the project is a new home under the New Home Construction Licensing Act, 2017, and whether a licence is required. If one is, the licence number goes on the form.

Ours is B46716, and it goes on every Wasaga Beach application we file. A&R Design Build Inc. is licensed by the Home Construction Regulatory Authority as a vendor and builder, and has been a Tarion registered builder since 1983. Both records are public, which means you can look us up before you sign anything.

On a Wasaga Beach build our permits and approvals service does the work this page describes: a zoning review before you commit, permit drawings and applications, conservation authority and waterfront approvals, and septic permits where the lot needs one, with inspections coordinated around the build. Laura McAdam leads design, planning applications and municipal approvals. We work from Innisfil, not from an office in Wasaga Beach; Wasaga Beach is in Simcoe County, one of the regions our site lists as served.

Wasaga Beach Permit Questions

How long does a Wasaga Beach building permit take for a new house?

Once an application is complete, Article 1.3.1.3 of Division C of the Ontario Building Code gives the chief building official 10 days to issue or refuse a permit for a house. The time that varies is before that: an accepted lot grading plan and any NVCA, MTO, County or Ontario Parks approval have to be in place first. NVCA itself allows 21 days to deem an application complete, then up to 30 days for a minor permit or 90 for a major one.

How much is a building permit for a new house in Wasaga Beach?

Under Schedule H of By-law 2025-66, effective March 26, 2026, a single family dwelling is charged $1.39 per square foot of floor area, not counting the basement, and an attached garage $0.56 per square foot, with a $190 minimum. Where lot grading review applies, add a $620 fee and a $5,000 refundable deposit. Fees rise 2.5% each January 1.

Who can prepare the lot grading plan?

For a new house, the Town requires a lot grading and drainage plan prepared and stamped by a Professional Engineer or a Certified Engineering Technologist experienced in grading and drainage design, at a metric scale of 1:200 or 1:250.

What if work starts before the permit is issued?

Schedule H allows the Town to charge an extra administrative fee equal to 100% of the permit fee or $205, whichever is greater, up to an additional $25,000, on top of the permit itself.

Does a deck or shed need a permit in Wasaga Beach?

The Town’s residential page says a deck needs a permit if it is attached to the house, serves as an exit, or exceeds 10 square metres (108 sq ft). A shed of no more than 15 square metres that is detached and used only for storage is exempt.

Can A&R apply for the permit for me?

Yes. We prepare the permit drawings and applications, coordinate conservation authority and septic approvals where they apply, and manage the inspections. Our office is in Innisfil; Wasaga Beach is in Simcoe County, one of the regions we build in.