Our Building Services issues building permits to help create safe, accessible and sustainable buildings in the Town of Saugeen Shores. View when you need to submit an application for a building permit.
How to apply for a building permit
The Town is pleased to offer residents, builders, and the business community an online application system to apply for and track your building permits.
The online building permit system allows you to apply for and to see the status of your application anywhere, at any time. You can start an application and finish it later, and receive email updates on the status of your permit application. You can even request building inspections!
Need help getting started with Cloudpermit? A step-by-step guide to help you from login, to submitting your first application is available.
If you are having difficulty using Cloudpermit, please contact the Building Department for assistance at building@saugeenshores.ca or 519-832-2008 ext. 118. You can also access support through Cloudpermit's online portal.
Once the application has been reviewed and is ready to be issued, applicants will be notified of application fees owing via Cloudpermit. Cheques can be dropped off at the municipal office (600 Tomlinson Drive, Port Elgin) drop box located to the left of the Plex entrance. Once payment is received, the building permit will be issued on Cloudpermit.
Residential and Commercial Buildings
| New Construction |
Building permits are required for all new construction projects. Required documents to be uploaded to Cloudpermit include:
|
| Renovations, additions and repairs |
Building permits are required for all additions to residential and commercial buildings and some renovations and repairs. Renovations such as finished basements, installing roof mounted solar panels, altering location of or installing new plumbing appliances, etc. require building permits. Required documents to be uploaded to Cloudpermit include:
|
| Accessory Buildings |
|
Accessory buildings, such as garages and sheds, over 10m2 require a building permit. Required documents to be uploaded to Cloudpermit include:
|
| Decks |
Building permits are required for all accessory buildings greater than 10 square metres, such as sheds, detached garages and decks. Required documents to be uploaded to Cloudpermit include:
|
Agricultural buildings
| Livestock and manure storage |
Building permits are required for new and expanding livestock buildings and manure storage. Required documents include:
|
| Structures not housing livestock (i.e. grain silo, implement shed) |
Building permits are required for all farm buildings such as grain bins, silos and drive sheds. Required documents include:
|
Other permits
| Swimming Pool Enclosure |
|
Building permits are required for all swimming pools which are capable of holding more than 0.76 metres of water in depth at any point. View more information on how to apply for a pool enclosure permit, fees and enclosure requirements. |
| Tent |
You need to apply for a temporary tent permit when you are setting up tents that are:
View more information on how to apply for a tent permit, fees and design requirements. |
| Septic Systems |
You need to apply for a septic permit if you want to:
View more information on how to apply for a septic system permit, fees and design requirements. |
| Demolition |
|
Demolition permits are required for all buildings greater than 10 m², except farm buildings. View more information on how to apply for a demolition permit, fees and professional engineer requirements. |
All applications are reviewed for compliance with the Ontario Building Code and Zoning By-law requirements.
Fees
| Building Permit Fees |
View the following list for fees associated with building permits:
View a list of our classes of permits and permit fees. |
| Additional Fees |
|
In some cases, such as for new home builds, the Building Department is responsible for collecting fees on behalf of other Departments. These fees are as follows:
|
| Fee reductions |
| You may qualify for a reduction in building permit fees for your renovation if the land is located within downtown Port Elgin or downtown Southampton. Fees in these areas are 50 per cent of the calculated required fee. We use our Building and Sign Permit Fee Reduction Policy to help eligible local business thrive in the downtown cores. |
| Development Charges |
|
In addition to permit fees, we collect development charges to cover the cost of infrastructure, like roads, sewers, water, fire stations, police stations, recreation centres, libraries and more. We usually collect these charges at the time of your permit issue. How development charges are calculatedView our Development Charges Pamphlet to find out how development charges are calculated. See our Development Charges By-law for more information. |
How to make payment for your permit
We accept the following forms of payment for building permit fees:
- Cash
- Debit
- Money order
- Cheque
- Visa
- Mastercard
Cheques and money orders are payable to the Town of Saugeen Shores. Please note, Visa and Mastercard are not accepted forms of payment for development charges. Visa and Mastercard payments can be taken over the phone at 519-832-2008 ext. 118. Cheques can be left in our drop box located to the left of the Plex entrance (600 Tomlinson Dr, Port Elgin).