The City of Vancouver has a reputation for having an arduous permit process. As of 2026, permit times have improved somewhat, but difficulties still remain, even for simple projects. Exact permit wait times for your specific project are difficult to determine because there are many variables. The best source of available data is the City of Vancouver's open data portal: https://opendata.vancouver.ca/explore/dataset/issued-building-permits/information/
The permit data doesn't account for the pre-application process where city staff reject permit applications that they deem not sufficient. That can add a week to month of delay. If you have a specific project in mind, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will provide you with a more accurate timeline.
In general, 2025 building permit data shows that in order to get a project approved, it takes roughly 6 Months for a single family house, 5 months for a duplex or multiplex, 4 months for a standalone laneway house, 3 months for a major residential renovation, and 1 month for a minor renovation.