Before Requesting a Construction Quote: Permit and Approval Questions to Check in BC

Use the checklist to frame a quote conversation

Before sending a request, write a short description of the proposed work, the property, and the outcome being considered. Note what is confirmed, what is based on an older record or conversation, and what is unknown. A quote request can ask for a contractor's view of scope without presenting an unconfirmed permit assumption as a fact.

The Province of British Columbia describes permitting as a process that involves the applicable authority and notes that requirements can vary by jurisdiction. The first question is therefore not ‘Which permit do I need?’ It is ‘Which authority should confirm the applicable process, and what information should I bring to that conversation?’

Bucket one: local government, First Nation, or other authority

Identify the jurisdiction connected with the property and ask the applicable local government, First Nation, or other authority how to frame the project inquiry. Do not rely on a neighbouring property's experience or a general online description to decide the process for this property. Ask where current forms, guidance, contact details, and document instructions are published.

Record the date of the inquiry, the authority contacted, the project description supplied, and any direction received. Ask which questions remain, whether another review is outside that office's role, and who should clarify an unresolved point. Keep this record separate from a contractor's quote so a scope estimate is not mistaken for an authority decision.

• Which authority should review this project description?
• What drawings, photographs, property information, or other documents should be prepared for the inquiry?
• Which parts of the proposed work or property history remain unclear?
• Who should answer a question that the first contact cannot resolve?

Bucket two: owner, strata, landlord, and property responsibility

Confirm who has authority to request the work and who must be consulted before a quote becomes a project decision. For a strata property, ask the strata corporation or manager which records, approvals, notices, access arrangements, and responsible parties should be involved. For a rental, ask the landlord or property manager what written authorization and coordination are needed. For a small commercial or tenant space, identify the tenant contact, owner, property manager, and any building representative.

Ask who will provide existing plans, prior correspondence, warranties, maintenance records, or other property documents, and who will retain new records. If responsibility is uncertain, mark it unresolved rather than filling the gap with an assumption.

• Who can authorize the quote request and who must be copied?
• What property, strata, landlord, lease, or maintenance records exist?
• Who controls access, notices, and decisions affecting shared areas?
• Which responsibility questions must be answered before work is discussed in detail?

Bucket three: right-of-way, access, and neighbours

Describe how people, materials, and equipment might reach the proposed work area without promising that a route is available. Note shared driveways, lanes, sidewalks, gates, parking areas, elevators, stairs, occupied spaces, and restricted hours. Identify access that is visible, access that has been reported by someone else, and access that still needs permission or confirmation.

Ask who controls each route and who must coordinate notice, protection, temporary closures, deliveries, or neighbour communication. If a right-of-way, easement, shared area, or public-facing space may be involved, direct the question to the responsible authority or property representative. Put unresolved access conditions in the quote record.

Bucket four: utilities and ground disturbance

If the proposal could disturb soil, drill, install posts, alter drainage, or affect buried services, create a separate ground-disturbance record. Mark the proposed area on photographs or a simple sketch and note visible service entrances, structures, fences, drains, and areas that could not be viewed. These observations provide context; they do not establish an underground service location or permission to begin work.

Use the pre-excavation utility-locate checklist for BC properties and BC 1 Call's official information when preparing the record. Keep requests, responses, instructions, and open questions together. Ask the quote contact what utility information they expect to review and who is responsible for obtaining direction from the relevant utility owner.

Bucket five: specialist, design, and existing-condition information

List the information that could change how the project is understood: existing drawings, surveys, photographs, drainage observations, structural or building-system records, product details, prior repairs, or specialist reports. Do not label a document as current, complete, or suitable for construction unless its responsible author or authority has confirmed that. If the project may need design or technical input, ask the applicable specialist what information they need and what remains outside a quote discussion.

The construction quote photos and measurements guide can help organize visual context. The Metro Vancouver construction project planning guide provides a related planning reference. Keep measurements, photographs, and professional documents dated and identify who supplied each item.

Ask what the quote includes and excludes

Give the contractor a concise project description and the records that are ready to share. Ask the contractor to state the proposed work area, assumptions, included tasks, excluded tasks, owner-supplied information, access conditions, and items that need another party's confirmation. Ask whether the quote is based on a site visit, supplied measurements, photographs, or information still marked unknown.

Ask who is responsible for each unresolved question and how a change in information would be recorded. A useful response distinguishes an estimate of proposed work from authority, owner, utility, access, or specialist decisions. Review the general construction projects, property renovations, exterior renovations, and excavation service pages only as scope-navigation references; they do not answer the authority questions in this checklist.

• What work is included, and what is expressly excluded?
• Which assumptions depend on information that has not been confirmed?
• Who supplies documents, access, notices, or specialist direction?
• What should be resolved before the scope is revised or discussed further?

Make the record easy to review

Keep one folder with the project description, authority questions, owner or strata contacts, access notes, ground-disturbance records, photographs, measurements, plans, and quote correspondence. Preserve the original source of each document. Status labels such as confirmed, reported, requested, unresolved, or not applicable can prevent a draft assumption from looking like a final answer.

Before requesting a quote, read the package as if you were new to the property. Can you tell what work is being considered, who can answer each question, what information exists, what remains unresolved, and what the quote should include or exclude? If not, revise the question list or ask the responsible authority, owner representative, utility contact, or specialist for direction. For a scoped conversation, use Get in touch and state which information is ready and which items remain open.