Strathmore building permit fees and suite rules in 2026

As of October 2026, the Town of Strathmore charges $10.75 for every $1,000 of project value for a residential building permit, with a $155 minimum plus a 4% Safety Codes levy (Town of Strathmore, 2026 Fees Bylaw No. 25-23). Project value means the real cost of materials and labour. Park Enterprises reviews and issues the permits for the Town, and decks, sheds, garages and suites need a development permit as well.

Which projects need a permit in Strathmore?

Strathmore asks for a development permit on decks, sheds and garages, not only on suites and houses. Here's the Town's list, as of October 2026:

Note: From the Town's residential applications page. The Town says it usually doesn't need a development permit for internal renovations.

For how Calgary handles the same projects, see the Calgary building permit guide.

What does a building permit cost in Strathmore in 2026?

Value sets the building permit, and size sets nothing. These are the 2026 rates from Schedule E of the Fees Bylaw:

Note: Read from the page images of the scanned 2026 Fees Bylaw No. 25-23, in force since 1 January 2026, PDF pages 9 and 12. Ask whether the oversize charge applies to a suite.

The bylaw says "Verification of costs may be requested" before a permit is issued, so price the work accurately. Gas, plumbing and electrical permits are separate and are priced by outlets or by installation cost. For a home, a plumbing permit for 1 to 3 outlets and a gas permit for 1 or 2 outlets are $150 each.

The Town's fee page is out of date. Its Planning and Development Fees page still says its fee schedules "are current as of November 15, 2023" (Town of Strathmore, planning and development fees). This guide uses the 2026 bylaw.

How do Strathmore's fees compare with Calgary's?

Strathmore is cheaper for a small deck and dearer for nearly everything else, because value-based fees climb fast. Calgary charges flat fees for these projects. Here's the same work under each 2026 schedule:

Note: From Strathmore's Fees Bylaw and Calgary's 2026 schedule. Calgary's house fee is $112 plus $10.14 per $1,000, plus levy.

The $323,000 house isn't invented. It's the average value declared on Strathmore's two-storey house permits from January to July 2026, worked out in the table further down.

What are the rules for suites in Strathmore?

One suite, inside the house. Strathmore's Land Use Bylaw 14-11 defines a secondary suite as a self-contained unit "located within a Dwelling Unit" (Town of Strathmore, Land Use Bylaw, definition 158).

Detached suites had a short life. Bylaw 24-14, passed on 3 July 2024, added garden and garage suites as discretionary uses. Bylaw 25-09, passed on 4 June 2025, removed them, and the consolidation updated 2 October 2025 shows both struck from the R1 district's uses. Calgary still allows backyard suites; the backyard suite guide covers them.

Here are the rules that apply now:

Note: From the office consolidation updated 2 October 2025. A few sites carry their own direct control suite rules.

Discretionary means the Development Authority decides each suite on its merits rather than approving it as of right. The Town also notes that "A basement development is not necessarily a secondary suite". For the code side of a basement suite, see the legal basement suite guide.

How long does a permit take in Strathmore?

Strathmore doesn't publish a timeline for building or development permits. What it does say affects scheduling: the building inspector is in town two days a week, and the Town asks you to "take this change into consideration" when you apply (Town of Strathmore, safety code permits and inspections).

A new house adds one more step. Before you connect to the Town's water, sanitary and storm sewers, you must call the Town three days ahead, and photos of the connection go to serviceconnect@strathmore.ca before you backfill.

How much does Strathmore build each year?

Strathmore publishes a monthly building report. The July 2026 report shows, for January to July:

Note: Totals divided by permits, from the July 2026 monthly building report. The Town notes the values are estimates on issued permits, not construction starts.

New houses are up and renovations are down by more than 40%. The Town also runs a Planning Applications Dashboard covering every planning application since 1 January 2025.

How do you apply for a permit in Strathmore?

By email. There's no permit portal: you fill in the Town's fillable forms and send them to development@strathmore.ca, for development, building and utility permits alike (Town of Strathmore, safety code permits and inspections). Utility permit fees depend on the job's value or its number of fixtures, so fill in that section of each form.

Each common project has its own package on the residential page: basement, secondary suite, uncovered or covered deck, shed, detached garage, pool and hot tub. A pool or hot tub on a deck needs engineered drawings.

Where does a full-size walkthrough fit?

Before the suite's development permit, and before you price the job. In Strathmore the permit fee follows the project value, and the suite has to fit inside walls you already own, with no garden suite to fall back on.

The 1to1 Plans Calgary studio is in northeast Calgary, on the Strathmore side of the city, and lights your plan at full size from inside a walkable LED floor. You walk the suite's rooms with their names and dimensions on the floor, try freestanding walls and furniture, and see each change straight away. The two-hour session is recorded.

Sessions are quoted per plan, and the quote is free; pricing shows how quotes work. Book a session. The room sizes guides list code minimums. Comparing towns? Read the Airdrie guide or, for an acreage, the Rocky View County guide.