Building Department Fees

The fees that may be charged on a Building Permit are outlined in Building and Plumbing Regulation Bylaw 1617.

To determine the fees that may be charged on your building or plumbing permit, review the Building Department fees outlined in Building and Plumbing Regulation Bylaw 1617. 

Building Permit fees are calculated based on the value of construction declared by the applicant on the application form.

Payment methods

As of January 9, 2020, Building Department fees paid by credit card are subject to a 2.2 per cent Credit Card Convenience fee as per Credit Card Payment Service Fee Bylaw No. 2259, 2019.

Other acceptable methods of payment include debit card, cash, cheque, bank transfer or e-transfer.  

For more information on paying by bank transfer or e-transfer, visit the Payment Options page.

Building Permit Fee

Table 1 of Schedule B of Building and Plumbing Regulation Bylaw No. 1617 can be used to calculate a Building Permit fee based on the value of construction.

Additional fees that apply to Building Permits are also listed within the schedule.

Highway Use, Clearing and Inspection Fee Refund

If a Highway Use, Clearing and Inspection Fee has been charged on your permit, you have 2 years from the date of issuance to apply for a refund. 

After substantial completion of the project, complete and submit the Highway Use, Clearing and Inspection Fee Refund Request Form, including your direct deposit information, to the Building Department.  When you apply for the refund, Building Department staff will schedule roads and utilities inspections on your behalf.  The refund will automatically be processed when the roads and utilities inspections are approved.

Works and Service Charges

In addition to Building Permit fees, Works and Service charges may be payable on the property.  These fees are used for improvements to infrastructure, as development leads to an increase in the demand for water, sewer, transportation, recreation and employee housing.  To review the amounts of these charges, and when these charges are payable, please see the following bylaws:

• Municipal Water Works and Services Charges Bylaw No. 1503
• Municipal Sewer Works and Services Charges Bylaw No. 1504
• Municipal Transportation Works and Services Charges Bylaw No. 1505
• Municipal Recreational Works and Services Charges Bylaw No. 1506
• Municipal Employee Housing Services Charges Bylaw No. 1507

To determine if Works and Service charges are payable for a property, submit a Property Information Retrieval Request.

Employee Housing Service Charge

Whistler Council is currently updating the Whistler's Employee Housing Service Charge.

Whistler’s original Employee Housing Service Charge Bylaw was adopted in 1990 to require new commercial and industrial development, as well as residential development subject to a rental pool covenant to contribute towards provision of employee housing in Whistler. The bylaw requires property owners to contribute in the form of one or a combination of:

• payment of a one-time employee housing charge to finance employee housing projects developed by the municipality or the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA),
• acquiring a minimum 10-year rent equity in an employee housing project operated by the municipality or the WHA, or
• building or creating employee housing.

The bylaw is implemented prior to issuing a building permit for new or expanded development or a change in use that generates more employees, and prior to issuing a business licence for a change in use that generates more employees.

The bylaw applies to all new residential development subject to a rental pool covenant, and commercial and industrial development, but currently includes exemptions for:

• indoor recreation facilities
• hotel guest rooms, lobby and entrance areas, auxiliary office space, storage areas, meeting rooms, or kitchens serving only meeting rooms
• public institution, school, college
• detached and duplex residential
• hostel, pension, bed and breakfast
• temporary real estate sales trailers
• development by the Whistler Resort Association for development, maintenance, operation of resort land excluding commercial development
• land owned or controlled by RMOW

Many of the types of development that are exempt from the bylaw generate long-term employees—something that staff recommend investigating further.

Many larger developments that require rezoning applications have built employee housing as a condition of their zoning amendments, while smaller developments not requiring rezoning typically pay the employee housing charge.