Building in Montreal runs on three layers that exist nowhere else in Canada at once: a provincial Regie du batiment du Quebec (RBQ) licence, a municipal building permit issued by one of the city's 19 borough offices, and the language obligations of Quebec's Charter of the French Language. There is no separate City of Montreal contractor licence: the RBQ licence is the mandatory baseline, the borough issues the permit, and your signage and standard contracts must be French-first. Get all three straight before a single nail goes in.
Which code applies
Quebec uses its own building code, the Quebec Construction Code, which adopts the National Building Code with Quebec-specific amendments. It is administered by the RBQ, not by the city. A tradesperson coming in from Ontario or another province cannot assume their home-province code or their ticket carries over: many out-of-province trades need a CCQ equivalency assessment, and you must confirm the current edition of the Quebec Construction Code applies to your work before you design. The city checks your project against its own zoning by-law (reglement de zonage) and the code together.
Permits and inspections
The RBQ does not issue building permits. In Montreal that is the job of the borough (arrondissement) where the work sits, through its local urban-planning counter (Direction de l'urbanisme), and there are 19 boroughs each running its own counter. Your RBQ licence number often has to accompany the permit application.
Montreal sets its residential permit fee as a rate per $1,000 of the declared value of the work, with a published residential minimum and a higher minimum for commercial, industrial and institutional work. Fees are set by by-law and change, so confirm the current rate and minimum with the borough before you quote.
Work that always needs a permit includes structural changes (load-bearing walls, extensions, added storeys), changing the size of a window or door opening, new balconies, stairs, decks and verandas, in-ground pools and excavations, large hot tubs, sheds over a set size, relocating any plumbing fixture, and stripping more than half the exterior cladding. Painting, flooring, like-for-like window or door swaps in the same opening, cabinet replacement without plumbing changes and fences usually do not. Plumbing, electrical and gas are each a separate permit and a separate licensed trade.
Timelines vary by borough. A simple, compliant residential application can clear in days to a few weeks, but two to six months is realistic for most renovation permits and longer for complex or heritage-zone projects. All forms and dealings are in French.
Local licensing
Every contractor doing construction, renovation, electrical, plumbing, gas or structural work in Quebec must hold an RBQ licence, in the right category for the work: general (Annexe I), specialised (Annexes II and III) for specific trades, or the combined licence. An RBQ licence for plumbing does not authorise electrical work, so the subclass has to match the job. Licence rights and fees are indexed each January, so check the current RBQ tariff rather than a figure quoted elsewhere.
Owners doing work on their own principal residence are generally exempt from needing an RBQ licence, subject to limits in the Building Act, but condominium common-area work always needs a licensed contractor regardless of value. For new-home construction the contractor must also be enrolled in a residential new-home warranty plan (such as Garantie de construction residentielle, GCR), and workers fall under the Commission de la construction du Quebec (CCQ) and the R-20 labour regime.
The French-language layer
Quebec's Charter of the French Language, as amended by Bill 96, creates real on-site obligations. Since 1 June 2025, site signage, hoardings visible from the street, company vehicles and business cards must show French markedly predominant, meaning the French text is at least twice the size of any other language in the same visual field. A non-French company name or trademark on exterior signage must carry a French descriptor. Standard non-negotiable client contracts (contracts of adhesion) must be presented in French first; bilingual contracts are allowed, but French has to be offered first. Worker safety signage on site has long had to be in French under CNESST rules. Firms with 25 or more Quebec employees had to register with the Office quebecois de la langue francaise by 1 June 2025; most small trades firms sit below that threshold but should watch their headcount.
Development charges and fees
Quebec municipalities can levy a growth contribution (contribution a la croissance) under the provincial land-use planning act, but no city-wide development-charge by-law equivalent to the Ontario or BC model was confirmed for Montreal: any growth contribution tends to be embedded in individual project conditions. Do not assume a fixed figure either way. Development charges, growth contributions and permit fees are set by by-law and change, so confirm what applies to your specific project with the borough's planning desk (Direction de l'urbanisme) before you price the job. This guide does not state a fixed charge on purpose.
Common mistakes
- Assuming your out-of-province ticket carries over. Quebec runs the RBQ licence, the CCQ labour regime and its own Construction Code. Confirm recognition before you mobilise.
- Going to the wrong office for the permit. The RBQ issues the licence, not the permit. The permit comes from the borough where the work sits, in French.
- Ignoring the French rules. Site signage, vehicles and your standard contract must be French-first since 1 June 2025.
- Quoting a fixed charge. Permit fees and any growth contribution are by-law-set and change. Confirm with the borough.
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