Developing Your Basement in Calgary: Permits, Fees and Inspections

When you need a building permit

The City requires a building permit when:

• The basement is being developed for the first time.
• You make structural changes.
• You add new openings or move existing ones, such as windows or exterior doors.

Minor cosmetic work in an existing basement — finishes, painting and furniture — generally doesn’t need a permit.

Permit fees and timing

• New basement development: $321 plus a $12.84 Safety Codes Council fee ($333.84 total).
• Renovating an already-developed basement: $198 plus $7.92 ($205.92 total).
• Approval typically takes about 7 days, and a building permit expires 180 days after it is issued.

These are the fees the City listed on November 4, 2026; they can change.

Electrical and plumbing permits

A separate electrical permit is required for all electrical installations and renovations, and a separate plumbing permit for new plumbing or for extending or altering existing plumbing. Homeowners who own and live in the home and do the work themselves may qualify for homeowner electrical or plumbing permits.

A kitchen plus a bathroom means a suite

If the basement will have both a kitchen and a bathroom, the City requires you to apply for a secondary suite instead. A wet bar is allowed, as long as it has no way to cook — no oven, stove, cooktop or microwave. Our legal basement suite guide covers those rules.

Safety requirements to plan for

• Smoke alarms in all bedrooms and in hallways serving bedrooms, hard-wired and interconnected. If no hallway serves the bedrooms, they go in the common areas.
• New or enlarged bedroom windows must meet the egress requirements of the National Building Code – Alberta Edition.
• New openings cut into a concrete foundation wall may need a structural review — for example, an opening wider than 1.2 m.
• Carbon monoxide alarms where the building code requires them.

Inspections

A framing (rough-in) inspection is required once structural changes, wall and ceiling framing, new windows and exterior doors, HVAC changes, and plumbing and electrical rough-in are complete. Inspections are booked through the City’s online inspection system.

How Josan Construction & Landscaping can help

We develop basements in Calgary from bare concrete to finished space — framing, drywall, windows, bathrooms and painting. Free estimates; we speak English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.

Sources

• City of Calgary – Basement development

Sources checked November 4, 2026. City guidance changes and has no legal status — always confirm requirements with the City of Calgary for your property.