Kitchen Renovation Permits in Montréal: What to Check

Before renovating a kitchen in Montréal, separate three checks: municipal permission for the work, the contractor’s licence for the work being undertaken, and any rules applying to your building. One check does not replace the others.

Start with a written description of the changes. Replacing cabinet doors, moving a wall and relocating plumbing are different projects, even if each is described as a kitchen renovation.

Check the address and scope with the municipality

The City of Montréal’s interior renovation guide lists replacing cabinets or counters among minor work that does not need a permit, while work that affects walls, foundations or the structure, or changes room dimensions, division or use, does. Select your borough on that page and describe structural, layout or other changes explicitly. For a separate municipality such as Pointe-Claire, use that municipality’s guidance.

Do not treat a neighbour’s permit experience as a decision about your home. The useful answer is one connected to your address and proposed work.

Prepare a short list:

• What stays in its existing position?
• Which walls, openings or built-in elements will change?
• Will plumbing, electrical or ventilation work be involved?
• Are there building or heritage conditions the municipality needs to consider?
• Which plans or professional documents are requested for this scope?

The City does not issue permits for plumbing or electrical work; its guide points to provincial rules and the Régie du bâtiment du Québec for those. Save the response and the documents requested. Ask who on the project will prepare and submit them. These are planning questions, not a substitute for a municipal decision.

A licence number needs a current check

Use the RBQ’s licence information and register access to check the contractor’s identity, licence status and relevant categories. Match the business on the proposal with the business in the record.

Limakdéco publishes RBQ number 5825-8039-01. The published number is a starting point for verification, not a statement here that every category has been checked for your project. Ask who is responsible for specialized work and how those responsibilities appear in the written scope.

Our complete kitchen renovation service explains the overall coordination. Your proposal should identify the work included in your particular room.

For a condo, open a separate building checklist

Contact building management before fixing a demolition date. Ask for the building’s renovation procedure and the documents it wants to see. Track it on its own list, but note that the borough may require an authorization or syndicate resolution with a condominium permit application. The requested documents depend on the ownership arrangement and whether common areas are affected; confirm them for your address.

Your practical checklist can include working hours, elevator reservations, delivery access, protection of shared areas, waste removal and the procedure for any service interruption. Ask whether flooring or other proposed changes require building-specific documentation. Record who approves each item and who arranges it.

A delivery booking is not the same thing as approval for the work. Putting each responsibility on one list makes that distinction clear.

Keep design decisions and authorizations connected

A change after drawings are prepared can affect the work described to the municipality or building manager. Ask the project lead to identify when revised documents need to be checked again.

At Limakdéco, custom cabinetry is designed around the measured room. Share the authorization requirements early so the drawings and renovation scope can develop together. Our showroom is in Saint-Laurent; the property’s own municipality remains the relevant place for its permit questions.

A simple project folder

Keep five sections: current room photos; proposed drawings; municipal correspondence; contractor and trade details; building-management correspondence, if applicable. Date the files so an earlier layout is not mistaken for the approved version.

Then add the written proposal and a responsibility list. Our quote comparison guide covers inclusions, exclusions and coordination. The renovation timeline helps place the checks before the disruptive work begins.

Does replacing cabinets always require a permit? No. In the City of Montréal’s boroughs, the City’s interior renovation guide lists replacing cabinets and counters as work that does not need a permit. Moving or modifying a wall, touching the structure or changing the room’s dimensions, division or use does. Other municipalities, such as Pointe-Claire or Laval, set their own rules, so check with the municipality of the address.

Does an RBQ licence replace a permit? No. They answer different questions: the contractor’s authorization and the municipality’s requirements for the project.

Send us your kitchen plans and questions. Tell us the address, intended changes and any requirements already received so the project can be scoped accurately.