The way in
Separate entrance
A new exterior door cut into the foundation, with the stairwell, guard and drainage designed so the opening does not weaken the wall.
- Foundation opening design
- Stairwell & drainage
- Guards & lighting
- Frost & waterproofing
Legal Basements · Vaughan, York Region
Legal Basements in Vaughan
Legal basement apartments for Vaughan houses in Woodbridge, Maple, Kleinburg and Thornhill, designed to the unit rules in By-law 083-2025 and to the Building Code: entrance, fire separations, egress, a second kitchen and HVAC for both units. Fine Engineering prepares the set in Richmond Hill and files it with the City of Vaughan Building Standards Department.
- Building
designs - 200+
- Years of
practice - 10
- Trusted
partners - 20+
- Recent project
- Vaughan · 1,100 sq ft
- Municipality
- Vaughan, York Region
- Permit office
- City of Vaughan Building Standards Department
- From our office
- About 30 minutes
What’s included
Scope: what we take on, and what each part includes.
A legal unit is a list of code items, and the inspector checks each one. We design to that list, build to it, and book the inspections in the order the city wants them. In Vaughan the package goes to the City of Vaughan Building Standards Department, and it is drawn to that department’s checklist.
What the inspector checks first
Fire separation & egress
Rated ceilings and walls between the units, interconnected smoke alarms, and bedroom windows or doors large enough to get out through.
- Fire-rated assemblies
- Egress windows
- Interconnected alarms
- Sound separation
The wet side
Kitchen & bathroom
Plumbing for a second kitchen and bathroom, tied into drains that were never meant for them, with venting and hot water sized for two units.
- Kitchen & bath layouts
- Drain & vent tie-ins
- Hot water for two units
- Bathroom ventilation
Through to occupancy
Inspection scheduling
The inspections the permit calls for, booked as each stage is ready, and the paperwork closed so the unit is legal on paper as well as in fact.
- Framing & insulation inspections
- Plumbing & electrical inspections
- HVAC & final
- Permit close-out
The package
When you need it, and what you get.
Find your situation below. If it’s there, this is the service, and the card underneath is everything you get from our one office.
You need this when
06 common situations
- Rental incomeFrom an empty basement
- Space for familyA place of their own
- Buying a houseLegalize the basement before you close
- City noticeAbout an unpermitted unit
- Low ceilingIs underpinning worth it?
- One contractorDrawings, permit and build
- Not sure it applies?Tell us about it on a free call and we’ll say whether this is the right service.
What you get
07
items in your package, all from one P.Eng and BCIN team.
Drawn & stamped in-house
- Site visitHeight, egress and entrance checked
- Permit drawingsLayout, fire separations, structure, HVAC
- Building permitFiled and followed to issue
- Entrance & fire assembliesFramed, insulated and fire-rated
- Plumbing, electrical, HVACInstalled and inspected
- Kitchen & bathroomAnd the finishes
- A legal unitPermit closed, ready to list and insure
How it runs
Process: 4 steps from first call to sign-off.
Four steps from a bare basement to a closed permit, with the inspections built into the schedule.
Site visit & code check
We measure the ceiling, look at the windows, the entrance options and the mechanical room, and tell you whether the basement can be made legal and what it will take.
Design & permit
Layout, separations, the structural opening and HVAC are drawn in one office and filed with the municipality. City comments are answered at no extra charge.
Build
Entrance, framing, rough-ins, insulation and rated assemblies go in, inspected at each stage.
Finish & close out
Kitchen, bathroom, flooring and doors, then the final inspection and the closed permit.
- Property address
- Basement ceiling height, measured floor to joist
- Photos of the basement, the mechanical room and the outside wall where an entrance could go
- Any existing drawings or a previous permit
- Whether the unit is for family or for rent
Case files
Our Projects: real permits, real builds, real value added.
Open any file for the scope, the disciplines involved, what we delivered and what the owner came away with.
- Files
- 08
- Municipalities
- 07
A compact two-storey suite in a Toronto backyard. Architectural and structural drawings, zoning review and a framing package that makes every square foot count.
- Location
- Toronto
- Area
- 700 sq ft
- Sector
- Residential
- Disciplines
- Architectural · Structural
Delivered
- Architectural drawings
- Structural framing design
- Zoning review
- Building permit application
New living space on a lot the owners already had.
Start a project like this
Structural walls came out and rooms were added to open the plan. Beam and column design, permit drawings and renovation coordination through to final inspection.
- Location
- Richmond Hill
- Area
- 2,700 sq ft
- Sector
- Residential
- Disciplines
- Structural · Architectural
Delivered
- Load-bearing wall removal
- Beam & column design
- Permit drawings
- Renovation coordination
An open layout where the load-bearing walls used to be.
Start a project like thisA code-compliant second unit with its own entrance, fire separations between the units, HVAC design and the full permit package.
- Location
- Vaughan
- Area
- 1,100 sq ft
- Sector
- Residential
- Disciplines
- Architectural · Mechanical · Fire safety
Delivered
- Separate entrance
- Fire separations
- HVAC design
- Full permit package
A legal second unit that brings in rent and adds property value.
Start a project like this
A new build taken from the client’s sketch to occupancy, with the architectural, structural and mechanical design done by one team.
- Location
- Haldimand County
- Area
- 1,750 sq ft
- Sector
- Residential
- Disciplines
- Architectural · Structural · Mechanical
Delivered
- Architectural design
- Structural design
- Mechanical design
- Permit drawings
Built to the client’s own plan, with one team answering for every discipline.
Start a project like this
A two-storey garden suite laid out to get the most usable space from the footprint, designed and permitted as a rentable unit.
- Location
- Richmond Hill
- Area
- 1,250 sq ft
- Sector
- Residential
- Disciplines
- Architectural · Structural
Delivered
- Layout planning
- Architectural drawings
- Structural design
- Permit application
Rental income and a higher property value.
Start a project like this
A dental office converted into a supermarket. Interior renovation, a new plumbing system and fire separations upgraded to the Ontario Fire Code.
- Location
- Kitchener
- Area
- Dental → grocery
- Sector
- Commercial
- Disciplines
- Architectural · Plumbing · Fire safety
Delivered
- Change-of-use permit
- Interior renovation drawings
- New plumbing design
- Upgraded fire separations
A dental office reopened as a supermarket, compliant with the Ontario Fire Code.
Start a project like this
A custom covered porch that turns the front of the house into usable outdoor space. Addition design and structural drawings for the permit.
- Location
- London
- Area
- 570 sq ft
- Sector
- Residential
- Disciplines
- Architectural · Structural
Delivered
- Addition design
- Structural drawings
- Permit application
More usable outdoor space and added home value.
Start a project like this
Site grading to manage drainage and prepare the land for a new driveway, drawn as a grading plan for the site alteration permit.
- Location
- Guelph
- Area
- 11,700 sq ft
- Sector
- Site
- Disciplines
- Site engineering
Delivered
- Grading plan
- Drainage design
- Driveway extension layout
- Site alteration permit
Drainage handled and the land ready for a new driveway.
Start a project like thisPhoto plates
Project Gallery: from the framing to the finished room.
Additions, basements, kitchens, new builds and commercial fit-outs. Drag a row to scrub through it, or open any photo full size.Tap any photo to see it full size.
21 platesResidential, commercial & new build
The drawing set
Drawing Samples: sheets from real permit sets.
Framing schedules, wall assemblies, dimensions and a city review stamp, as issued. Client title blocks are trimmed off to protect the people we drew them for.
- Sector
- Residential
- Discipline
- Architectural · Structural
- Location
- London, ON
- Scale
- —
Drawing set
Sheets in this set
Sheet title
Existing basement plan
The existing house recorded before any design: beams, joists and bearing walls.
Drawing no.
2 of 5
Service area
Where We Work: within 90 minutes of Richmond Hill.
From the office we cover the whole GTA, north to Barrie and Orillia, east to Peterborough and Cobourg, west to Kitchener and Brantford, and down through Niagara.
Our office
Service area
Completed project
Drive time, off-peak
Municipalities we serve
46 across 8 regions
York Region
- Richmond Hill (completed project)Office
- Vaughan (completed project)
- Markham (completed project)
- Aurora
- Newmarket
- King
- Whitchurch-Stouffville
- East Gwillimbury
- Georgina
Toronto & Peel
- Toronto (completed project)
- Mississauga
- Brampton
- Caledon
Halton
- Oakville
- Burlington
- Milton
- Halton Hills
Durham
- Pickering
- Ajax
- Whitby
- Oshawa
- Clarington
- Uxbridge
- Scugog
Simcoe & Dufferin
- Barrie (completed project)
- Innisfil
- Bradford
- New Tecumseth
- Orillia
- Wasaga Beach
- Collingwood
- Orangeville
Waterloo, Wellington & Brant
Hamilton, Niagara & Haldimand
- Hamilton
- Grimsby
- St. Catharines
- Niagara Falls
- Haldimand County (completed project)
Kawarthas & Northumberland
- Peterborough
- Kawartha Lakes
- Port Hope
- Cobourg
Past the 90-minute line
We've also completed projects in London and Strathroy. Farther out than that? Call (416) 990-9179 and ask.
Permits filed with municipalities including
Before you call
FAQ: legal basements in Vaughan, answered.
Anything we haven’t answered here, we’ll answer on a call. The first consultation is free.
(416) 990-9179A building permit for the unit, applied for with drawings at Vaughan’s own building department rather than York Region. The stairwell for a new entrance changes the grade beside the house, and Vaughan reviews that with the building permit. We prepare and file the set and deal with the examiner’s comments.
Only where the lot is inside Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) regulation, near a watercourse, a valley or a floodplain. Digging a stairwell down to the basement changes the grade there, and the TRCA permit may be needed before Vaughan issues the building permit. We check the regulation mapping before the entrance is drawn.
Under By-law 083-2025, which amends Vaughan’s Zoning By-law 001-2021, a lot may have a maximum of two additional residential units: either two within a single detached, semi-detached or townhouse dwelling, or one within the dwelling and one within a detached residential accessory structure. An additional residential unit is only permitted on a lot with municipal water and sanitary services, and other zoning standards also apply. We check the lot’s servicing first, then the basement itself.
Yes. We take on legal basements across Vaughan, including Woodbridge and Maple, about half an hour from our Richmond Hill office. The first consultation is free, by phone or on site.
Three things to start: property address; basement ceiling height, measured floor to joist; and photos of the basement, the mechanical room and the outside wall where an entrance could go. Send those and we tell you what the City of Vaughan Building Standards Department will ask for before we quote.
It can. Digging a stairwell close to the roots can injure a tree, and By-law 177-2025 needs a permit for that once the trunk is 20 cm across, whether the tree is yours, a neighbour’s or the city’s. Parks and Forestry Operations issues that permit, separately from the Building Standards Department’s review of the unit, so we measure nearby trees before choosing which side the entrance goes on.
Being in a district adds a check on the outside of the house. In Kleinburg-Nashville, Maple, Thornhill and Woodbridge, a new side door, an entrance stair or larger basement windows change what the street sees, so we confirm with the City of Vaughan what the district asks of them before they are drawn. The unit inside is designed to By-law 083-2025 and the Building Code like any other Vaughan basement.
Yes. One project on our list is a 1,100 square foot basement unit in a Vaughan house, with its own entrance, fire separations between the two homes and HVAC designed for both, permitted through the City of Vaughan and now rented. A new Vaughan basement starts the same way: a site visit, then drawings to By-law 083-2025 and the Building Code for the Building Standards Department.
Ontario’s rule for added units asks for one space for the unit’s occupant, and a tandem space behind another car counts, unless the zoning by-law requires no parking for the main house or none for the unit. The parking standards for your lot sit in Zoning By-law 001-2021, or in By-law 1-88 where part of the new by-law is under appeal, so we check the driveway against the right one before the set goes to the Building Standards Department.
Yes. Ontario’s regulation lets anyone live in an added unit, owner or tenant, related to the household or not. Under Vaughan’s By-law 083-2025 the basement is one of the lot’s added units whoever lives in it, so the drawings and the Building Standards Department’s inspections are the same either way.
Searched & answered
People Also Ask: what Vaughan searches about legal basements.
Short answers to the legal basements questions people search most, and the broader topics they lead to.
Not covered here? Book a free consultationA legal basement is a basement apartment that meets the Building Code and the local zoning: a self-contained second unit with its own kitchen and bathroom. The code calls it a secondary suite, and Ontario’s planning rules call it an additional residential unit. Fine Engineering designs and permits these units across the GTA and coordinates the build.
At least 1.95 m, about 6 ft 5 in, under Ontario’s 2024 Building Code, with 1.85 m of clear height allowed under beams and ducts. The measurement runs from the finished floor to the finished ceiling, so new flooring and drywall count against it. Fine Engineering measures the height at the first site visit, before any layout is drawn.
It needs a safe way out, which is usually its own exterior door. In a house that has stood for five years or more, the 2024 Building Code’s renovation rules also accept an exit route through the other unit, as long as the suite gets an extra escape window that opens from inside without tools and the smoke alarms are linked. Fine Engineering works out which route suits the layout.
Yes. Once a house has a secondary suite, its smoke alarms must be interconnected, by wire or wirelessly, so one sets off the rest, and shared spaces need them too. A suite with a fuel-burning appliance, or one sharing a wall, floor or ceiling with such an appliance or a garage, also needs carbon monoxide alarms by its bedrooms. Fine Engineering marks every alarm on the permit set.
For many homeowners, yes. A legal second unit can earn rent and add property value, and because it was built under a permit, it avoids the trouble an unpermitted suite causes when the house is sold. The return depends on how much the basement needs, whether that is more headroom, a new exit or fire separation. Fine Engineering prices that work before any drawing starts.
Usually because the heat reaching the room does not match the heat it loses. A room over a garage, or one with more glass and outside wall, loses heat faster, and a long or undersized duct delivers less air than the room needs. A room-by-room heat-loss calculation and a duct design show where the gap is. Fine Engineering does both for existing houses as well as new ones.
Good to know
Legal basement permits in Vaughan
In Vaughan the reviewer is the City of Vaughan Building Standards Department. Every Vaughan lot sets its own terms: the spare capacity in the electrical panel and the size of the water service the two units will share decide how much work a basement unit needs.
We walk the site with the survey, usually within a day or two of the call, before anything is drawn, then file the legal basements package to the City of Vaughan Building Standards Department’s own checklist.
Legal basement apartments in Woodbridge and Maple
Vaughan’s housing is single-detached homes built mostly from the 1980s onward, with Woodbridge and Thornhill largely built out. Where a subdivision basement already has the height the Building Code sets, the layout decides the job: where the furnace and the main beam sit, and whether the side yard can take a stair down to a new door. On a visit in Kleinburg or Thornhill, we sketch the layout around those two first.
Filing a Vaughan basement unit online
Vaughan takes building permit applications through its Online Permitting Portal at eservices.vaughan.ca, and the drawings go up through the ePlans Portal linked to it. For a basement unit that is one set: floor plans, fire separation and egress details, the HVAC layout for both homes and a site plan showing the entrance.
The portal’s My Permits / Services page then shows where the application stands. When the Building Standards Department sends comments, we revise the drawings and send them back, and we tell you when the permit is issued.
Where a basement entrance can go on a Vaughan lot
By-law 083-2025 allows the unit but leaves the lot’s other zoning standards in place, and those decide where a new entrance stair can sit. Side and rear setbacks come from Zoning By-law 001-2021, or from By-law 1-88 on land still under appeal, so we read the survey against the one that applies before the stair is placed.
On the built-out streets of Woodbridge and Thornhill, if a side stair will not meet the setbacks, we look at the rear yard instead, or at an exit through the main house with an added escape window, which the 2024 Building Code’s renovation rules accept in a house at least five years old.
Contact us
Entrance cut. Separation rated. Permit closed.
Send us the ceiling height and a few photos and we’ll tell you whether the basement can be made legal, on a free first call.
First consultation free(416) 990-9179