Who schedules the building inspection during a renovation?

In Ottawa, the contractor who pulled the building permit is responsible for scheduling all required inspections with the City of Ottawa Building Code Services.

When your contractor obtains the building permit for your renovation project, they become the "permit holder" and must coordinate all inspection scheduling throughout the construction process. This includes foundation inspections, framing inspections, insulation and vapor barrier inspections, and final inspections.

Your contractor will call City of Ottawa Building Code Services at 613-580-2424 or use the online portal at ottawa.ca/building to request inspections. They need to provide at least 24 hours notice (48 hours recommended) before the work is ready for inspection. The city typically schedules inspections within 1-2 business days of the request.

However, there's an important distinction for electrical and gas work. While your general contractor schedules the building inspections, electrical work requires separate ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) inspections that must be arranged by the Licensed Electrical Contractor who pulled the electrical permit. Similarly, gas work requires TSSA inspections scheduled by the certified gas technician.

What to watch for: If your contractor asks you to schedule inspections yourself, this could be a red flag. Only the permit holder should be scheduling inspections. If they're reluctant to handle inspections or seem unfamiliar with the process, question whether they're properly licensed and experienced with Ottawa's permit system.

Make sure your contract clearly states that the contractor is responsible for obtaining all necessary permits and scheduling all required inspections. Failed inspections that require re-scheduling should be the contractor's responsibility and cost, not yours.

You can verify that inspections are being properly scheduled by checking your permit status online through the City of Ottawa's building permit portal. This transparency helps ensure your renovation stays compliant with Ontario Building Code requirements and protects your investment.

For electrical work verification, check that your electrical contractor is licensed through esasafe.com/contractor-locator, and for gas work, verify TSSA certification at tssa.org.