What a Demolition Contractor's Paperwork Should Look Like Before Day One

In Toronto, taking down a house, garage or most structures needs a permit from Toronto Building. The permit should be issued, not just applied for, and a copy should be on site. If you're renovating rather than demolishing, check whether your job needs a building permit instead. The contractor should be able to tell you which applies.

Under section 30 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the owner has to find out what hazardous substances are in the building and give that list to the contractor before the job is priced. In practice that means a survey by an environmental consultant. If asbestos shows up, removal under O. Reg. 278/05 comes first. See our guide on who is responsible for the survey.

Gas, hydro and water need to be safely disconnected before demolition. You want written confirmation for each, not a verbal "it's done." This step catches people off guard more than anything else, and we've written a whole piece on utility disconnects.

Ask for two things in writing:

The scope is the contract's backbone. It should list what's coming out, what's staying, who handles permits and disconnects, how debris is removed, and what the site looks like at the end. Vague scopes lead to arguments. Our piece on how to read a demolition scope of work walks through one line by line.

If you're pulling out a few cabinets yourself, you won't need most of this. Once you're dealing with structural walls, whole rooms, a full house, or a building old enough to contain asbestos, the paperwork gets serious and mistakes get expensive. A demolition contractor who handles the permit, coordinates disconnects and reads the survey takes that load off you. For bigger projects, look at residential demolition or interior demolition handled start to finish.

It's not a legal form, but a short note to the neighbours before a teardown goes a long way. Tell them the dates, the hours and who to call. On tight North York streets, it's often the difference between a patient neighbour and a call to 311.

You'll also want to know how the site will be secured. Ask about fencing, how equipment will be stored overnight, and what happens if a neighbour's fence or driveway gets damaged. Those answers belong in the scope too.

On larger projects, the constructor files a Notice of Project with the Ministry of Labour before work starts, and posts a copy on site. It applies once a project passes the cost threshold in O. Reg. 213/91 or involves certain listed work. Our guide on when a Notice of Project is needed has the details.

Before day one, you should be able to put your hands on the permit, the survey, disconnect confirmations, the insurance certificate, the WSIB clearance and a signed scope. If any of those are missing, pause. At Clearpath Demolition Toronto, we go through this list with every client before we book a start date. If you'd like us to look at your project, request a free estimate.