Courtenay permits
Re-roofing in Courtenay: who issues the permit, and what they say
Inside city limits, permits come from the City of Courtenay's Building Division, whose page says a permit is needed before you "build, demolish, repair or alter most structures" and does not mention roofs on their own. Union Bay, Fanny Bay and Black Creek are rural areas of the Comox Valley Regional District, where Building Bylaw No. 681 says a permit is not required for minor work on non-structural components, "including roof retrofits or replacements". We confirm per address.
Reviewed by Scott Plumptree, Director of Marketing, The Interlock Group · Updated October 24, 2026
Consultations on Zoom or at your home. Book a Zoom consultation
City permits
City of Courtenay, Building Division (Building Bylaw No. 3114)
courtenay.ca
Rural permits
Comox Valley Regional District, Building Bylaw No. 681, adopted March 12, 2024
comoxvalleyrd.ca
Where the CVRD bylaw applies
Electoral Areas A (except Hornby and Denman Islands), B and C
CVRD Building Bylaw No. 681, section 4(1)
Union Bay and Fanny Bay
Electoral Area A (Baynes Sound – Denman/Hornby Islands)
comoxvalleyrd.ca
Black Creek
Electoral Area C (Puntledge – Black Creek)
Wikipedia, Black Creek, British Columbia
Inside Courtenay city limits: the Building Division
If your house is within the City of Courtenay, the permit office is the City's Building Division at City Hall. Its building and plumbing permits page opens with a broad rule: "A building permit is required before you build, demolish, repair or alter most structures." It then names buildings, accessory buildings, decks, garages, carports and secondary suites as examples.
That page says nothing specific about replacing a roof, either to require a permit or to waive one. The detail sits in the City's Building Bylaw No. 3114, and the City lists its phone number as 250-334-4441 for questions. Because the page is silent on roofing, we never tell a Courtenay homeowner a permit is or isn't needed until we have checked the address.
Union Bay, Fanny Bay and Black Creek: the Comox Valley Regional District
Outside the city, building permits are a regional district service. The CVRD's Building Bylaw No. 681 was adopted on March 12, 2024, and section 4(1) applies it to Electoral Areas A, B and C, with Hornby and Denman Islands left out of Area A. The CVRD's own Area A page says the area "includes Royston, Union Bay and Fanny Bay", and Black Creek is in Area C, also known as Puntledge – Black Creek.
Section 6(2) of the bylaw begins "A permit is not required in the following circumstances", and clause (a) covers minor repairs or alterations to non-structural components of a building, including roof retrofits or replacements. That is the clearest written statement about roofing we found anywhere in the Comox Valley. It still applies only where the work stays non-structural.
- CVRD Building Services: 250-334-6006
- Email: building@comoxvalleyrd.ca
- Bylaw text: Building Bylaw No. 681, 2024 (consolidated copy for reference)
When a Comox Valley re-roof turns into structural work
The CVRD's application page describes permits as covering work that involves "constructing, repairing or altering a building or structure." Once a roof job moves past the covering and into the frame, it is no longer the simple non-structural case the bylaw exempts. The same logic is the safe reading of the City's "repair or alter" wording.
In practice, these are the points where we stop and check with the issuing office before a crew is booked:
- Replacing large areas of rotten sheathing or any rafters
- Cutting in a new skylight or a dormer
- Reframing a low-slope roof up to the 3/12 minimum an Interlock® roof needs
- Adding a covered deck or carport roof at the same time
Courtenay's tree bylaw and trees over the roof line
A new roof is often the moment people decide to take down a tree that drops needles on it. In Courtenay that falls under the Tree Protection and Management Bylaw No. 2850. The City's FAQ says a tree permit is needed to remove trees "over 20 cm in diameter at breast height", any tree in an environmentally sensitive area such as a riparian strip, and protected species regardless of size.
The protected list includes Garry oak, Pacific dogwood, western white pine, Pacific yew, trembling aspen and arbutus once they are over 0.5 metres tall, and the City says removals of those are "only approved in special cases." If a tree is part of your plan, sort that permit out with the City first.
How we handle permits on a Courtenay roof
At the estimate we note which office covers your lot: the City of Courtenay or the CVRD. We confirm per address what that office requires for the work we are quoting, and if a permit is needed we apply for it before the job starts. If your home is in a strata, the strata's written approval comes first, and we can help you with what the council needs to see.
Courtenay questions, answered
My house is in Black Creek. Does the City of Courtenay handle my roof permit?
No. Black Creek is outside the city, in the Comox Valley Regional District's Electoral Area C. The CVRD's Building Bylaw No. 681 governs there, and its Building Services office at 250-334-6006 is the one to ask. We check which office covers your lot before we book the work.
What happens if the crew finds rotten boards once the old roof is off?
We stop and tell you what we found before going further. Swapping a few boards is routine, but replacing large areas of sheathing or any framing is structural work, and both the City and the CVRD treat structural changes differently from a straight replacement. We confirm with the right office and pull a permit if one is needed.
Can I take down the fir that hangs over my Courtenay roof?
Possibly, but check first. The City's Tree Protection and Management Bylaw No. 2850 requires a permit to remove a tree over 20 cm in diameter at breast height, and protected species such as Garry oak or arbutus need one at any size. Pruning rules are not spelled out on the City's FAQ page.
I'm on the water in Union Bay. Is the permit process different on the shoreline?
Union Bay is in the CVRD's Electoral Area A, so the same Building Bylaw No. 681 applies as in the rest of the area. Waterfront lots can carry other development rules, so we confirm per address with the CVRD before we price the job and before any work begins.
Sources for this Courtenay guide
- City of Courtenay — Building and Plumbing Permits
- City of Courtenay — Tree Bylaw Frequently Asked Questions
- Comox Valley Regional District — Building Bylaw No. 681, 2024 (consolidated)
- Comox Valley Regional District — Applying for a building permit
- Comox Valley Regional District — Building permit fees and fines (Bylaw No. 681)
- Comox Valley Regional District — Electoral Area A (Baynes Sound – Denman/Hornby Islands)
- Wikipedia — Black Creek, British Columbia
Product specifications are the manufacturer's (Interlock Roofing). Install counts are from our own job book. Reviewed by Scott Plumptree, October 24, 2026.
More Courtenay roofing pages
Planning a new roof in Courtenay?
A fixed price in writing after one visit, on Zoom or at your home. Most BC homeowners choose Zoom. Interlock Metal Roofing (BC) Ltd. · 9969 River Way, Delta, BC V4G 1M8
