Congregate living refers to a residence where individuals rent bedrooms and share access to cooking, dining, laundry, sanitary, or general living facilities with other tenants within the same building. These buildings may include single detached, semi-detached, duplex, row housing, multi-unit housing or converted hotel buildings.  

The Zoning Bylaw defines two forms of shared living arrangements:

  1. Lodging House "means a building, or part of a building, containing 4 or more Sleeping Units and each Sleeping Unit is rented individually. A Lodging House does not provide on-site or off-site social, physical, or mental health support."
  2. Supportive Housing "means a building, or part of a building, containing 1 or more Sleeping Units or Dwellings that provide accommodations and on-site or off-site social, physical, or mental health supports to ensure an individual’s daily needs are met."

Lodging Houses and Supportive Housing must comply with the Zoning Bylaw, including Section 6.80, and all relevant codes and standards. Permit requirements will depend if the building is newly constructed or the conversion of an existing building. All lodging houses and supportive housing rental accommodations must have a business licence.

Business Licence Application

All lodging houses and supportive housing must have a valid business licence. Like other businesses, the specific documents that need to be submitted with your business licence application and the operating requirements will be determined by the business licence categories that apply to your business activities. Lodging houses and supportive housing are regulated as a commercial business type.  

Online Application

Apply

By Mail:

Please note: we recommend applying for your business licence online for the fastest processing time. 

To receive a copy of the application form, please contact us at 780-442-5054 or businesslicenceapplications@edmonton.ca.

Permits Required

Lodging House

Converting an Existing Building to a Lodging House

All conversions require a development permit, building permit and depending on the nature of the alterations, trades permits may also be required.


New Residential Building 

The construction of a new lodging house requires a development permit, building permit and trades permits.

For complete submission details for new house permits including single detached, semi-detached, duplex, row houses and backyard houses, consult the application requirements. It is important to say that you are intending to operate a Lodging House at the start of the application process.

Supportive Housing

Converting an Existing Building to Supportive Housing

Depending on the nature of the proposal, a development permit may not be required for interior alterations of an existing building, but is required for exterior alterations. A building permit is required for all conversions and depending on the nature of the alterations, trades permits may also be required.

New Residential Building 

The new construction of supportive housing requires a development permit, building permit and trades permits. 

For complete submission details for new house permits including single detached, semi-detached, duplex, row houses and backyard houses, consult the application requirements. As part of an application, Supportive Housing developments should also submit information about the types of services provided.

Applying for Permits

Online Application 

Apply

In-person Application 

Congregate Living Facility Application Form

For inquiries and questions about Lodging House or Supportive Housing permits, please book a virtual or in-person appointment.

Fees

Fees are required for your development permit, building permit, trade permit(s) and business licence. 

The ​Planning and Development Fee Schedules, effective January 1, 2024, ​has a full list of associated permit fees. Fees will depend on the nature of the project.

There are multiple ways to make your payment.

After You Apply

The Development Process

The basic development process involves the following steps:

Review: City staff will review all development applications and building plans.

Approve/Refuse: Development permits must comply with zoning regulations and building permits must comply with all applicable safety codes.

Build: You may start building once you have the approved Development Permit and the issued Building Permit.

Inspect: Projects must undergo specific inspections to audit construction. An Occupancy Permit will be emailed to the permit holder following successful completion of all mandatory inspections. See the Residential Inspections page to learn how to prepare, when to request and what to expect during inspections. 

Construction Site Management

The Working With Neighbourhoods web page provides a list of resources and tips for best practices for building. 

Temporary use or crossing of the road right-of-way for demolition, deliveries, and construction requires On-Street Construction and Maintenance (OSCAM) Permits. This is to ensure you are not damaging the boulevard, sidewalk or City-owned trees while you access your site. You should apply for your OSCAM Permit once your Demolition or Building Permit applications have been submitted.

More Information Required

City staff may request additional information at various stages of the Development Permit and Building Permit process. To learn how to reply to a more information request in selfserve.edmonton.ca, see the More Information Requested (MIR) Guide.

Changes or Revisions

Changes and revisions can be submitted at various stages of the process.

To make changes before a development permit or building permit is issued, consult with the City staff member assigned to your file. 

After a development permit or building permit is issued, request Permit Revisions in selfserve.edmonton.ca.

Note: some changes after construction begins may be made without engaging in the permit revision process. For details, review Part 9 Project Product Swap and Plan Revision Procedure.

Submit blower door rest results to BPRevisions@edmonton.ca.

Review your permit conditions or the 9.36 section of Energy Code Requirements for ways to resolve Energy Efficiency deviations.

Contact Us

Edmonton Service Centre

Telephone 

In Edmonton: 311
Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311

Email developmentpermits@edmonton.ca

Appointments

Book an appointment for general questions about your project and the permit requirements.