Days to issue a permit for larger buildings
Calculated hereArea: City of Victoria Permits issued in 2025 · Where this covers · How we calculated this
160 days (median)
Getting worse
Was 112 days in 2024 and 95 in 2019. 2026 so far: 156 days
Source: Calculated here from City of Victoria open data, Permits issued in 2025 · How we calculated this
What it measures
The typical (median) number of days from application to issue for the City’s complex building permits, which cover apartments, multi-unit and larger commercial buildings, by year of issue.
Why it matters
Homes cannot be built until a permit is issued. Faster permits do not guarantee more homes, but long waits add cost and delay.
Over time
Median days from file creation to permit issued (complex buildings)
How we decided “getting worse”
A lower number means permits for larger buildings are issued faster. Speed is only one part of a permit process; this page does not measure quality or safety review. Median of 160 days for the 104 complex building permits issued in 2025, compared with 112 days for 88 permits in 2024 (+43%). For 2026 up to Nov 9: 156 days (76 permits). The rules.
How we calculated this
Calculated here This figure is not published by an agency as is. It is calculated here, by script, from the public data listed below. It belongs with New homes approved by the City.
Formula
For each complex building permit: days = issue date − file creation date. Yearly figure = median of those days for permits issued that year.
With the latest numbers
- 2022: 128 permits, median 137 days.
- 2023: 105 permits, median 85 days.
- 2024: 88 permits, median 112 days.
- 2025: 104 permits, median 160 days.
Inputs
Building Permits (since they went digital in 1994): permit type, status, file creation date and issue date
- Published by
- City of Victoria
- Period used
- 2018 to Nov 9, 2026
- Latest release
- Nov 9, 2026
Keep in mind
- Calculated here from the City's building permit file: for each permit of the type the City labels “complex” (larger buildings, including most apartment and mixed-use projects), days from the date the file was created to the date the permit was issued; the middle value (median) for permits issued in each year.
- The file creation date may be when an application was first opened rather than when it was complete, and some projects are issued in phases. Treat this as an estimate of the City process, not an official processing time.
- Rezoning and development permits come before a building permit and are not included.
- Cancelled permits are excluded. Each permit number is counted once.
- The City's type labels changed over time; years before 2018 used different labels and are not shown.
Retrieved Nov 11, 2026, 1:10 AM B.C. time. This page’s data and calculation (JSON).
Source
- Calculated here from
- City of Victoria
- Period
- Permits issued in 2025
- Updated
- Daily (City file); shown by calendar year
- Retrieved
- Nov 11, 2026, 1:10 AM B.C. time
- Details
- Formula and every input
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - City of Victoria.
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | City of Victoria |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 160 |
| 2024 | 112 |
| 2023 | 85 |
| 2022 | 137 |
| 2021 | 77 |
| 2020 | 88 |
| 2019 | 95 |
| 2018 | 68 |
Where this covers
Area: City of Victoria
The City of Victoria municipality only, all neighbourhoods.
Included
- All City of Victoria neighbourhoods, including Downtown, James Bay, Fairfield, Fernwood, Oaklands, Hillside/Quadra, North Park, Burnside, Victoria West, Rockland, Jubilee and Gonzales
Not included
- Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, Langford and every other municipality in the region
Official definition
How the agency describes it: City of Victoria (municipality).
Connected to: Municipal (permits issued by the City), Applicants and builders. This is a label, not a judgement.