Building without a permit in Ontario usually starts with a reasonable sounding assumption. Six that stop commercial projects, what the penalties are, and how to check first.

Almost none of the speed in a Toronto commercial permit comes from the City. It comes from a complete first submission, coordinated drawings and how fast you answer comments. What works, and what only feels like it does.

Most commercial interior work in Toronto needs a building permit, and the exceptions are narrower than people assume. What triggers one, what does not, and the assumptions that get projects stopped.

Construction management vs design-build decides who owns design risk, when your price actually becomes firm, and how much of the process you have to run yourself.

The line between base building and tenant work is where fit-out budgets go wrong. What each side normally covers, the six items that get argued about, and how to settle them in the offer to lease.

A landlord turnkey office can be the right answer. What the deal covers, where the decisions sit, and the six things to pin down in the offer to lease.

The questions to ask before you hire a commercial contractor: the team, the exclusions, the process, and what to check after the meeting.

How to read a construction schedule: critical path, float and baseline, where optimism hides, and the five questions to ask at every review.

What a phased renovation really costs, how to sequence one against building services, and the site rules to write into the contract before pricing.

Ontario office lease accessibility rules can complicate a tenant's fit-out permit over a landlord's deficiency. Which buildings are at risk, what a tenant pays for, and why the AODA is not the same thing.