Duncan & Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island

Contractors in Duncan & Cowichan Valley

Duncan, North Cowichan and the rural Cowichan Valley each send you to a different building department. We renovate and build across all three and deal with the right office, starting with a free quote.

Get a free quote Call 236-638-5302

Duncan & Cowichan Valley · Vancouver Island

Photo: DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), via Wikimedia Commons (resized)

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Housing in Duncan and North Cowichan

The two municipalities look different in the 2021 Census. The City of Duncan is small and older: 26.5% of its 2,455 occupied homes were built in 1960 or before, and 43.8% are apartments under five storeys. North Cowichan is mostly houses: 62.5% of its 13,740 homes are single-detached and 4.4% are movable dwellings.

If your house is in Duncan’s low-density area east of the Trans-Canada Highway, the floodplain rules below shape almost any addition or suite. In North Cowichan, most lots inside the Urban Containment Boundary can now take 3 to 4 units.

Duncan: 41.8% single-detached, 43.8% apartments under five storeys
Duncan: 26.5% built in 1960 or before
North Cowichan: 62.5% single-detached, 4.4% movable dwellings
North Cowichan: 32.3% built 1981 to 2000

Which office, and which rules

City of Duncan: the Zoning Bylaw permits in-house suites. Detached garden or carriage suites are allowed only where the lot meets the minimum size in Zoning Bylaw No. 3166, and freestanding residential buildings need Homeowner Protection Office approval or an exemption. Duncan amended its zoning to allow up to 4 units on low-density residential parcels, with the flood rules still applying. Its Tree Protection Bylaw No. 3135 regulates cutting protected and significant trees on private land.

Municipality of North Cowichan: Council adopted its amended zoning on June 19, 2024, allowing 3 to 4 units on most lots inside the Urban Containment Boundary, mostly those on municipal sewer and water. Rural rules changed little, because most rural lots already allowed 2 units. North Cowichan has separate checklists for building a new suite and for legalizing an existing one. In June 2025 Council voted to follow the provincial minimum for zero-carbon rules, replacing its earlier, stricter 2023 schedule.

North Cowichan has no tree protection bylaw. Cutting is restricted only in its Natural Environment and Hazard Lands development permit areas. Federal and provincial wildlife rules on nests apply everywhere, and nesting season runs from late March to mid-August.

City of Duncan building permits: duncan.ca/building-permits
North Cowichan building, renovation and alteration permits: northcowichan.ca
Rural Cowichan Valley Regional District areas: cvrd.ca Building Inspection

Where to get a permit

City of Duncan: City of Duncan: building permits
Municipality of North Cowichan: North Cowichan: building, renovation and alteration
Cowichan Valley Regional District (rural areas): CVRD: building inspection

Neighbourhoods we cover in Duncan & Cowichan Valley

Chemainus
Crofton
Berkey’s Corner
Quamichan
Bell-McKinnon
University Village

One valley, three building departments: Duncan, North Cowichan and the CVRD each handle permits for their own addresses.

Floodplain and hazard lands

Duncan says its entire low-density residential zone east of the Trans-Canada Highway is in a floodplain. New homes there must meet Flood Plain Management Bylaw No. 3236, 2023, and Flood Construction Levels can reach 2.5 m above grade. You cannot create a new dwelling unit below the flood elevation in an existing building, so a new suite below that level, such as in a basement, is not allowed.

North Cowichan publishes its own flood mitigation page, and in North Cowichan’s Hazard Lands development permit area, tree cutting is restricted too. Check both before you plan work on a low or steep lot.

Duncan & Cowichan Valley: common questions

It depends on your address. City of Duncan lots go to Duncan, North Cowichan lots to North Cowichan, and rural lots to the Cowichan Valley Regional District. Confirm which one covers your address before you apply.

Not if the basement sits below the flood elevation in the floodplain east of the highway. Duncan does not allow new dwelling units there.

Only in the Natural Environment or Hazard Lands development permit areas. North Cowichan has no general tree bylaw, but nesting-season wildlife rules still apply.