Delta, Metro Vancouver
Renovations and builds in Delta
Nearly half of Delta’s homes were built between 1961 and 1980, and many low-lying lots carry a minimum floor height on title. We renovate these houses and build suites and coach houses, starting with a free quote.
Delta · Metro Vancouver
Photo: Kalamazadkhan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Free written quotes
After a site visit, with what is fixed and what is an allowance.
One contract
One point of contact, from quote to final walkthrough.
Licensed trade partners
Electrical, plumbing and gas, under our management.
Victoria to the Lower Mainland
Greater Victoria, up-Island and Metro Vancouver.
Delta’s housing
Delta is a city of houses. In the 2021 Census, 55.5% of its 38,055 occupied homes were single-detached and 27.8% were semi-detached, row houses or duplexes. Only 1.6% were in apartment buildings of five storeys or more.
The stock is concentrated in one era: 46.6% of homes were built from 1961 to 1980. If you own one of those houses and want to add a suite, Delta allows one per single-detached house, with a building permit. Every property with a suite must have a water meter.
- 55.5% single-detached houses
- 27.8% semi-detached, row and duplex homes
- 46.6% built 1961 to 1980
- 7.0% built in 1960 or before
Delta rules for suites, infill and trees
Secondary suites cannot be strata-titled or sold separately, and each new one needs a building permit. Delta stopped requiring Secondary Suite Rental Permits on April 8, 2024. A suite needs one on-site parking space, unless it is under 33 m² or within 400 m of frequent transit on Scott Road.
Single-detached and duplex lots can have garden suites and coach houses, up to two in total. Delta defines a coach house as a detached suite built with a garage, and a garden suite as one placed elsewhere on the lot. Its free, optional ADU Concierge service ([email protected]) looks at your plans before you apply.
Under the small-scale housing rules, lots up to 280 m² allow 3 units and larger lots 4. Lots over 280 m² within 400 m of frequent transit on Scott Road allow 6. A project that complies needs no rezoning, no development permit and no public notice, though covenants, steep slopes and nearby streams can limit a lot.
Delta’s green building page describes the BC Energy Step Code as voluntary in Delta. As of October 2026, confirm the current requirement with the City before you design a new house.
- Tree permit for trees 20 cm or more in diameter at 1.4 m
- Your first single-tree removal in any 24 months needs no arborist report
- Pruning needs no permit, but topping is banned
- Trees on ALR land are not covered
Building permits: City of Delta: building and renovating
Neighbourhoods we cover in Delta
- Ladner
- Tsawwassen
- North Delta
- Sunshine Hills
Since June 16, 2026, every tree removal in Sunshine Hills needs an arborist report, and the large-tree threshold there dropped from 60 cm to 50 cm.
Flood elevations, dikes and streams
Waterfront and low-lying lots may carry a restrictive covenant on title that sets a minimum building elevation for living space, and Delta can require one at building permit stage if none exists. Minimum flood elevations are published on DeltaMap. Check the map and your title before you plan a basement or a ground-floor suite.
Any property within 30 m of a stream, river, slough, ditch or pond falls in the Streamside Protection and Enhancement Area development permit area. Work on a dike needs written approval from the Inspector of Dikes. Steep-slope sites fall under development permit areas and need a geotechnical consultant, and small projects that disturb ground need an Erosion and Sediment Declaration Form.
Delta: common questions
Sources
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile: Delta, City (CY) · City of Delta: Building and renovating · City of Delta: Secondary suites · City of Delta: Coach houses and garden suites · City of Delta: Small-scale multi-unit housing · City of Delta: Trees · City of Delta: Development considerations · City of Delta: Green Building · City of Delta: Ladner · City of Delta: Tsawwassen · City of Delta: North Delta. Checked 2026-10-30.
Services
What we build in Delta
More of Metro Vancouver · How we run a job
Handyman & small repairs
Fixes, installs, patching and minor carpentry: the jobs too small for a renovation.
Basements & secondary suites
Finished basements and legal rental or in-law suites, from permits to final occupancy.
Insulation & energy upgrades
Attic, wall and crawlspace insulation and air sealing, planned around how a coast house handles moisture.
Free quotes
Planning work in Delta?
Tell us what you’d like done and whether you’re in Ladner, Tsawwassen or North Delta. We’ll email you to confirm your free quote visit.