Bathroom renovation in a Montreal condo — what your board actually approves

Two winters ago we had a fully signed contract for a downtown Montreal condo bathroom — beautiful unit on the 23rd floor, owner had lived there nine years, scope was a clean ensuite gut-and-rebuild. The syndicate rejected our renovation request on a Tuesday afternoon for one reason: the contractor proof of insurance the previous owner had on file had lapsed. Our document was current; the board secretary had pulled the wrong file. We resubmitted Wednesday morning. Approved by Thursday. The lesson is the same one we tell every condo client now: a condo bathroom renovation is half construction, half paperwork, and the paperwork half is where projects get killed.

This is what Montreal boards actually look for, and what gets rejected.

What boards want to see in the submission

A "renovation request form" from a Montreal syndicate typically asks for seven things. Skip any one and you're waiting another month for the next board meeting.

1. Detailed scope — room-by-room, including every fixture being moved.
2. Plumbing drawing showing where existing rough-ins are and where the new ones will be. A board will reject a bathroom renovation that moves the toilet by more than 18 inches without a stamped plumbing plan.
3. Insurance certificate — civil liability of $2 million minimum (some buildings now require $5 million for high-rises) listing the syndicate as additional insured.
4. RBQ licence number — your contractor must be Quebec-licensed. In Montreal we use RBQ 5791-0242-01.
5. CCQ certificate of compliance — proof the contractor's tradespeople are paying into the construction industry's collective fund.
6. Schedule with working hours — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays is the Montreal default; many buildings prohibit Saturday work entirely.
7. Waterproofing membrane spec — Schluter Kerdi or Wedi are standard; cheaper systems are flagged.

What gets rejected

Patterns we see month after month:

• Moving the toilet stack. Boards almost never approve relocating the vertical stack. You can move horizontal drain runs within your unit, but the riser stays.
• Cutting into a structural slab. The 2-inch concrete topping in older Plateau buildings is sometimes structural, sometimes not. Without an engineer's stamped letter saying it's safe to chase, the answer is no.
• No acoustic underlay under new tile. Required in most post-1995 buildings. Older buildings sometimes don't require it but the upstairs neighbour will.
• Door swing into a hallway. Some buildings prohibit door swing out into the common corridor. A new sliding pocket door usually solves it.

The Montreal building-specific rules nobody tells you

Each building has its own quirks. Some examples from real Revohouse projects:

• Le Ritz (Sherbrooke). No demolition before 9 a.m. The freight elevator is booked in two-hour slots. Material deliveries through the back lane only.
• Old Montreal heritage conversions. Many original cast-iron drain stacks are still in service; touching them requires a city plumbing permit even though the renovation is interior.
• Westmount high-rises. Some buildings require a board-appointed engineer to inspect any tile work that punctures the slab membrane.
• Plateau triplexes. Even when a unit is owned freehold, the floor structure is shared with the neighbour below. Soundproofing isn't optional.

What it costs in Montreal in 2026

Condo bathroom renovation pricing is tighter than house pricing because the access and demolition constraints are real. Today's working ranges:

• Basic refresh (vanity, mirror, fixtures, no tile change): $8,000 – $15,000
• Full bathroom rebuild (gut to studs, new tile, new fixtures, same layout): $22,000 – $38,000
• Ensuite with steam shower, heated floor, custom vanity, layout change: $38,000 – $65,000

For most downtown Montreal condo ensuites we build, the bill lands $32,000 – $48,000 with a 5–7 week on-site schedule.

How to make the board love you

Three small things that buy you goodwill — and faster approvals next time:

1. Walk the building manager through the schedule in person the week before demo starts. Hand them a printed copy.
2. Protect the elevator with masonite, not just blankets. Every building manager has seen blanket protection fail.
3. Daily clean-out of common areas. Sweep the corridor outside your unit at end of day, not at end of week. Photograph it. Email the photo to the building manager. You sound paranoid until the moment your neighbour complains and the manager has the email open.

How long it takes from first call to keys back

A typical Revohouse downtown Montreal condo ensuite:

• Week 0: site visit, scope, line-item quote
• Week 1: board submission, design selections start
• Weeks 2–4: board reviews; condo committee meets; approval issued
• Weeks 4–8: tile, vanity, glass fabrication
• Weeks 8–13: on-site demolition through final walkthrough

So roughly three months from "yes" to a finished bathroom, with most of that being the board and the fabrication queue rather than construction time.

FAQ

Do we need a city permit for a condo bathroom renovation in Montreal?

Usually no, as long as you're not changing the building's plumbing stack or doing structural work. The condo board's approval acts as your permission. Exception: heritage districts and any building with city-protected façade or interior elements.

Can Revohouse handle the board submission?

Yes. We prepare the full package — drawings, insurance certificate, schedule, materials list — and hand-deliver it to the building manager. We've worked with most of the management firms in Montreal and Westmount.

What's the most common rejection reason?

Insurance documentation. Either the certificate is expired, doesn't list the syndicate as additional insured, or lists the wrong building address. We catch this before submission so it's not a problem.

Can you work in a condo bathroom in winter?

Yes. We use HEPA-filtered air scrubbers and seal the doorway with zip-walls. Building managers care more about dust than season — winter bathroom projects are actually preferred because elevator traffic is lower.