Some outdoor projects need a permit from the City of Calgary before work starts. The answers below are City of Calgary rules as of October 2026. Other municipalities have their own rules. The City's own pages are the authority, not this page, so each answer links to the page it comes from. We will tell you at the quote whether your project is likely to need a permit.
In most cases a fence needs no permit when it is no higher than 2 m in a rear yard and 1.2 m in a front yard. A higher fence needs a development permit. The limit is 0.75 m inside a corner visibility triangle and 2.5 m for a gate. See City of Calgary: Fences and retaining walls.
A deck needs a building permit when its surface is higher than 0.6 m above the ground at any point. A covered deck, meaning a deck with a pergola or a roof over it, needs a building permit at any height. See City of Calgary: Decks.
A detached shed, pergola, gazebo, greenhouse or carport larger than 10 square metres (107 square feet) needs a building permit. A smaller one still has to meet the City's setback rules. A carport attached to the house counts as an addition to the house. See City of Calgary: Garage, shed, gazebo and similar structures.
The City says a permit is typically required when two conditions are both true: the wall is retaining 1.2 m or more of soil, and the combined height of all retaining walls and garden boxes within 1 m of each other is 1.2 m or more. In most cases that is a building permit. See City of Calgary: Fences and retaining walls.
Yes. Before any digging, including fence post holes, buried utilities have to be located and marked. The request goes to Utility Safety Partners (Click Before You Dig) at least three full working days before the work starts. Utility Safety Partners says response times may be 5 to 10 business days, so it helps to plan ahead. See Utility Safety Partners: Click Before You Dig.
The City of Calgary decides, and its rules can change, so check the linked page for your project. We will tell you at the quote whether your project is likely to need a permit.
