For a Toronto address, the City’s Property Information Report can be one useful part of checking an existing garden suite, second suite, or converted accessory building. The report is address-specific. Toronto says it provides information about building permits on file, inspection status, and outstanding orders related to the Ontario Building Code, Zoning By-law, and/or Property Standards By-law. It does not outline permitted use, so it cannot by itself answer whether a particular secondary dwelling is approved.
What to request and review
Use the City’s current application instructions to request a report for the exact municipal address. When you receive it, check the permit descriptions and dates, inspection status, and any outstanding order. Ask for the underlying permit files or approved plans when the report points to records that need closer review. Compare those documents with the existing unit’s location, structure, unit count, layout, and later alterations.
Toronto Fire Services describes a separate existing second-suite compliance service. Unless the suite was approved by Toronto Building under permit and has had no changes, the City says fees apply for its Fire Services inspection, compliance letter, and records search. The City also says upgrades may be required and an Electrical Safety Authority compliance letter may be needed. Confirm the current steps with the relevant offices; this service description does not establish an individual suite’s status.
What the report does not prove
The report is not a permit, certificate of occupancy, final inspection result for every system, or statement that the physical unit matches the approved drawings. It does not replace Toronto Fire review, electrical confirmation, a zoning-use review, or any required permit. A permit on file may concern different work; inspection status must be read in context; an absence of an order in the report is not a property-wide safety determination.
Toronto’s current webpage lists an approximate processing time of five business days and a routine compliance-search fee of C$214.79 per request, effective January 1, 2026. These are administrative values stated on the City’s page and may change. Check the live page before applying, and do not treat the estimate or fee as a guarantee of access, timing, or outcome.
Build a property-specific picture
Use the report as a starting point in a wider records check: confirm the current zoning and permitted use, retrieve relevant permit and plan files, check inspection and order status, and ask the relevant authority what further approval or inspection is needed. For fire, electrical, building-code, or structural concerns, rely on the responsible authority and qualified professionals rather than an online report.
See how to check whether an existing ADU is legally recognized for the broader record-to-reality process. The report can help identify municipal records; only the responsible authorities can decide what those records mean for the current unit.