Roofing in Montréal-Nord: Repair and Replacement

Buildings in Montréal-Nord

Montréal-Nord has single-family houses, duplexes and triplexes, apartment buildings, and commercial or industrial buildings. Plexes and apartment buildings often have a flat roof covered with a membrane or tar and gravel. Houses often have a sloped roof with asphalt shingles.

The borough treats the two roof types differently. For the City, a roof with a slope under 2:12 is a flat or low-slope roof. From 2:12 up, it is a sloped roof. The general principles of roofing in Montreal apply here too, but permits, materials and fees follow the borough's own rules.

Repairs that need no permit

The City groups maintenance and minor repairs together. In Montréal-Nord, this work needs no permit. The City's examples are simple:

• on a flat roof, replacing a few shingles or adding tar
• on a sloped roof, repairing a crack or replacing a few shingles

The City's page gives no complete list. If your repair does not look like these examples, the permit counter can tell you which side it falls on.

Where the line sits: insulation, structure and roofing

On a flat roof, the City states that you must get a permit if the work touches the insulation or the structure of the roof. A repair that starts with a leak can end up there. Water under the membrane sometimes rots the decking, and the job changes in nature.

On a flat roof as on a sloped roof, replacing the roofing requires a permit.

For sloped roofs, the borough page says nothing about insulation or structure. This page cannot tell you whether a repair that touches them needs a permit. Ask the permit counter before work begins.

The City also does not say at what size a repair becomes a replacement. If we propose redoing a large section of the roof, have the borough confirm that no permit is required.

Before we come to see the roof

Do not go up on the roof, even a flat one, and leave the ladder where it is. What you see from the ground, from a window or from inside is enough to describe the problem.

• Photograph ceiling stains, shingles on the ground and overflowing gutters.
• Write down the date and the weather when the water appeared.
• Protect the inside with a bucket and a tarp over the furniture.
• Look into the attic from the hatch with a flashlight, without going in.

To find out what your policy covers, ask your insurer.

The Montréal-Nord permit counter

There are two ways to apply. Online, on the City's website, you file all your renovation permit requests at once. You need an account on montreal.ca, and payment is by credit card.

You can also apply in person at the Montréal-Nord permit counter, 4243, rue de Charleroi. For a green roof, the City requires you to apply there. The City's page gives no opening hours or processing time, and it does not say whether you need an appointment. Check before you go.

The area pages

Four pages cover the borough's rules in detail.

Flat roof in Montréal-Nord. When the roofing is replaced, it must be white, reach a solar reflectance index of at least 78 or be a green roof. The page covers these options, the parts of the roof that are exempt and the fee specific to flat roofs.

Shingle roof in Montréal-Nord. The sloped roof rules are shorter. The City publishes no list of materials for them. The page also gives the fee that applies and the points the City leaves open.

Commercial roofing in Montréal-Nord. The minimum permit fee for a commercial, industrial, institutional or mixed-use building, and what a property manager should prepare before applying.

Roof replacement in Montréal-Nord. The steps for redoing a whole roof, in order: the quote, the documents, the application, the payment, then the work.

Frequently asked questions