Montreal
What are the rules for a hot tub in Montreal?
No permit for a hot tub of 2,000 litres or less (and less than 60 cm deep in Ahuntsic-Cartierville); the standards still apply.
Usually no permitA zone, a heritage area or a shoreline can have its own standards: with your address, the Radar reads your zone's grid and tells you what applies to your property.
The rules, in short
Rules of the Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Ville-Marie boroughs. Each Montreal borough has its own by-law: check your address.
- Ahuntsic-Cartierville: no hot tub in the front yard; at least 1 m from the property lines; keep 20% of the lot planted in open ground. (montreal.ca "Installing a hot tub of less than 2,000 litres", Ahuntsic-Cartierville section)
- Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie: hot tub in the rear or side yard, at least 1 m from the lot lines; no fence needed if the tub has a cover that is locked when not in use. (montreal.ca "Installing a hot tub of less than 2,000 litres", Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie section)
- Ville-Marie: hot tub in the rear or side yard; no permit for an above-ground hot tub of less than 2,000 litres or a rooftop hot tub. (montreal.ca "Installing a hot tub of less than 2,000 litres", Ville-Marie section)
Summary by Radar Foncier, in our own words: the official French text of the by-law, linked above, prevails.
Applying in Montreal
- Processing time: Varies by borough (no general processing time published)
- Cost: Varies by borough; example shown on montreal.ca: $9.80 per $1,000 of work, with a minimum ($167.40 for a pool)
- Urban planning department: 311
- Permits on the municipality's website
Other projects in Montreal
Hot tub elsewhere: Dorval, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Westmount.
Version française de cette page
Source: Borough urban planning by-laws: Ahuntsic-Cartierville (01-274), Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie (01-279) and Ville-Marie (01-282); rules taken from the montreal.ca how-to pages for these 3 boroughs only, checked on October 22, 2026. Plain-English summary: the official French text prevails, and a by-law can change. Confirm with the Montreal urban planning department before buying materials. Radar Foncier is an independent service, not affiliated with the municipality.
Radar Foncier in English. Permits and rules for Québec homeowners; the full site and the reports are in French. Version française