Middlesex County · Service area
General Contractor in London, Ontario
Basement units, kitchens, additions, backyard homes and clinic fit-outs across London, from Wortley Village brick to Fox Hollow new builds.
London’s Zoning By-law Z.-1 allows up to four units on one lot with no extra parking, and the City licenses rental properties of four units or fewer. CarpentryBoys Inc. is the general contractor for London basement units, kitchens, additions, backyard homes and clinic fit-outs. We file with the Building Division and prepare each new unit for its rental licence.
Renovating in London
What’s different in London
| Permit office | City of London Building Division (official site, opens in a new tab) |
|---|---|
| Zoning by-law | Z.-1. Section 4.37 allows up to three ARUs, four units per lot, with no extra parking. |
| Interim ARU limits | CP-1600-300: two bedrooms per ARU, five ARU bedrooms per property, under 80% of the main home. |
| Basement rule | No ARU in a basement whose finished floor sits below the sanitary sewer serving the building. |
| Conservation authority | Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, along the Thames and Medway, Stoney and Dingman creeks. |
| Heritage districts | Seven, including Old East, West Woodfield, Downtown and Wortley Village–Old South. Exterior work needs a Heritage Alteration Permit. |
| Rental licence | Required for every ARU, under the by-law for rental properties of four or fewer units. |
| Utilities | London Hydro and Enbridge. Each ARU gets its own unit number. |
Housing stock
Victorian brick near downtown, post-war bungalows, new builds at the edge
The oldest houses ring downtown. Old East Village, Woodfield, Old North, Wortley Village and Blackfriars were built between the 1870s and the 1920s. Expect solid double-wythe brick, stone or rubble foundations and basements about 1.8 m (6 ft) high. After 1945, Oakridge, Westmount, Pond Mills and Argyle filled with brick bungalows and back-splits. Those are the houses most often converted to two or three units. Many still have 100 A service and foundation drains tied into the sanitary sewer. Masonville, Hyde Park and Byron added two-storey family homes from the 1980s to the 2000s. Fox Hollow, Riverbend, Talbot Village and Lambeth are still being built, with raw basements of 2.4 m (8 ft) or more.
Neighbourhoods we work in: Old East Village · Wortley Village · Oakridge · Blackfriars · Fox Hollow
Services in London
Nine services, each with its own local page
Frequently asked questions
Renovating in London: local questions
Yes. London’s Residential Rental Unit Licensing By-law covers rental properties with four or fewer units, and the City says every ARU needs both a building permit and a rental licence. The application asks for a floor plan, a self-certification checklist for each unit and a fire inspection. A unit built under permit has already passed its fire separation, alarm and egress inspections.
Not as an additional residential unit under the current rules. Interim Control By-law CP-1600-300 limits each London ARU to two bedrooms and the property’s ARUs to five combined. In the Near Campus Neighbourhoods around Western and Fanshawe, Z.-1 also lets the total bedroom count grow by only one per ARU, up to three. Council adopted permanent rules on March 3, 2026, and they are under appeal.
If the work falls inside the regulated flood hazard, yes. Much of Blackfriars sits in the North Thames flood hazard, which the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority regulates under Ontario Regulation 41/24. Its permit is separate from the City building permit and comes first for additions, accessory buildings, basement units and grading. Interior work that adds no floor area or occupants doesn’t need one.
Reviews from CarpentryBoys clients near London
03 / In our clients’ words
“Very professional, hard working they know their job very well. They built our legal basement, we are totally satisfied with their work. Highly recommended.”
Rated 5.0 out of 5 across 13 customer reviews on Bark.com
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