Observed permit activity

Halifax Building Permits

Explore building permit activity across Halifax Regional Municipality using public HRM permit records. Track recorded housing units, permit volumes, project types, monthly trends and activity by municipal district.

12 months through August 2026

Over the 12 months through August 2026, HRM records show 2,469 permits and 5,504 recorded units. That was 784 fewer recorded units than in the preceding 12 months. District 5 (Dartmouth Centre) had the highest recorded-unit rate using the dashboard's 2021 population estimates.

September 2026 activity to date202 recorded units · 164 permitsData through 2026-09-25

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All published permit records; dashboard filters do not change these files.

Dashboard analysis: 5,238 permit records issued from Sep 1, 2024 through Sep 25, 2026. Headline, district, project-type and map metrics use rolling subsets of this period. Source: Halifax Regional Municipality Building Permits. Updated Sep 28, 2026, 1:45 p.m.. Context: HRM Housing Strategy. Read the methodology and caveats.

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Building permit dashboard

Permit months use HRM's issuance date, and units use the source net-new unit field when available. Cancelled or expired statuses, positive-unit renovations, and duplicate permit numbers are not separately adjusted in this view.

Project typeAll districts · All project types

12-month recorded units

5,504

−784 (−12.5%) vs previous 12 months

125.1 units per 10,000 residents (2021 estimate)

12-month permits

2,469

−136 (−5.2%) vs previous 12 months

56.1 permits per 10,000 residents (2021 estimate)

September 2026 units to date

202

September 2026 permits to date

164

Monthly Permit Trend

Top Permit Project Types

New Building

Permits: 1,376
Recorded units: 4,832

Renovation

Permits: 792
Recorded units: 366

Addition

Permits: 301
Recorded units: 306

Permit Activity By District

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District	Population	Permits	Units	Units / 10k¹
District 1Waverley - Fall River - Musquodoboit Valley	20,507	232	141	68.8
District 2Lawrencetown – The Lakes – Chezzetcook – Eastern Shore	24,338	333	513	210.8
District 3Dartmouth South – Woodside – Eastern Passage	26,491	80	189	71.3
District 4Cole Harbour – Preston – Westphal – Cherry Brook	26,764	88	71	26.5
District 5Dartmouth Centre	30,853	111	1,129	365.9
District 6Dartmouth East – Burnside	27,177	173	104	38.3
District 7Halifax South Downtown	26,115	126	252	96.5
District 8Halifax Peninsula North	25,232	98	501	198.6
District 9Halifax West – Armdale	26,991	118	302	111.9
District 10Halifax – Bedford Basin West	29,261	58	265	90.6
District 11Spryfield – Sambro Loop	28,948	174	531	183.4
District 12Timberlea – Beechville – Clayton Park – Wedgewood	29,716	117	64	21.5
District 13Prospect Road – St. Margarets	24,512	227	128	52.2
District 14Hammonds Plains – Upper Hammonds Plains – Lucasville - Middle & Upper Sackville	29,507	248	476	161.3
District 15Lower Sackville – Beaver Bank	28,174	126	258	91.6
District 16Bedford – Wentworth	35,233	160	580	164.6

¹ Based on estimated 2021 Census population assigned to current district boundaries.

Boundaries: HRM Municipal Polling Districts. Population is assigned using census-area representative points; rates are comparative dashboard indicators, not official district population counts. Permit activity is assigned from mapped permit coordinates.

Permit Concentration

2,469 mapped permits

New BuildingRenovationAddition