Short answer: the questions that matter are about the lot, the permit and the contract, not the brochure. A good builder answers them before you ask; a unit seller cannot answer most of them at all. Below are twenty, grouped by stage, each with why it matters and what a good answer sounds like. Then, because it would be strange to publish a list like this and not sit the test ourselves, our answers — including to the question we are newest on.
Before design: questions about the lot
1. What do you check before you draw anything? Why: a suite designed before the lot is measured is a suite that gets redesigned. Good answer: the survey, the zoning for the zone, the lane-or-no-lane question in Toronto, every setback and the separation from the house, the fire access path and its length, servicing from the house, protected trees, and how a crane or truck would get in. Bad answer: "Pick a model and we'll make it fit."
2. Will you tell me if the lot does not work? Why: the most valuable thing a builder can say is no. Good answer: yes, and here is the rule it fails. Bad answer: anything that sounds like a variance is routine. In most cities the fire access path is not a variance item at all (Toronto fire department access).
3. Which by-law governs my lot, and have you read it — the enacted one, not a summary? Why: by-laws change, and the summaries lag. Toronto's laneway separation changed from 5.0 m to 4.0 m in July 2025 by By-law 847-2025, and the City's online consolidation did not catch up for some time (By-law 847-2025). Good answer: names the by-law and the amending by-law number. Bad answer: "the city website says."
4. Does my lot need a separate municipal service connection, or can it tee off the house? Why: it is a five-figure difference and some cities decide it for you — Richmond Hill requires a separate connection (Richmond Hill ARU page). Good answer: knows the city's rule and will check the existing service's capacity.
5. Is there a protected tree, and who deals with it? Why: trees stop more Toronto backyard projects than zoning does, and a tree permit is a separate application (Toronto tree and ravine permits).
Design and permit: questions about the file
6. Who prepares and files the building permit application, and who is named as the designer? Why: Schedule 1 of the provincial application names the designer, and that person carries responsibility. Good answer: names the person or firm and their qualification.
7. What is in the application, and what happens if the city returns it? Why: the review clock starts only when the file is complete. Good answer: survey, site plan, grading plan, drawings, servicing, tree declaration, any applicable-law approvals, the fee — and a description of who handles comments. See garden suite permits in Ontario.
8. Will you use a city pre-approved plan, and do you understand what it does and does not skip? Why: pre-approved plans skip design re-review, not the permit (Toronto pre-approved plans). Bad answer: "it's pre-approved, so it's quick."
9. What are the fees and charges for my city, and which ones are refunded, waived or exempt? Why: they range from refunded after inspection (Mississauga) to several thousand dollars plus a deposit (Brampton); programs close without much notice (Burlington's fee waivers ended on 31 December 2025); and the development-charge position differs by city — Mississauga's own ARU page says the charge applies to garden suites. Good answer: a list with the city's source and a date beside each line. See garden suite financing options in Ontario.
10. Which approvals come before the building permit on my lot? Why: conservation authority, heritage, minor variance, Toronto's zoning certificate, Burlington's pre-building approval — each is its own clock. Good answer: names the ones that apply to your lot and starts them early.
Build: questions about the work
11. Modular or site-built, and who decides? Why: the lot decides. A module needs a truck route, a crane position and a clear lift path; some zoned lots have no way in. Good answer: "we check the pick on the survey, and if it does not work we build on site." See modular vs site-built garden suites.
12. Where exactly is the line between factory work and site work in your price? Why: every prefab quote has that line somewhere, and the site side — foundation, servicing, crane, connections, finishing at the joins, inspections — is the half most often left vague.
13. Who books inspections, and at what stages? Why: the Ontario Building Code sets the stages and the city inspects at each (O. Reg. 163/24). Good answer: the builder books them and tells you the result in the inspector's words.
14. What happens on crane day, and who gets the street permit? Why: in Toronto a street occupation permit takes about 12 weeks (street occupation permit). If nobody applied for it when the design was fixed, delivery waits.
15. What is your timeline, and what are you promising versus describing? Why: a factory completion date is not an occupancy date. Good answer: a sequence with dependencies — zoning, permit, foundation readiness, delivery, inspections — labelled "typical," not "guaranteed." See how the process works, from feasibility to occupancy.
The contract: questions about money and accountability
16. Is that number a quote or an illustration? Why: a figure given before the survey, the zoning check and the servicing review is not a quote, whatever it is called. Good answer: "illustrative until we have seen the lot." A builder who quotes from an address alone has not priced your lot.
17. What is excluded? Why: development charges, education charges, the separate service connection, a professional grading design, a tree permit, a variance, the crane permit, the municipal address fee, the registration fee. Any of these can be outside a "turnkey" number. Good answer: a written exclusions list.
18. What happens if the city asks for a change after the permit is issued? Why: it happens. Good answer: a change-order process with your sign-off, not a surprise on the invoice.
19. Who holds the permit and who is accountable to the city? Why: if it is you, you are the general contractor. Good answer: the builder, in writing.
20. How many have you completed, and can I see one? Why: it is the right question, and you should ask it of everyone — including us.
Our answers
We built this list so we could be held to it. Here is how Modular X answers.
On the lot (1–5): we check the survey, the zone, the lane, every setback, the separation, the fire path and its length, servicing, trees and the crane pick before anyone picks a floor plan. We say no when a lot fails, and we name the rule. We cite the enacted by-law and read the PDF — we adopted that rule after we published a Toronto laneway separation figure from the City's consolidation that turned out to be a year out of date, and had to correct it. We know which cities require a separate service connection. We check for protected trees first.
On the file (6–10): we prepare and file the application and name the designer on Schedule 1. We know what a complete file contains and we handle the city's comments. We use pre-approved plans where they fit the envelope and we are clear that they skip design re-review, not the permit. We list fees and charges for your city with the city's source beside each one. We start the pre-permit approvals the day the design is fixed.
On the build (11–15): the lot decides modular or site-built, and we tell you before you pay for a module. We put the factory/site line in writing. We book every inspection and report the result in the inspector's words. We apply for the street permit when the design is fixed. Our timelines are sequences with dependencies, labelled typical.
On the contract (16–19): every figure before the lot review is illustrative and labelled so. The one-bedroom figure on our city pages — around $310,000 — is an illustration of scale, not a quote, and we say that every time it appears. We give you a written exclusions list. Changes go through a change order with your signature. We hold the permit.
On question 20: Modular X Inc. was incorporated on 24 July 2025. As of this guide's date we do not have a completed customer installation to show you. We are not going to dress that up. What we can show you is the process above, published in full, the municipal research behind every page on this site with its sources, and the lot check — which costs nothing and tells you whether any builder, us included, can put a suite where you want one. When we have a completed project with photographs and a verified outcome, it will be on this site under its own page, and not before.
Use the list on everyone
Including us. Print it, ask every builder the same twenty, and compare the answers. The one who answers the lot questions before the design questions, and the money questions before the timeline questions, is the one who has done this in the order it has to happen.
Disclaimer: Figures cited are market estimates provided for information only and are not a quote. Municipal rules, fees, and programs change — always verify current requirements with your local authority. Modular X provides exact pricing only after a site-specific feasibility review.