Does a bin on my Ottawa street for one day need a permit?

Yes, even a single day on the street requires the City of Ottawa's Temporary Construction-related Encroachment (TCE) permit. The Road Activity By-law 2003-445, s.4.1 states: "No person shall construct, erect or alter a temporary construction-related encroachment without first obtaining a permit."

That one-day plan runs into a timing problem right away. The City requires a minimum of 10 business days processing time for a TCE permit. A bin cannot go on the street the same day, and we found no City provision for an expedited or single-day exception. If the spot you have in mind is a paid parking area, you also need the Pay and Display machine numbers on your application.

For a short placement of 10 working days or less, City staff determine the permit type as Simple, with a permit fee of $101.00. On top of that, the City charges a daily rental fee for the space. For most single bins on the roadway or sidewalk, our calculation puts the daily space charge at the $41.00 minimum, because the square-metre rate works out below that floor for a bin of ordinary width. Both the permit fee and the daily rental are non-refundable. The permit must be posted prominently on the exterior of the encroachment area, and all traffic-control devices are the permit holder's responsibility under the Ontario Traffic Manual Book 7.

The City accepts applications from residents, contractors or construction companies, so if you are booking through a bin company, agree in writing before you book on who applies for the permit and whose name it goes in. The permit is not transferable.

Start with the bin company: ask whether they handle the TCE application or expect you to, because that answer shapes your timeline and who carries the permit-holder duties for traffic control and snow clearance.