What the City writes about Fabreville
This portrait comes from the City's land use plan. The same document writes that commercial activity in the Fabreville hub, which took off between the 1960s and the 1980s, is concentrated along boulevard Dagenais. The City also places Fabreville next to a heavy industrial and commercial sector. The neighbourhood borders the Rivière des Mille Îles, and it is a former resort area.
These features do not change the regulations. The rules for roofing in Laval by area are read in the same Code de l'urbanisme (Laval's urban planning code) in Fabreville as anywhere else. Only the buildings differ.
Houses, not roofs
The City describes houses, without saying what roofs top them. None of its documents gives the share of sloped roofs in Fabreville.
The permit for a residence
The City's page on exterior residential renovation gives two cases.
- Replacing the roof covering with the same material, even when adding insulation: no permit.
- Replacing the covering with a new material: permit required.
The City does not define what it means by the same material. In a doubtful case, the Service de l'urbanisme (urban planning department) answers.
When a permit is needed, the City lists a cost of $92 for the first $20,000 of work, plus $2.50 per $1,000 or part of $1,000. The stated processing time is about 30 days, counted from the moment the file is complete.
Mon Dossier, the City's online portal, receives the application online. For anyone who cannot submit it that way, the City asks that it be filed in person at the Service de l'urbanisme, ground floor of 1333 boulevard Chomedey, and that an appointment be made before going.
If part of the roof is flat
The Code classifies as flat any roof whose slope does not exceed 2:12, which is 16.7%. For these roofs, its article 380 requires one of the following coverings:
- a green roof
- a white material, painted white or covered with a reflective coating or white ballast
- a material with a solar reflectance index of at least 78, confirmed by the manufacturer's specifications or by a professional's specifications
- a combination of these coverings
The article covers principal and accessory buildings. It makes exceptions for buildings and equipment allowed on a roof, for residential accessory buildings with a footprint under 40 m² and for agricultural buildings.
The Code does not say what applies to an existing flat roof that is redone identically. Before choosing a dark membrane, ask the Service de l'urbanisme.
Heritage in Fabreville
The City's architectural heritage inventory counts 18 principal buildings in Fabreville, only one of them with a flat roof. This survey covers heritage buildings only and says nothing about the other houses in the neighbourhood.
Among the territories of heritage interest that have their own criteria in the Code, none bears the name Fabreville. Their exact boundaries are shown on the Code's maps.
One rule, however, follows the building wherever it is. For a building of heritage interest, changing the roofing materials of the principal building may require approval of a PIIA (site planning and architectural integration program). The Code exempts replacement with the same material of a similar colour, or with a material that preserves or restores the original or traditional characteristics. The Code also exempts the renovation of a flat roof from the PIIA. The City decides.
Type your address into the City's Info-règlements tool. If it is covered, a notice warns that special provisions apply to your zone.
Before our visit
Stay on the ground. From the yard or the sidewalk, note the shape of the roof, the material that covers it, and whether there is an extension or a shelter whose roof looks nearly flat. Take photos of each side of the house.
For a Fabreville roof, the quote request goes through the site's form, and we answer it. Before signing with a contractor, check in the public register of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ, Quebec's building authority) that the contractor holds a licence.
The five Fabreville pages
Shingle roofing in Fabreville. The sloped roof of the one-storey house, from the attic to the roof edge.
Flat roof in Fabreville. Flat-roofed buildings and the low-slope additions of a house.
Commercial roofing in Fabreville. Boulevard Dagenais, the industrial neighbours and work on an occupied building.
Roof replacement in Fabreville. Redoing the roof of a bungalow, from the quote to financial help.
Roof snow removal in Fabreville. The one-storey house: a low roof is not a safe roof, and what you do with your feet on the ground.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a permit to redo the roof of a bungalow in Fabreville?
For a residence, the City does not require one when the covering is replaced with the same material. The City requires one when the material changes, and it does not define what same material means.
Does Fabreville have its own roofing rules?
No. Laval's Code de l'urbanisme applies the same way everywhere. No heritage territory with its own criteria bears the name Fabreville, but a building of heritage interest remains covered wherever it is. The boundaries of these territories are shown on the Code's maps. Check your address in the Info-règlements tool.
Is a white roof mandatory on my house?
Article 380 covers flat roofs and requires a green roof, a white covering or a solar reflectance index of at least 78. The Code does not address the case of an existing roof redone identically.
Official sources, consulted on October 8, 2026:
- Ville de Laval, Schéma d'aménagement et de développement révisé
- Ville de Laval, Politique de l'habitation
- Ville de Laval, « Rénovation ou réparation résidentielle extérieure »
- Ville de Laval, Code de l'urbanisme, titre 5, chapitre 3 (article 380)
- Ville de Laval, Code de l'urbanisme, annexe C (index terminologique)
- Ville de Laval, Code de l'urbanisme, titre 8, chapitre 1 (PIIA)
- Ville de Laval, Inventaire du patrimoine architectural (données ouvertes)