Is a landscaper allowed to replace my perimeter drain?

Generally yes for the drainage itself. The connection to the municipal system, the sanitary work and the rainwater leaders are a different matter, and in Saanich they are published as licensed work.

Does every municipality here follow the Saanich rule?

Not in the sense of publishing it. Saanich sets it out; most of the thirteen publish only a plumbing permit and say nothing specific about perimeter drainage. Ask your own municipality before the trench is open, not after.

Can I pull the permit myself and hire whoever I like?

In some cases a homeowner may hold the permit. It does not widen who may legally do the restricted work, and it does move responsibility for arranging the inspection onto you.

A landscaper quoted me half what the plumbing company did. Is that allowed?

Can anyone install a perimeter drain, or does it need a licensed plumber?

Direct answer · reviewed 2026-10-06

For the drain itself, generally yes — and this surprises people who assume anything buried needs a trade ticket. The pipe that runs around your footings is drainage, and no province-wide licence governs who may lay it. What is governed is where it goes next. The storm lateral that carries the water to the municipal system, the sanitary connection, and the rainwater leaders are plumbing work, and the municipality that publishes this most plainly is Saanich. So a cheaper quote from a landscaper is not automatically a worse quote, but it is a quote for a smaller job, and the question that separates the two prices is who is making the connection and who is pulling the permit.

Conditions and exceptions

Every municipality writes this differently and six of the thirteen here publish nothing specific about drainage at all.
Who may hold the permit is a separate question from who may do the work.
None of this is about skill. It is about what a municipality will sign off and who carries the liability if it is wrong.

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Local evidence

Every figure below is quoted from the source shown or is our labelled estimate. Verified dates are the day we last checked the source; a figure whose check is overdue is withheld rather than shown.

Saanich: who is allowed to do which part of the work: Anyone may install perimeter foundation drainage, but storm laterals, sanitary sewer lines, rainwater leader systems and water lines may only be done by a certified plumber, a supervised indentured apprentice, or the registered owner-occupant with approved drawings; The drain itself and the pipe that carries its water away are governed differently — a quote can be legitimate for one and not the other; District of Saanich · quoted · verified 2026-09-22
Saanich: the plumbing permit's own line items: The application form lists Storm Drain Lateral, Sewer Lateral, Water Service, Manhole and Replace Drain Tile; District of Saanich · quoted · verified 2026-09-22
Can a homeowner hold the plumbing permit?: In Oak Bay and Central Saanich, yes, on conditions: the homeowner must demonstrate plumbing code knowledge and submit an isometric drawing of the proposed plumbing; Central Saanich also requires a current business licence of a ticketed plumber · Holding the permit and being able to do the work safely are different questions; District of Oak Bay · quoted · verified 2026-09-22

The split is at the property line, not at the shovel

Saanich is the one municipality in this region that states the division plainly rather than leaving a homeowner to infer it: Anyone may install perimeter foundation drainage, but storm laterals, sanitary sewer lines, rainwater leader systems and water lines may only be done by a certified plumber, a supervised indentured apprentice, or the registered owner-occupant with approved drawings

Read it as two jobs that happen to be in the same trench. Digging along the footings, laying perforated pipe, wrapping it, covering it in clear crushed gravel — that is the drainage half. Tying into the storm lateral, altering the sanitary, re-plumbing the rainwater leaders — that is the plumbing half, and it is the half with a licence attached.

Who may hold the permit

The application form lists Storm Drain Lateral, Sewer Lateral, Water Service, Manhole and Replace Drain Tile

And a point that catches people out in both directions: In Oak Bay and Central Saanich, yes, on conditions: the homeowner must demonstrate plumbing code knowledge and submit an isometric drawing of the proposed plumbing Holding the permit is not the same as being allowed to do every part of the work, and it puts the responsibility for the inspection on you.

Why the two quotes are so far apart

When a landscaping quote is half a plumbing company's quote, the gap is usually not the digging. It is the connection, the permit, and whether anyone has looked in the pipe first. A quote that assumes the existing lateral is fine is cheaper than one that does not assume it, right up until the lateral is not fine.

So the useful question to both is the same: which part of this work needs a permit in my municipality, who is pulling it, and what happens to the price if the lateral turns out to be broken? The answers tell you more than the totals do.

Questions homeowners ask

Is a landscaper allowed to replace my perimeter drain?: Generally yes for the drainage itself. The connection to the municipal system, the sanitary work and the rainwater leaders are a different matter, and in Saanich they are published as licensed work.
Does every municipality here follow the Saanich rule?: Not in the sense of publishing it. Saanich sets it out; most of the thirteen publish only a plumbing permit and say nothing specific about perimeter drainage. Ask your own municipality before the trench is open, not after.
Can I pull the permit myself and hire whoever I like?: In some cases a homeowner may hold the permit. It does not widen who may legally do the restricted work, and it does move responsibility for arranging the inspection onto you.

Your next step

The answer is different in all thirteen, and it is free to find out before anyone quotes.

Check what your municipality requires

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Sources

Plumbing permits — what needs one and who may do the work — District of Saanich, accessed 2026-09-22
Plumbing permits — District of Oak Bay, accessed 2026-09-22
Residential permits — District of Central Saanich, accessed 2026-09-22

Code and municipal requirements are quoted from the sources above; price ranges are what named local companies publish, and the companies that publish them sell the work. Nothing here is a diagnosis of a particular house: only a camera in your own drain can tell you what is wrong with it. Report a correction.