The Building Act, SBC 2015, c.2 is the first act to deal solely with construction and building in the province of BC. It was given royal assent on March 25, 2015 and has effect throughout the province with the exception of the city of Vancouver, federal lands and on reserve.
The Act aims to streamline building requirements and ensure that technical building rules are consistent across all cities and regions by making the Province the sole authority to create building requirements.
The Building Act came into force over a multi-year transition period. The transition period was meant to give local governments time to amend their bylaws to be in keeping with the provincial standards set out in the Act, and to give building officials the time they need to meet the new qualification requirements.
Key areas of change
Consistency – Local government bylaws ceased to have legal force as of December 2017 when the two year transition period came to an end. Going forward, the Province will have sole authority in establishing technical requirements that govern building construction as well as repair, alteration and demolition.
Competency – New qualification requirements for local building officials were introduced in the interest of ensuring competence, professionalism and consistent interpretation of the BC Building Code.
Innovation – Innovative building design will be supported by providing a formal process for review and evaluation of proposals.
Sections not in force
Sections 8 and 35- 38 have not yet come into force. Section 8 deals with requests by an individual for variation, and sections 35-38 concern cost recovery for Appeal Board applications.