BC Gov News

Janet Routledge, MLA for Burnaby North –

“Burnaby is a growing community, which requires homes that meet the needs of the people who live here and newcomers to our city. The building hub will support the delivery of new homes by simplifying the process for homebuilders, ensuring homes are not stalled in the process and meet all the BC Building Codes.”

Cassidy deVeer, president, 3rd Generation Homes –

“The permitting process as complex as it is to navigate is made even more complicated when requirements and processes differ from municipality to municipality. Having consistent submission requirements across jurisdictions will be a massive improvement. If the Building Permit Hub can streamline the permitting process and shave weeks off approval times, it can make a huge difference for both the builder and the local government.”

Neil Moody, CEO, Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC (CHBA BC) –

“Slow and arduous approval processes are one of the biggest issues slowing down the rate of homebuilding in B.C. CHBA BC is pleased to see this new digital permitting process being implemented and is encouraged to hear that it will soon expand beyond the 14 jurisdictions that are part of this pilot project.”

Ryan Morhart, chief building official and manager, City of Victoria –

“It’s exciting to see the leadership and innovative spirit of the Province applied to support our housing industry. The Building Permit Hub technology is now available, and the leadership to collaborate and keep its development on task gives confidence to the vision that B.C. will be a North American leader in digital permitting and construction. This will set a new standard for permitting construction.”

Nick Petrie, building designer, Phase One Design –

“It has been my pleasure to work with the Ministry of Housing on the new Building Permit Hub. It has been great to collaborate with and hear feedback from all the different contributors, whether it’s local governments, designers, architects, builders, contractors or other interested parties. I look forward to the final product and have faith in the refinements that will occur during and after launch, as this becomes a new standard for permitting and approvals across the province.”

• The new digital Building Permit Hub for local building permits builds on the Province’s work to speed up provincial housing permitting.
• While the government continues to take action to drive down provincial permitting times, progress since establishing the housing action task force in January 2023 includes:
  • Overall processing times for natural resource permits for housing-related projects have been reduced by 45 days. 
  • The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has reduced its turnaround time to 10 days on rezoning and bylaw approvals. The ministry is making decisions faster than it is receiving new applications on housing projects.
  • Riparian area protection assessments previously took nine to 12 months to process. Now, 90% of new applications are processed within 30 days.
• Through the new provincial Single Housing Application Service, homebuilders also have access to a single window for provincial applications and new dedicated navigators, who guide applicants through all stages of the application process and act as a single point of contact for all decisions relating to provincial homebuilding permits.
• The Province is making changes to deliver faster permitting and continues to uphold high environmental standards and advance reconciliation with First Nations. The lessons learned are being applied to other natural resource permits to reduce permitting timelines for other types of projects.

Updated on May 27, 2024

Twelve local governments and two First Nations will be piloting the first version of the Building Permit Hub. The Building Permit Hub will go live on May 27, 2024. Many Phase 1 pilot communities are still updating the tool for their local requirements and most are expected to come online this summer.

Phase 1 participants who will be using the Hub include:

• City of Burnaby
• City of Campbell River
• City of Kamloops
• City of Langley
• City of Maple Ridge
• City of Nanaimo
• City of North Vancouver
• City of Surrey
• City of Victoria
• Cowichan Valley Regional District
• District of Saanich
• Town of Qualicum Beach
• Musqueam Indian Band
• Tsleil-Waututh Nation

In parallel to the Phase 1 pilot, the Hub will continue to be updated with additional features and changes based on feedback and engagement from pilot communities. It will eventually be available in communities throughout the province.

Summer 2024:

• Digital building permit applications are available for low-density housing up to four units.
• Checklist of what’s required for a building permit – building permit requirements specific to each pilot community that automatically updates when a builder inputs the project address.
• Completeness check – includes a building permit application completeness check.
• Building Code compliance check – automated check for compliance with the energy-efficiency requirements of the BC Building Code (Energy Step Code and Zero Carbon Step Code).

Fall 2024:

• More communities beyond the 14 Phase 1 pilot communities will be able to use the Building Permit Hub.
• Digital permits applications will be available for more building types, including residential buildings up to eight units, accessory dwelling units and secondary suites.
• Test integration of the Building Permit Hub with existing local government permitting systems.

Spring 2025:

• Digital permits will be available for all housing types.
• Automated Building Code compliance checks for the parts of the Building Code that cause the most confusion and delays in the permitting approvals process.
• Additional features based on user feedback.