BRITISH COLUMBIA – In an effort to have homes built faster and address housing market challenges, the Province is digitizing local permit processes to make it easier and faster for homeowners and industry professionals to submit applications to local governments and First Nations.
“We are exploring new ways to speed up the delivery of homes for people in B.C.,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “The Building Permit Hub will make the permitting process smoother for builders and local and First Nations governments, ensuring homes are built quicker without unnecessary delays. This is one of many actions we are taking in our Homes for People action plan.”
Twelve local governments and two First Nations will pilot the first version of the Building Permit Hub. The Building Permit Hub will go live on Monday, May 27, 2024, to allow communities to update the tool for their local requirements and permitting capability is expected to come online this summer. The hub will be further developed in summer with additional features added, such as permit applications for secondary suites and accessory dwelling units, and will eventually be available throughout the province, allowing every community to process building permits digitally.
The Province has heard from industry, local governments and First Nations that some of the biggest challenges with the local building-permit submission process are incomplete applications, inconsistent submission requirements from one community to another and different interpretations of compliance with BC Building Code requirements. These problems contribute to costly delays to building new homes for people.
The Building Permit Hub will address these challenges by offering a one-stop, simplified process, resulting in faster processing and review times. Builders will submit their permit applications online in the hub, which will:
- standardize building-permit submission requirements across jurisdictions in B.C.;
- automatically check that the permit application is complete; and
- automatically check compliance with key parts of the BC Building Code.
A province wide system that addresses the different permit requirements in each community will result in complete and consistent applications that are straightforward for local governments and First Nations to approve. The Building Permit Hub will scale up to include more types of housing
“This permitting tool will evolve, incorporating user feedback to deliver a seamless experience for those building the homes people need throughout the province,” said George Chow, Minister of Citizens’ Services. “Government is working to unlock the full potential of digital innovation and technology, as we tackle the housing crisis together.”
Through a new pilot partnership, 16 local governments and one First Nations community are working with the Province to design the new digital permitting tool and test the tool in their communities, starting in March 2024.
They include:
- Tsleil-Waututh Nation
- District of Saanich
- City of Burnaby
- City of Campbell River
- City of Coquitlam
- City of Kamloops
- City of Kelowna
- City of Langley
- City of Maple Ridge
- City of Nanaimo
- City of North Vancouver
- City of Surrey
- City of Terrace
- City of Victoria
- City of Vancouver
- Cowichan Valley Regional District
- Town of Qualicum Beach
In addition, the new Digital Advisory Council will provide feedback and guidance on how the new digital permitting tool will look and work. The council is comprised of the following 12 representatives from across the housing development and tech sectors:
- Digital (previously known as Digital Technology Supercluster)
- Building Officials’ Association of B.C.
- Scius Advisory
- Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C.
- Architectural Institute of B.C.
- Canadian Home Builders Association of B.C.
- University of British Columbia
- Urban Development Institute
- Urban Land Institute
- City of Kelowna
- City of North Vancouver
- City of Vancouver
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