By-law Administration and Records Services

Property Information Centre

Staff in the By-law Administration and Records Services Branch also provide customer assistance in obtaining information pertaining to individual properties, including:

• Accessing and viewing building plans
• Obtaining copies of permits
• Approved use of a building
• Property file researches (includes such information as outstanding municipal orders, current zoning, and legal use of a building, etc.)

FAQs

What form of payment is accepted?

• Making payment online is currently not available. We accept cash, cheque, debit and/or credit card. Cash payments, or payments by debit and/or credit card must be made in person. All cheques are made payable to the “City of Vancouver”. There is a service fee of $35 for any NSF cheques.

ACCESSING AND VIEWING BUILDING PLANS

How do I find out if the City has plans for a specific building or property?

• It is best to call the City first so that staff can determine if there are any plans for your particular building or property of interest. Please call 311 with the applicable property address that you would like staff to search, and someone from the department will call you back as soon as the search is completed.
• In general, the Property Information Centre of Licences & Inspections Department will have building plans for work done under permits for most commercial buildings, condos, and one and two family dwellings constructed since 1979.

What will the plans show me?

• Submission requirements for building permit plans have changed over the years. As a result, some sets of plans are less comprehensive, and may not include various structural or mechanical drawings. We cannot guarantee that the information you are looking for will appear on the plans.
• Plans for apartments or condo complexes may not contain drawings for individual units. Often only a “typical” plan of each floor will be submitted. Suites are usually not identified by their unit number on the typical floor plans, although there may be drawings that illustrate specific unit “types.”

Who can access or view plans?

• In accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the City of Vancouver can only release floor plans as follows:
  
  
  • For non-strata buildings, plans will be released to the current registered owner, provided a photo ID (e.g., driver’s licence) is presented to staff.
    
    Plans will also be released to an authorized representative or agent with the provision of an authorization form (27kb) signed by the current registered owner and a photo ID of the authorized representative or agent.
    
    If the current registered owner is a Company Limited, a current letter of consent signed by the Director/Principal of the company on stationery that includes the Company Letterhead will be required.
    
    
  • For strata buildings, plans will only be released with a letter of consent either from a member of the Strata Council or the Property Management Company.
    
    A member of the Strata Council may download and complete this authorization form (27kb). However, a Property Management Company will need to submit a current letter of consent signed by the Director/Principal of the company on stationery that includes the Company Letterhead.

Can I obtain copies of plans? What are the fees?

• Microfilmed plans can be viewed and paper copies can be requested at the Property Information Centre located in the East Wing of City Hall, 2nd floor – 2675 Yukon Street. For information on the applicable fees, please refer to the Fee Schedule (16kb).

Can these plans be submitted with a new permit application?

• No, copies of plans are not printed to scale and are intended for reference use only.

OBTAINING COPIES OF PERMITS

Where can I obtain copies of permits? What are the fees?

• Copies of permits can be obtained at the Property Information Centre located in the East Wing of City Hall, 2nd floor – 2675 Yukon Street. For information on the applicable fees, please refer to the Fee Schedule (16kb).

 

[top]