Standards of Maintenance By-law 5462

Prescribes standards for the maintenance and occupancy of buildings within the City of Vancouver to ensure that the buildings are free from hazard and are maintained continuously in conformity with accepted health, fire, and building requirements.

Building owners are responsible for carrying out the work or having the work carried out in accordance with the by-law.

What's happeningAmendments to the Standards of Maintenance (SOM) By-law are now in effect

The new amendments include:

  • All exterior windows originally intended to be operable must be maintained to ensure they can be opened and closed properly.
  • Fines for non-compliance have increased:
  • We may carry out repairs at the expense of the owner after 30 days (previously 60 days)
  • Property Use Inspectors are now authorized to issue Municipal Ticket Information for SOM offences, with fines set at $1,000.
  • All snow and ice must be cleared from accessible parking stalls. Additionally, the walkways and ramps leading from any building entrance to these stalls must be cleared to a width of 1.5 metres by 10am each day.

Review the Council report for more information (111 KB)

Check back for an updated version of the by-law, including the latest amendments.

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