The City of Vancouver is enabled under the Vancouver Charter to adopt by-laws to regulate the design and construction of buildings.
The Vancouver Building By-law regulates the design and construction of buildings, as well as the administrative provisions related to permitting, inspections, and the enforcement of these requirements.
Vancouver's ability to adopt and enforce its own Building By-law has provided the City of Vancouver the opportunity to be a leader with respect to building regulations, in the areas of:
The Vancouver Building By-law (CBO) is the main place to find Vancouver’s building construction regulations and information for applying the Building By-law and permit process.
This includes links to bulletins, Letters of Professional Assurance, and other information.
On May 20, 2025, Vancouver City Council adopted the 2024 BC Building Code with Vancouver-specific provisions. The Building By-law 2025 (VBBL 2025) will generally come into effect on September 15, 2025, with delayed implementation for certain provisions as follows:
Seismic design requirements (Part 4 and Part 9)
The seismic design provision of the 2025 VBBL need not apply for building permits issued before September 15, 2026.
Further consideration for deferral up to March 8, 2027, may be accepted by the Chief Building Official for an In-stream Project.
Rainwater management
An acceptable alternative may be acceptable to the Chief Building Official for an In-stream Project.
An In-stream Project is a project that has submitted an acceptable application for rezoning or development permit before the effective date of the applicable regulation. Review Division C, Section 3.3 of the Building By-law for more details.
Adaptability in the 2025 VBBL
The initial release of the 2025 VBBL generally provides the same adaptability features as the 2019 VBBL. Updated adaptability provisions are anticipated to be released as a subsequent amendment to the Building By-law later this year and are also expected to have a deferred implementation date.
Information icon Print version of the 2025 VBBL are not yet available, but should become available later this year. Check back for updates or sign up for our email list to get the latest on Building By-law changes.
On July 23, 2019, Vancouver City Council enacted the 2018 BC Building Code (BCBC) with Vancouver-specific additional requirements and revisions. These changes came into effect on November 1, 2019, with the release of the 2019 Vancouver Building By-law (VBBL).
Aspects of the 2019 VBBL can be incorporated in projects subject to the 2014 VBBL by following the details provided within the Vancouver Building By-law.
Completed building permit applications can still be submitted using the 2014 VBBL only if a successful intake meeting is completed by October 31, 2019.
You may incorporate features of the 2019 VBBL into your current planning and design by using a generic alternative solution (Bulletin 2019-005-BU PDF file (108 KB)).
On April 1, 2014, Council adopted the 2012 British Columbia Building Code (BCBC) with additional requirements and revisions specific to Vancouver. It took effect January 1, 2015 (extended from July 1, 2014 at the June 24 Council meeting).
New construction and alterations projects typically require a building permit, or multiple permits, along with trade permits. Access the Building Permit webpage for information pertaining to your specific project proposal.
Existing building permit applications, which have not yet been issued, will not be affected as long as they are not stagnant for more than 6 months.
