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 its own Building By-law is unique in British Columbia. This ability allows City Council the opportunity to quickly respond to issues that have an impact on building safety within the City.
This ability has provided the City of Vancouver the opportunity to be a leader with respect to building regulations, in the areas of:
- Safety
- Health
- Accessibility
- Alteration to existing and heritage buildings
- Artist Live/Work Studios
- Energy utilization
- Rain screen cladding system
- Seismic/climate
Get updates
Vancouver Building By-law
Bulletins
For bulletins pertaining to all versions of the Vancouver Building By-law, refer to the following link:
Questions about the building by-law?