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. The Building Permit Hub is the next step in the Province’s work to speed up homebuilding and reduce the costs of housing, and meet the Province’s goal for British Columbia to become a North American leader in digital permitting and construction.

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.

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.