Building Permit

Updated January 10, 2022

Notices

  • January 5, 2021 – Under guidance from public health that “anyone able to work from home, should work from home,” several District team members are working from home. Please call 250.642.1634 and our team would be happy to assist you over the phone or arrange a virtual meeting.
  • January 1, 2022 – Building owners and designers are required to comply with the requirements of the applicable Step of the BC Energy Step Code and as indicated in the District of Sooke’s Building Bylaw.

General Information

Every property owner shall obtain all required permits or approvals, pay all fees and provide all deposits prior to the commencement of work.

A building permit is required before constructing, repairing, altering, moving or demolishing a building or structure.

If the applicant is not the owner of the property, an Owner’s Authorization form (see page 5 of building/plumbing permit application form) must be submitted. All property owners registered on the Certificate of Title must provide written approval to allow the applicant to act on their behalf.

The Municipality does not issue the following permits:

BC Energy Step Code

Through the BC Energy Step Code, the Province has set performance requirements to increase the energy efficiency of newly constructed buildings. BC’s goal is that all new buildings be net-zero energy-ready by 2032.

As of January 1, 2022, building owners and designers, you are required to comply with the requirements of the applicable Step of the BC Energy Step Code as indicated in the District of Sooke’s Building Bylaw.

The Step Code is a provincial standard that provides an incremental and consistent approach to achieving energy-efficient construction. Through performance modelling and on-site testing, buildings constructed to the Step Code standard will exceed the energy performance requirements of the base BC Building Code.

The Step Code provides local government and industry with a clear framework to make progress towards the provincial goal that all new construction in BC is built “net-zero energy ready” by 2032. The Province defines a net-zero energy ready building as one that has been designed and built to a level of performance, such that it could (with additional measures) generate enough onsite energy to meet its own energy needs. It’s expected that net-zero energy ready buildings will be required by the BC Building Code by 2032.

The energy model results for the building design shall be provided by your Energy Advisor using the Pre-Construction Compliance Report, to be submitted with your building permit application.

Resources:

The Province of B.C. is now offering the BC Building, Plumbing and Fire Codes online at no charge at:

The Updated Building Accessibility Handbook 2020 – Digital Version Now Available at no charge at:

To help ensure that the National Model Codes are properly understood and effectively implemented, the National Research Council Canada (NRC) is now offering free electronic access to the related user’s guides, including:

The user’s guides are designed to complement the National Model Codes by providing additional background information, as well as detailed examples and calculations.

Learn more: