When you buy a home, three people look at it closely. Your inspector checks the house. Your lawyer or notary checks the title. And the city, the municipality the home sits in, holds everything else: what you’re allowed to build, what was built with permits, what’s on file against the property, and what’s planned around it.
Most buyers never ask. The ones who do sometimes find the reason a home is priced the way it is.
When to ask
Ask as soon as your offer is accepted. Every answer needs to come back before your subject removal date, and some take time: a search of a property’s building permit file can take several days, and some cities charge a small fee for it. Put your questions in writing, by email or through the city’s online request form, so you have the answers on record.
Before you contact the city, have the property’s address and its PID (the parcel identifier). Both are on the listing and on the property tax notice. On the North Shore, check which city you’re dealing with: the District of North Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver are separate municipalities. The tax notice names the right one.
1. Zoning, and what you can build
- What is the property’s zoning, and what does it allow: an addition, a secondary suite, a coach or laneway house?
- Do BC’s newer small-scale multi-unit housing rules allow more homes on this lot?
- Is the home on the heritage register, or in a heritage or development permit area that limits changes?
Zoning decides what the lot can become, not just what it is today. If you’re planning to renovate, add a suite or one day build, this is where you find out whether you can. Since 2024, BC’s small-scale multi-unit housing rules allow more homes on many single-family lots, but how they apply varies by city and by lot.
2. Permits and the building file
- Were the renovations, additions and any suite built with permits, and did each pass its final inspection?
- Are there open, expired or cancelled permits on the property?
- Is the suite recognized by the city as a legal suite?
Unpermitted work can affect your insurance, your financing and, one day, your resale. A suite that isn’t recognized may not count toward your mortgage as rental income. Compare the permit history with what you saw in the house: a finished basement with no permit on file is worth a question.
3. Orders and notices
- Are there outstanding bylaw complaints, orders or notices on the property, such as unsafe conditions or unpermitted work?
An order against a property can pass to the next owner. You want to know about it before you own it.
4. The land itself
- Is the lot in a hazard area: steep slope, creek or flood, or wildfire interface? Are there creek setbacks?
- Are any trees protected? What would it take to remove or prune one, including for a view?
- Are there city rights-of-way or easements, for a sewer or drainage line, across the lot?
On the North Shore this matters more than most places. Mountainside lots, creeks and forest edges come with rules about where and how you can build, and protected trees can stand between you and a view you were counting on.
5. Services and running costs
- Are the property taxes and utilities paid up, and are there any local improvement charges? Your lawyer or notary confirms the final figures.
- What are the yearly water, sewer and garbage charges?
- Is the home on city sewer or a septic system, and who maintains the line from the house to the street?
- Is there any record of an oil tank on the property, or of one being removed?
Older homes in Greater Vancouver were often heated with oil, and some tanks are still buried in the yard. A city record of a tank’s removal is good news; no record at all is a reason to ask the seller and, if needed, have the property scanned before subjects come off.
6. What’s coming nearby
- Is any roadwork, rezoning or development planned nearby, or a change coming to the neighbourhood plan?
A quiet street today can be a construction route next year. A proposal next door can change your view, your light or your privacy.
Some answers come from elsewhere
The city isn’t the only source. School catchments come from the school district. Strata bylaws, minutes and the depreciation report come from the strata. The assessed value comes from BC Assessment. The title, with its covenants and charges, comes through your lawyer or notary from the Land Title Office.
When the answers come back
Share them with me and with your lawyer or notary. Most will be routine. If something isn’t, there’s still time: we can ask the seller for the missing permits or records, negotiate the price, or, if it’s serious, walk away before your subjects are removed.
This is general guidance for buying in British Columbia. Each city handles requests in its own way, and your lawyer or notary has the final word on your purchase.