Heritage Homes in Metro Vancouver: Designation, Rules and Renovations

A home on a heritage register, protected by a designation bylaw or inside a heritage conservation area comes with rules about what you can change, add or tear down, and sometimes with incentives. Here is how BC's heritage tools work in Metro Vancouver, what they mean for renovations and demolition, and how to check a property's status before you buy.

The short version

Four tools, applied city by city

The Local Government Act gives BC municipalities their heritage powers, the Vancouver Charter gives the City of Vancouver similar ones, and each council decides which to use. The four main tools:

• Community heritage register. An official list of properties the city considers to have heritage value or character. A council creates it by resolution and must tell the owner within 30 days when a property is added or removed.
• Heritage designation. A bylaw that protects a property for the long term.
• Heritage revitalization agreement. A negotiated agreement between the owner and the city, adopted by bylaw.
• Heritage conservation area. An area set out in the official community plan, with rules for the properties in it.

Separately, the provincial Heritage Conservation Act protects archaeological sites on public and private land, recorded or not, as I explain in Buying a Lot to Build On in BC.

Homes on a heritage register

As BCREA's Legally Speaking puts it, being on a register doesn't, in itself, prevent an owner from redeveloping or demolishing. It does give the city time to consider protection:

• Temporary protection. A city can order temporary protection for up to 60 days, or longer if the owner agrees, and only once in two years unless the owner agrees. In Vancouver, the limit is 120 days.
• Demolition permits. A city can, by bylaw, withhold a demolition permit for a listed property until a building permit and the other approvals for the site's redevelopment have been issued.
• Older buildings. New Westminster reviews any building over 50 years old, listed or not, before issuing a demolition permit, and requires a heritage values assessment first for one 100 years or older.

Heritage designation

Designation is the strongest local protection. The council holds a public hearing first, with a report on the property's heritage value, condition, economic viability and any need for support, and the city must file notice of the bylaw in the land title office within 30 days of adoption.

• What needs a permit. Altering the exterior, making structural changes, moving the building, or altering, excavating or building on protected land, unless the bylaw allows it. Interior features and landscaping are protected only if the bylaw identifies them.
• Consent. The City of North Vancouver's policy describes designations requested by the owner, negotiated ones, usually as part of a rezoning, and involuntary ones, which it says aren't meant to be common.
• Compensation. If designation reduces the market value, the owner can apply for compensation no later than one year after the bylaw is adopted; the amount is agreed or set by binding arbitration.

Heritage revitalization agreements

A heritage revitalization agreement, or HRA, is a negotiated deal: the owner protects and restores the building, and the city varies its rules to make the project work. New Westminster calls HRAs voluntary and says the process can take about 6 to 18 months.

• What can change. An HRA can vary zoning and other land use bylaws and permits, and prevails over them where they conflict. Burnaby says HRAs can relax zoning and subdivision bylaws, and in Coquitlam an HRA kept the heritage house at 307 Begin Street in place, with added density behind it.
• It stays with the land. The agreement is noted on title, binds every later owner and can be changed only by bylaw with the owner's consent. New Westminster also treats HRA properties as designated, so changes need a heritage alteration permit.

Heritage conservation areas

A heritage conservation area protects a neighbourhood's character rather than a single building. The official community plan (in Vancouver, an official development plan) explains what makes the area special, the plan or a zoning bylaw sets guidelines, and you generally need a heritage alteration permit to subdivide, build, add on, or alter a building or the land. The plan can exempt some properties or work and list protected properties.

Examples include Queen's Park in New Westminster, where protected homes need a permit for demolition, new buildings and changes to the front, sides or visible roofline, and First Shaughnessy in Vancouver, both covered in my New Westminster guide and my guide to Vancouver's West Side.

Renovating, adding on or tearing down

Plan for heritage approvals from the start:

• Routine work. In New Westminster, routine maintenance with like-for-like materials needs no heritage alteration permit.
• Heritage alteration permits. A city can refuse one for work that doesn't fit the property's protection, attach conditions and require security, so budget time and money.
• Incentives. For protected homes in Queen's Park, New Westminster lists extra density, density transfers, relaxed laneway and carriage house guidelines, special BC Building Code provisions and no heritage alteration permit fee for alterations. It also points owners of designated houses to a New Westminster Heritage Foundation grant of up to 50% of exterior conservation costs, to a maximum of $10,000. BC law also lets councils exempt heritage property from property taxes, so ask what your city offers.
• More homes per lot. Land already designated, or under an HRA, when BC's small-scale multi-unit housing rules came into force is exempt from the 3-to-6-unit requirement, and a new designation or HRA can't be used to prevent the density the rules require. Heritage conservation areas aren't exempt, and the Province's policy manual says cities can't use them, or heritage alteration permits, to unreasonably restrict that density. See More Homes per Lot.

Insurance and financing

Most heritage homes are older homes, with the wiring, plumbing and oil tank questions I cover in Buying an Older Home in BC. The Insurance Bureau of Canada adds tips for heritage properties:

• Get the bylaws. Municipalities set the details, including how a structure must be rebuilt after a claim, so have your broker include the local heritage bylaws with your application.
• Disclose everything. Expect to supply far more information than for a newer home; withholding information can lead to a cancelled policy or a denied claim.
• Look beyond age. Trouble getting full coverage may have more to do with location, such as being near a river or lake, than with age or heritage status.
• Expect reviews. Rebuilding costs tend to rise faster for older buildings, so insurers may re-evaluate the home every few years.

On financing, CMHC suggests you consider adding the cost of major renovations to the mortgage when you buy, so talk to your lender before you make an offer.

How to check a property's status

Check a home's status several ways before you remove subjects:

• Search title. Designation bylaws and HRAs must be noted on title, but the law doesn't require that for register listings or heritage conservation areas, so a clean title doesn't settle it.
• Ask the city. New Westminster has an interactive heritage register map and a Heritage Protection Map. Burnaby has a searchable Heritage Burnaby database, and its heritage planner reviews a property's status on request. Richmond lets you search its heritage inventory, including by map. In Vancouver, ask whether a house is on the Vancouver Heritage Register, designated or in First Shaughnessy.
• Check the provincial register. The BC Register of Historic Places is searchable online, but it leaves out archaeological sites.
• Read the disclosure statement. The Property Disclosure Statement asks whether the seller is aware of a designation, or a proposed one, as a heritage site or of heritage value. See The Property Disclosure Statement.
• Leave time. BCREA suggests subject conditions that allow time for heritage and archaeological searches, and the Province's Archaeology Branch takes free data requests.

Questions buyers often ask me

Can I tear down a house that is on a heritage register?

Possibly, but not always right away. Being listed doesn't in itself prevent demolition, but the city can order temporary protection for up to 60 days (120 in Vancouver) while it considers designation and, by bylaw, withhold a demolition permit until your new project's building permit is issued.

Does heritage designation lower a home's value?

It can, which is why an owner can apply for compensation if a designation reduces the market value, no later than one year after the bylaw is adopted. Some designations are negotiated in exchange for incentives, such as extra density through an HRA.

Do I need a heritage permit to renovate the inside of a designated house?

Usually not for non-structural work, unless the bylaw identifies interior features. Exterior and structural changes generally need a heritage alteration permit, and the usual building permits still apply.

Is a heritage home harder to insure?

It can take more work. The Insurance Bureau of Canada suggests giving your broker the city's heritage bylaws and disclosing everything relevant, so get a quote on the actual home before you remove subjects.

How do I find out whether a home is designated?

Search title, since designation bylaws and heritage revitalization agreements must be noted on it, and ask the city's planning department about register listings and heritage conservation areas, which title may not show.

Thinking about an older home? Read what your inspector checks, and what they don't, plan your conditions with Subject Clauses in BC, or browse homes for sale in New Westminster.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Heritage rules differ by city, so confirm a property's status with the city and get legal advice before you buy or plan work. The details come from the Local Government Act, the Vancouver Charter, the Province, city websites, BCREA and the Insurance Bureau of Canada, and were current at the time of writing. For the Province's overview, see local government heritage planning.