Can I build a cabin or camp on Crown land in BC?

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You may camp on most Crown land for up to 14 days in a row, but building a cabin, shed or other structure on it without the Province's say is an offence. All Crown land belongs to the Province, and no one has a legal right to occupy it: the Land Act makes occupying, using or building on it without authority an offence. The Province's Land Use Policy: Permissions lets the public hike, ride and camp on most of it, for up to 14 days in a row, but no permanent structure is allowed, and the Province no longer takes new applications for a private cabin lease. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. What the Land Act forbids: It's an offence to occupy or possess Crown land, or use it, without lawful authority, and to build a building, structure, enclosure or other works on it, or dig, dredge or fill, without the Minister's authorization (Land Act s. 60 (a), (b), (e)). The fine is up to $20,000, up to 60 days in jail, or both (s. 68), and the person must also pay for the loss or damage they cause (s. 62). What the Province can order: On notice, the Minister can require the person to stop, give up the land and restore it, pay for the occupation and the restoration, have a sheriff seize what's on the land, or remove their improvements by a set date, after which the Province removes them at the person's cost (s. 59 (1)). Ignoring the notice can add a penalty of up to $1,000, and a notice can be given again (s. 59 (4), (5)). Anything seized becomes the Province's, to sell, rent, remove or destroy (s. 59 (8)). Camping: the 14 days: The Province's Land Use Policy: Permissions is the lawful authority most public use relies on: a bare licence to enter, cross and be on Crown land, which grants no rights to the land and can't shut others out (s. 6.1). Anyone may camp on Crown land for up to 14 consecutive days, counted together unless the person, their vehicle and gear leave the site for at least 72 hours in a row (s. 8.2). A Province recreation site sets the same limit unless a recreation officer allows more (Forest Recreation Regulation s. 13). No cabin, no permanent structure: The permission comes with conditions: no permanent structures or buildings, safe campfires, all garbage and materials taken away, and respect for other users (Land Use Policy: Permissions s. 7.2). A cabin, a shed, a platform or a trailer left on a site past the 14 days falls outside it, and so back under s. 60 (our reading). Where the permission doesn't apply: Not in a municipality, a park, ecological reserve or conservancy, a wildlife management area, on leased land, on land under another tenure where camping would interfere with its holder's rights, on federal land, in a Land Act reserve for conservation, on Crown land or private roads posted against the activity, or in a closed or application-only area (s. 7.1). A Director of Authorizations can limit or rescind the permission anywhere, with or without notice (s. 6.2). It doesn't override other laws, such as the Wildlife Act, the Wildfire Act or the Off-Road Vehicle Act (s. 8). A cabin lease: The Province's residential program no longer accepts individual applications for new permanent or seasonal residential tenures, except for residual survey lots in an existing subdivision; existing tenures can be replaced. Where Crown land is sold for a home, it must meet the Land Title Act's subdivision standards and sells at market value. See leasehold for buying a home on an existing Crown lease. What it means for a buyer: On a lot next to Crown land, a shed, garden, fence, dock, driveway or cabin a past owner built over the line is on Crown land without authority, and the Province can order it out whoever owns the lot now (s. 59; our reading). A survey shows where the line runs. The way to keep it is a tenure or buying the strip, which the Province sells only to the owner next door and at market value: see Crown land next door.

Can I build a cabin or camp on Crown land in BC?

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