Do I need a permit to build a deck in BC?
It depends on the council's or regional district's building bylaw, often by height: the BC Building Code's guard rules apply either way once a deck is more than 600 mm above the ground.
Opens the lot's report at this answer. If an address isn't found, try the PID, the 9-digit parcel number on the land title or assessment notice.
What the answer means
Whether a deck needs a building permit is set by each council's or regional district's building bylaw, and they differ: one exempts low decks, another asks for a permit for every new deck. The BC Building Code applies to a deck either way: a deck more than 600 mm above the ground beside it needs a guard, and the Code sets its height, its openings and the deck's snow load.
- Who decides on a permit
- The BC Building Code sets how a deck is built; whether building one needs a permit is the local government's building bylaw (see building permits on rural land, including the parts of BC where no one issues them). The two guides we read differ: the District of North Vancouver needs no permit for a deck under 600 mm high or a detached deck under 10 m², and one for a deck over 600 mm, attached or not; Central Saanich needs a permit for any new deck or a structural change to an existing one, though not for a concrete patio on the ground.
- The zone still applies
- A deck is sited by the zone: North Vancouver sites an attached deck over 600 mm as part of the house and counts it in the lot's building coverage, and a detached one as an accessory structure; Central Saanich counts decks in lot coverage and checks setbacks and protected trees. Most bylaws let an open deck reach part way into a setback, each to its own limit (see setbacks).
- When a guard is needed
- Every surface people can walk on, exterior landings, porches, balconies and stairs included, needs a guard on each side not protected by a wall, where the ground or surface within 1.2 m is more than 600 mm lower (BC Building Code 2024, Division B, Sentence 9.8.8.1 (1)).
- How high
- Guards are at least 1,070 mm high, but an exterior guard serving one home, or a house with a secondary suite, may be 900 mm where the deck is not more than 1,800 mm above the finished ground (9.8.8.3 (1), (3)). On stairs it's measured from a line through the tread nosings (9.8.8.3 (4)).
- Openings and climbing
- A required guard's openings must stop a 100 mm sphere, and the triangle under a stair guard a 150 mm sphere (9.8.8.5 (1), (2)). Where the deck is more than 4.2 m above the level beside it, nothing between 140 mm and 900 mm above the deck may make the guard easy to climb (9.8.8.6 (1)); North Vancouver's bulletin asks the same of every required deck guard. Glass in a guard is laminated, tempered or wired safety glass (9.8.8.7).
- Stairs and handrails
- Exterior stairs of a house need no handrail up to 3 risers, and one handrail above that (9.8.7.1 (3), (4)); a required handrail is 865 mm to 1,070 mm high (9.8.7.4 (2)).
- Snow on the deck
- A deck serving one home is built to carry the roof snow load for the place or 1.9 kPa, whichever is greater (9.4.2.3 (1); see roof snow load).
- Footings
- A deck's footings normally go below the frost depth for the soil (9.12.2.2 (1)), but not for a deck of one storey, up to 55 m², with the joists no more than 600 mm above the ground, no roof, and not attached to the house unless its movement won't harm the house (9.12.2.2 (7)). Where the joists are no more than 600 mm above the ground, the posts are anchored against uplift and sideways movement, unless the deck meets those same size, roof and attachment limits (9.23.6.2).
- A deck built without a permit
- Where a permit was needed and none was issued, the deck is the next owner's to bring up to the Code or take down if the local government asks (our reading; see unpermitted work). A strata's decks and balconies are often common property or limited common property, under its bylaws (see strata).
- What it means for a buyer
- A report names the zone where the local map is open, and for the bylaws we've summarised, its setbacks and lot coverage. Whether the deck was permitted is in the local government's property file (see official records on a property); whether it's sound is a home inspector's question.
Our summary of the BC Building Code 2024 (Division B, Articles 9.4.2.3, 9.8.7.1, 9.8.7.4, 9.8.8.1, 9.8.8.3 and 9.8.8.5 to 9.8.8.7, 9.12.2.2 and 9.23.6.2), the District of North Vancouver's Building Decks in Single Family Zones bulletin and the District of Central Saanich's Deck Construction guide (October 2019), read 2026-10-23. Each local government's building bylaw sets its own permit rules: ask yours.
Sources (read 2026-10-23; summarised in our own words unless noted): British Columbia Building Code 2024 (Division B, 9.4.2.3, 9.8.7, 9.8.8, 9.12.2.2, 9.23.6.2), Province of BC; Building Decks in Single Family Zones, District of North Vancouver; Deck Construction guide, District of Central Saanich (October 2019).
Before you buy: who to ask
- The local government
- Was a building permit issued and a final inspection done for the deck? Does a deck like it need a permit here, and does it fit the zone's setbacks and lot coverage?
- The seller or their agent
- When was the deck built or rebuilt, by whom and with what permits?
- Your home inspector or a specialist
- Are the guards high enough and closed enough, are the stairs and handrails sound, and how is the deck fastened to the house and set on its footings?
Look up the lot above: its report names the zone where the local map is open, and links our summary of its rules.
See also setbacks, building permits, roof snow load, unpermitted work, sheds and garages and home inspections.