What should I know about buying a burned lot or rebuilding after a wildfire in BC?

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A rebuild needs the council's building permit, and a house whose use no longer fits the zone can only be rebuilt for a use it allows; insurance, not disaster aid, pays for fire. After a wildfire, a burned lot is sold as it stands: the ash, the foundations, the well and the septic, with whatever the zone and the council's rules now allow. Most of what decides a rebuild is local, so the council's building and planning staff are the first call, and a few provincial rules apply everywhere. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. Ask the council first: The Province's advice after a fire is to check with the local authority about a building permit, and repairs to utilities are done under permit and inspected; a council may post damage assessment placards on buildings it has checked (the Province's Recover after a wildfire page). A use that no longer fits the zone: A building whose use doesn't conform to the zoning bylaw, damaged or destroyed to 75% or more of its value above its foundations as the building inspector decides, may be repaired or rebuilt only for a use the bylaw allows (Local Government Act s. 532 (1)), unless a phased development agreement protects the use or it's protected heritage property (s. 532 (2), (3)). A board of variance can't lift this rule (ss. 540, 542 (1) (c) (iv); see legal non-conforming). Siting or size that no longer fits: Where the use fits but the house stood too close to a line or was too big for today's bylaw, it may be maintained, extended or altered with no further breach than before (s. 529). The Act doesn't say whether a house burned to the ground may be rebuilt on its old footprint, so that's unclear (our reading): ask the council, and a board of variance may allow a minor variance for undue hardship (s. 542 (1)). Six months: A non-conforming use stopped for 6 months in a row must then follow the bylaw (s. 528 (2)). Whether the months after a fire count is unclear (our reading): ask the council in writing. A sale doesn't by itself end the use (s. 534). Ash, debris and hazardous materials: Before a burned building is demolished or cleared, the owner and every employer doing the work must have a qualified person inspect it for hazardous materials, asbestos and lead among them (Occupational Health and Safety Regulation s. 20.112 (2)). The Province's guidance says ash and soot can hold metals, asbestos and other contaminants, to be characterized and cleaned up with a qualified professional, an oil tank checked and a spill reported; where the lot had a commercial or industrial use the Contaminated Sites Regulation lists, the rebuild will likely need a site disclosure statement. Councils add their own steps: the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, for one, asks for a hazardous materials survey and its asbestos declaration before burnt debris is taken to its landfills, and ash double-bagged. Slopes after a fire: Burned slopes can send debris flows, floods and landslides down for two years or more, and buildings below a burn near a creek, gully or fan are most at risk (the Province's post-wildfire landslide and flooding brochure). The Province screens fires over 50 ha for these hazards and passes its findings to the communities; a detailed assessment and any work to reduce the risk are the cost of whoever owns what's at risk (its post-wildfire natural hazard risk analysis page). A council may ask for a geotechnical report before it issues a permit (see geotechnical reports). The well and septic: Assume water from a damaged well or cistern isn't safe: flush the lines and have it tested for bacteria and chemicals at an approved lab (HealthLink BC File #49f). The Province's guidance says to flush, disinfect and inspect a well before testing, and to have an authorized person check a septic system whose pipes or pump may have burned (see testing a well and a septic inspection). Wildfire development permit areas: Where the council has a wildfire development permit area, the permit can set the siting, form, exterior design and finish of the new house and the landscaping and trees around it (Local Government Act s. 491 (2)); the building code itself doesn't (our reading). A riparian development permit can still be needed to rebuild near a stream (the SLRD's page; see streamside setbacks). Who pays: Disaster Financial Assistance pays only for losses that couldn't be insured, and the Province names wildfire damage as insurable, so it isn't covered (its Disaster Financial Assistance page). The home insurance policy pays what it covers, often the debris removal and the hazardous materials survey too; ask the insurer before work starts (see home insurance). What it means for a buyer: On a burned lot you're buying what the bylaw lets you build now, not the house that stood there. Get the council's answer in writing, the clean-up and survey papers, the water test and the septic check, and ask whether the lot sits below a burned slope. A report gives the fire perimeters and burn severity over the lot, the evacuation record and the slope and hazard maps.

What should I know about buying a burned lot or rebuilding after a wildfire in BC?

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Before you buy: who to ask