How to get a building permit for a new house in the Township of Langley

The first question on a new house in the Township of Langley is simple to ask: what does the Township need, and in what order? The answer is spread across a construction guide, a fee bylaw, an energy page and an inspection guide. This post puts it in one sequence, from the title search to the day you move in, and works out the permit fee so you can check the math yourself.

Two notes first. The Township of Langley and the City of Langley are separate municipalities with separate permit offices, and the City's rules are at the end of this post. And the Township does not publish permit processing times. Its guide names three things that slow a permit down: the number of applications, how complex the project is, and how complete the application is. The owner controls the third one.

Step 1: Check the zone and anything that comes before the permit

Open the lot in the Township's GeoSource map. It shows the zone, approximate lot dimensions, the community plan area, development permit areas, and site features such as watercourses, trees and road access. The Township says the map is for reference only and that a BC Land Surveyor should confirm the details.

The zone sets the size and shape of the house. Zoning Bylaw 2500 has rural (RU), suburban residential (SR) and residential (R) zones, each with its own lot coverage, height and setbacks. On an R-1A lot, for example, a house of 280 m² or more is limited to two storeys plus a basement, and its second storey may be no more than 80% of the first. Our page on building a custom home in Langley compares the urban, suburban and farm zones.

Some lots need another approval first. The Township has two heritage conservation areas, Fort Langley and Murrayville, and a Heritage Alteration Permit, issued by Council, is needed there before redevelopment. A lot in the Agricultural Land Reserve also follows the Agricultural Land Commission's limits on house size and fill, covered in building a house on ALR farmland in Langley.

Step 2: Title search and site survey

The Township asks for a current title search, or a Freehold Transfer, no older than 30 days when you apply. We order it near the end of design so it does not expire while the drawings are finished, and we read an earlier copy at the start. A title lists the charges on the land, such as covenants, easements and statutory rights of way, and any one of them can decide where the house may sit.

The site plan has a long list of contents in the Township's guide: the setbacks to each property line, rights of way, easements and watercourses, the driveway, the septic system and well, the perimeter drain sump, every tree to be kept or removed, and the finished grade and top of foundation at each corner of the house. It also shows the minimum building elevation (MBE) as set by a surveyor. That is why a BC Land Surveyor is one of the first people we bring in. Our post on why a BC Land Surveyor marks your property line explains what the survey covers.

Step 3: Drawings, engineering and the energy model

The Township's guide for new single-family dwellings sets the drawing package. The building plans are signed and sealed by a structural engineer. A Professional Engineer signs and seals Schedule B for the structural, geotechnical and lot grading or stormwater work. Truss layouts and beam schedules go in where the design uses them, and the heating and cooling system is sized by calculation to the CSA F280 standard. The guide also sets minimum drawing scales: 1:100 for the site plan, 1:50 for floor plans, sections and elevations, and 1:20 for construction details.

The energy rules changed on April 1, 2025. Since then, every new Part 9 home in the Township must meet Step 4 of the Energy Step Code and EL-3 of the Zero Carbon Step Code. The Township requires every energy simulation to use the Abbotsford weather file, with 2,700 heating degree days for Langley. On the EnerGuide path, the application needs the Pre-Construction BC Step Code Compliance Checklist, the HOT2000 report for the proposed house, air barrier details on the drawings and an energy statement on the drawings.

We bring the energy advisor in at the first floor plan, because the walls, the windows and the choice of heating all change the model. Our post on the BC Energy Step Code for a custom home explains the steps and levels.

Step 4: Septic, well, fill and trees

On a lot served by a septic system, the septic paperwork comes before the permit. A Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner (ROWP) provides a copy of the Fraser Health record of filing to build or change the system, or a Building Permit Referral form when the existing system needs no work. If the filing is still in progress, the referral form can go in with the application, but the record of filing must reach the Township before it issues the permit.

Fraser Health charges a $200 non-refundable administration fee with each filing, and the system must be built within two years of the date Fraser Health stamps on the record. The Sewerage System Regulation keeps a septic system at least 30 m from a well unless a hydrogeology professional advises otherwise in writing. So the house, the field and the well are placed on the site plan at the same time.

A house on a private well needs a potability certificate with test results no older than six months. Every application includes a signed soil declaration and an erosion and sediment control form. Before any fill comes onto the lot, a civil engineer must seal a Stormwater Management Plan that shows the existing and proposed grades, and the Township allows that fill only to build up the house site. If trees have to come down, a tree removal permit may be needed before the building permit is issued. The Township's Tree Protection Bylaw covers private trees of 20 cm diameter or more on land outside the Agricultural Land Reserve.

Step 5: Apply online and answer the plan review

The Township takes single-family permit applications online. Since February 3, 2025, it has refused paper applications wherever digital submission is available. The owner or builder writes a 4 to 6 digit access code on the application form. Keep a record of it, because it later links the permit to a MyTownship account for booking inspections.

Changes during review are charged. Under Schedule 18 of the Fees and Charges Bylaw, revisions before the permit is issued cost $100 for each hour of staff time, with a one-hour minimum, and an application that needs three or more revisions pays 50% of the permit fee. For us, that rule is the best reason to send a complete package the first time.

Before it issues the permit, the Township may also want an accepted driveway application or driveway permit. It needs the BC Housing warranty form, which records the home warranty for the house. And the permit is issued once the fees and bonds are paid.

Step 6: Work out the building permit fee yourself

Township building permit fees are set in Schedule 18 of Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 4616, as amended by Bylaw No. 6238 on July 27, 2026. The fee is charged on a construction value that the Township calculates with its own rate for each square metre. These rates are for setting the fee only. Our Langley custom home cost guide covers building costs, and also the development cost charges and amenity charges that can apply when a house adds a lot or a home.

Take a one-storey house with 200 m² on the main floor, a 150 m² finished basement, a 60 m² attached garage and one gas fireplace. The bylaw values a main storey at $1,220 per m², a finished basement at $1,050 per m², a garage at $450 per m², and a gas or electric fireplace at $4,000 each.

• Main floor: 200 m² × $1,220 = $244,000
• Finished basement: 150 m² × $1,050 = $157,500
• Garage: 60 m² × $450 = $27,000
• Gas fireplace: $4,000
• Construction value: $432,500

The fee is then added up in bands. The first $1,000 of value costs $52.50. Each further $1,000, or part of $1,000, costs $9.75 up to $50,000, then $10.00 up to $1,000,000, then $9.50 above that. The file records fee for a new house is 0.025% of the value, with a minimum of $53.75 and a maximum of $107.75.

Plumbing is a separate line in the same schedule: $28.75 for each of the first two fixtures, $20.75 for each fixture after that, and $75.25 for a connection to a septic tank or field, a sewer or a water line, with a $100 minimum. A house with 14 fixtures on septic adds $306.50 for the fixtures and $75.25 for the connection, $381.75 in all. Where registered professionals give letters of assurance and the Township says in writing that it relies on them, the permit fee drops by 2.5%, which is $109.01 in this example. The Township calculates the final fee when you apply.

The schedule also sets three other charges. A re-inspection, when work is not ready or does not comply, costs $165 each time. A permit that has lapsed can be renewed for $100 if the work still complies. And if you cancel before any work starts, the Township may refund the fee less $50 or 25%, whichever is greater, up to half the fee, on a written request made within two years of issue.

Step 7: Book inspections through MyTownship

Inspections are booked online through eInspections in a MyTownship account. You link the permit with its number and the access code from the application. The Township issues one access code for each permit, so the builder passes it to the trades who book their own inspections.

Book by 3:30 pm on the business day before. The Township limits the number of inspections each day and cannot promise next-day visits, and if an inspector is delayed, the visit moves to the next business day. Each booking must give the business licence number of the trade doing the work in the notes field, or the word homeowner when no contractor is involved. You can cancel online until 3:30 pm the day before. After that, cancel by phone at 604-533-6018.

The first inspection happens before any work. Since January 29, 2022, the erosion and sediment control, bin and noise sign inspection is booked after the permit is issued and before work starts. It confirms that the waste containers, garbage bins, tree protection fencing and silt control are in place. The Township lists the other inspections in the conditions printed on each permit, and work may not go past a listed stage until that inspection passes. The address and permit card stay posted on site, with the approved drawings and earlier inspection notices.

Step 8: Final inspection and moving in

Nobody may live in the house until the Building Inspector has accepted the final inspection and authorized occupancy in writing. The energy rules have their own paperwork at this stage. On the EnerGuide path, the Township needs the As-built BC Step Code Compliance Checklist and the HOT2000 report for the house as built, so we schedule the energy advisor's as-built work ahead of the final inspection date.

For a custom detached house, BC Housing says the home warranty starts at occupancy or first occupancy permit, whichever comes first. It covers 2 years for materials and labour, 5 years for the building envelope and 10 years for structural defects.

Where the City of Langley is different

The City of Langley has its own Building Permits and Licensing office, and its guide for a new single-family house asks for different things. The title search must be no older than 48 hours. The City also asks for an Owner's Acknowledgement (Form 1), a Professional Proof of Insurance (Form 2) when an engineer is involved, and two sets of plans. For work on an existing property, it wants a topographic survey by a BC Land Surveyor that includes the elevations of the neighbouring land up to 3 m past the lot line.

City inspections are requested by phone on the 24-hour line, 604-514-2804, by 3 pm the day before. The City's guide lists eight stages: forms, service connection, prior to backfill, rough plumbing, floor slab, frame, insulation and vapour barrier, and final. Fees come in two parts: a non-refundable application fee when you apply, and the rest after plan review, plus a refundable damage deposit before the permit is issued. Every contractor and trade working in the City needs a City business licence.

Zoning changed this year. The City adopted Zoning Bylaw 2025 No. 3300 on March 9, 2026. Its single-family guide is dated April 14, 2022 and still prints the old RS-1 and RS-2 setback tables, so we check setbacks against Bylaw 3300. Where a City lot has no storm sewer connection, the guide allows an engineered infiltration gallery, designed with a geotechnical report, and the owner registers a restrictive covenant if the City accepts the design.

What we line up before a Township application goes in

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