buyer beware: how the 'age-old' issue of illegal construction in metro vancouver can hit hard
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residence at 13466 87a ave. in surrey.
city of surrey
as surrey continues its intense enforcement against illegal construction, a legal expert says other municipalities should follow suit to combat an “age-old” region-wide issue.
“i’m certainly aware of instances in the city of vancouver, north vancouver, richmond. certainly surrey since it’ll be our largest municipality, so it makes sense it would show up there. but i would be hard-pressed to say it’s peculiar to surrey,” said ron usher, the former general counsel for the society of notaries public of b.c.
surrey created an illegal construction enforcement team in 2022 after the city noted an increase in stop-work orders being filed.
while demolition orders take longer to obtain through the courts, municipal councils can, in the meantime, approve the filing of notices on land titles for properties not complying with permits. the notices serve as a public notice to lenders, buyers or anyone else that a property contravenes bylaws for building without permits.
usher explained the impact such notices on land titles can have: “it likely nullifies any home insurance they have.”
the notice on title, he said, “provides a whole bunch of motivation, i would hope, to an owner to clean things up because that sort of notice makes it really clear to the world the building is non-compliance.”
“the standard mortgage terms require owners to keep in compliance. it requires owners to get permission for anything further on title. so in all of these instances, their lender could immediately demand that it be repaid, and there’s no way you’re going to get new financing with one of those liens on title,” usher said.
many people have all-encompassing mortgages, usher added, which can include car loans, lines of credit and credit cards, all of which could be affected.
at times, owners can bring the unpermitted work into compliance after the fact, usher said, but in the most recent surrey cases, the only option is demolition.
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“i suspect most people that do this are doing it for a good reason. they’re perhaps short on money, they’re trying to create a place for granny to live in the basement — and all of that is well intentioned and reasonable,” usher said. “but if you look at some of these suites with a single exit, small rooms, how is granny going to get out of there in a fire?”
since july 2024, surrey has issued 886 enforcement notices for illegal construction, according to the city’s planning and development department. the number has dropped in recent years, to 263 last yearm from 603 in 2024. so far in 2026, the city has issued 30 notices, including two this week.
city of surrey photo of residence at 12464 77a ave. with unauthorized construction.
city of surrey
more than $72,000 in fines have also been issued to owners for the violations and site visits.
in that time, the city has filed notices to land titles or obtained court demolition orders affecting 16 properties.
not all municipalities keep track of bylaw violations for illegal construction.
the city of vancouver only tracks the number of investigations it opens into suspected illegal construction.
“these investigations are initiated either through public complaints or through routine inspections of properties with past or ongoing issues,” the city said in a statement.
in 2022, the city had opened 373 cases, 381 in 2023, 355 in 2024 and 292 last year.
“as the data shows, case file volume peaked in 2023 and has declined in subsequent years,” the city stated.
not all of these investigations resulted in enforcement steps, however.
unlike surrey, vancouver does not have a dedicated enforcement team in its bylaw department for illegal construction.
“vancouver’s building inspectors are assigned to one of four geographic quadrants across the city. the number of inspectors can vary over time based on staffing and operational needs, so we’re not able to provide a fixed or current head count for the team.”
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at times, people will buy properties not knowing there was unpermitted work because they didn’t seek out extra details, usher said.
“one of my best ones was a building in delta where there was a unpermitted addition to the property. if you look at the realtor listing for the property, the feature of the property they show off and brag about is the illegal structure,” usher said.
his client was able to walk away from the sale, but not everyone may be as lucky, usher added.
“purchasers and, i think, excellent realtors will take a careful look at titles, and if they see something that’s a problem, then, of course, it’s a good clue that you better look even more closely.”
he says more municipalities should go the way surrey has, by letting the public know the addresses and names of property owners involved in the unpermitted work.
“i think it’s in the public interest that municipalities act in a very transparent way,” usher said.
city of surrey photo of residence at 13466 – 87a ave.
city of surrey
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