New requirements came into effect on December 1, 2017 for residential builders in Alberta.  All residential builders in Alberta are required to have a builder licence in order to obtain permits for new homes and to construct new homes.

Don’t wait! You are encouraged to apply for your full licence now, in advance of the construction season, to avoid delays that could impact your business.

The Province of Alberta is issuing provisional licenses to builders between now and May 1, 2018. Please submit a provisional license certificate to the Safety Codes Officer managing your building permit application in order to enable us to issue the permit. Any questions related to builder licensing can be directed to builderlicensing@gov.ab.ca​

Builder License Fact Sheet

Recently, the government of Alberta decided to proclaim administrative penalties under Section 31 of the Safety Codes Amendment Act, 2015, the Administrative Penalties Regulation and amendments to the New Home Buyer Protection (Ministerial) Regulation. This change means that, effective December 1, 2017, administrative penalties under the Safety Codes Act may be issued for non-compliance.

Administrative penalties are aimed at offenders who repeatedly disregard the requirements of the Safety Codes Act, and, through financial motivation, encourages them to correct their behaviour. The focus of the program is to gain compliance, not to punish offenders, nor is it to replace other enforcement actions such as orders or prosecutions. Penalties under the Act can be up to a maximum of $100,000 or $10,000 per day, per offence, for continuing offences.

Any person who contravenes the Safety Codes Act may be subjected to a penalty including owners, contractors, vendors, manufacturers and any person or person(s) who have failed to comply with an order under the Act. It is important to note, that effective December 1, 2017, anyone who has a continuing offence under the Act, could receive an administrative penalty.

Penalty Amounts

An administrative penalty is a single amount or an amount for each day or part of a day that a contravention or failure to comply continues. The maximum daily amount is $10,000, and the total amount of the penalty cannot exceed $100,000.

Operational Date

Administrative penalties under the Safety Codes Act comes into force December 1, 2017.

Who can receive penalties?

Any person who contravenes (contravener) the Safety Codes Act can receive a penalty. Penalties might be issued to:

• Owners as defined by the Safety Codes Act
• Builders
• Contractors
• Vendors
• Manufacturers
• Any person who has failed to comply with an order under the Safety Codes Act

For further questions, please call Public Safety Division Communication Inquiry Centre toll free at 1-866-421-6929.