Completed
Builders Lien Reform Project
Overview
The Builders Lien Act is a complex piece of legislation that is one of the major cornerstones of construction and insolvency law. It gives contractors, material suppliers, and individual workers several forms of security for payment for work done or materials supplied to a building site, most notably a lien on the land.
The current Builders Lien Act was passed in 1997. It introduced changes that were generally seen as improvements over the previous legislation. Since then, however, the construction and development industries have continued to evolve. In addition, important appellate decisions have interpreted the legislation in ways surprising to many veteran practitioners.
With the encouragement of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, the British Columbia Law Institute undertook a major law reform project on the Builders Lien Act. This project was a comprehensive review and overhaul of the Act carried out with the aid of an expert volunteer Project Committee. The project was completed with the issuance of the Report on the Builders Lien Act in July 2020.
Consultation
BCLI issued a Consultation Paper on the Builders Lien Act to gather comments from stakeholders and the public at large on reform of the Act. This consultation closed on January 15, 2020.
Related Files
Below you will find additional, relevant and specific documentation, backgrounders, research, resources, media releases and summaries that have been, or will be incorporated into our final publications and study papers.
If you have questions about these or other specific documents, please reach out to BCLI using our contact page or at the bottom of each page of our website.
