What is the difference between a general contractor and a developer licence in BC?

The two words describe different jobs, and the Homeowner Protection Act Regulation defines each one.¹

A general contractor is a residential builder engaged under contract by an owner, developer or vendor to perform, or cause to be performed, all or substantially all of the construction of a new home. The definition includes a construction manager and a project manager.

A developer is a residential builder that sells its own ownership in a new home, and includes a vendor that contracts with a general contractor to have the home built.

The rule that matters before you hire anyone

The registry states it plainly: only builders with a general contractor licence type are permitted to construct residential buildings under Part 9 of the BC Building Code, which is the part covering houses and small buildings. If you are having a custom home built, you must hire a builder with general contractor status. A builder licensed only as a developer must not take part in constructing Part 9 homes unless it contracts with someone licensed as a general contractor to do the construction.²

So the licence number alone tells you very little. The classification beside it is the part that answers whether that company may build your house.

The bulletin's own examples

BC Housing works it through three ways:¹

• Buy land, develop it, sell new homes on spec, and oversee your own trades:

you are both a developer and a general contractor.

• Buy land and sell new homes on spec, but hire a licensed general contractor

to arrange the construction: you are a developer.

• Get hired by a land owner to build a custom or spec home for them: you are a

general contractor.

Holding more than one classification is normal and costs nothing extra at renewal, though changing classification mid-term requires a licence amendment and a $100 fee.¹

Why the classifications are not equivalent in effort

A general contractor has to satisfy experience and education requirements to be licensed, and then earn 20 Continuing Professional Development points every year as a condition of the licence.¹ A builder classified only as a developer has neither requirement, but must sign a declaration that it will not take part in constructing Part 9 homes during the licence term, or will hire licensed general contractors to build them. Failing that declaration can mean suspension or cancellation of the licence, or a denied renewal.¹

There is one common exemption worth knowing: general contractors working for a licensed developer on Part 3 buildings, the larger multi-unit category, are not required to hold a residential builder licence at all.¹

How to check a builder in two minutes

Search the public registry by company name, licence number, or the name of the person responsible for the company.² Read two fields, not one:

• Licence Type. General Contractor, Developer, Building Envelope

Renovator, or a combination. Match it against the work you are hiring for.

• Status. "Approved" means current and in good standing. "Pending",

"Suspended", "Cancelled", "Expired" and "Closed" each mean something different, and the registry defines them on the page. Only builders in good standing may call themselves Licensed Residential Builders or carry on the business of a residential builder in BC.²

There were 8,109 licensed residential builders in good standing when this page was verified.²

Where we stand

Kyrax Developments Ltd. holds licence #57802, classified as Developer and General Contractor, status Approved, expiring 31 July 2027.² That is the first of the bulletin's three examples: we develop and sell spec homes and we supervise the construction ourselves. You do not have to take that from us. Search "Kyrax" in the registry and read the two fields above.