Are you considering buying or selling waterfront property in British Columbia? Understanding dock permissions is crucial to ensuring you do not have any issues arising during or after your transaction. One of the first things to consider is the difference between General Permission and Specific Permission for docks. This distinction often determines whether a transaction goes smoothly or requires additional steps and potentially faces compliance issues. Let’s simplify this for you and explore why these categories exist and how they impact you.
What is a General Permission Dock?
The Province of British Columbia allows certain docks under specific conditions without formal involvement, unless issues arise. You don’t need to submit a formal application or register an agreement. Instead, you can build and maintain a dock if it strictly complies with the Province’s Private Moorage Policy under General Permission.
Conditions include:
- The dock must be used exclusively for private, non-commercial purposes.
- It must not be located in environmentally sensitive areas or where moorage is restricted.
- It must meet size and location limits, including maximum width, length, and distance from shore.
- No covered structures, buildings, or facilities that could be considered residential are allowed.
This pre-approved approach saves time and paperwork. However, if your dock doesn’t meet the criteria, you might need to modify or remove it, and it won’t have legal tenure. General Permission docks do not appear on land title records or in the provincial tenure system, offering no guarantee of legal protection if future issues arise.
What is a Specific Permission Dock?
Specific Permission refers to formal tenure granted by the Province under the Land Act, requiring a full application process through FrontCounter BC.
This includes:
- Submission of detailed plans and descriptions
- Reviews by affected agencies and First Nations
- Payment of application and annual rental fees
If approved, you receive a Crown Land Tenure — a legal document granting specific rights to use the foreshore and/or lakebed for dock purposes. This tenure can be issued in several forms, such as a Licence of Occupation or Lease, depending on the complexity and scope of the use. These docks are:
- Registered in the provincial tenure system
- Often insurable
- Transferable under certain conditions
- Seen as more permanent and secure
This process provides greater legal certainty but also comes with more oversight, cost, and responsibility. Permittees must comply with conditions set out in their tenure agreement, including proper maintenance, renewals, and ensuring that their use remains within the approved scope.
Key Differences and Why It Matters
Here’s why you should care about which type of permission a dock falls under:
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From a buyer’s perspective, a dock with Specific Permission is a known quantity. You can verify its standing, include clauses in the contract, and plan for future use. A General Permission dock requires more due diligence to ensure it complies with the rules and assess whether any changes might push it into non-compliance.
For sellers, a Specific Permission dock can increase property value by offering legal certainty. For General Permission docks, being transparent and prepared with supporting information helps avoid last-minute deal issues.
When a Dock May Fall Outside Either Category
Not every dock in BC has permission — some were built before modern rules were in place or without any regard for them. In such cases, the dock may be:
- Grandfathered (but only if compliant when built and unmodified since)
- Unauthorized and at risk of removal
Unauthorized docks may come to light during a property sale, insurance application, or local government inspection. Fixing these situations can be expensive and time-consuming. In some cases, a landowner may have to remove the dock and apply anew under current rules, which may not allow a dock in that location at all.
Summary: What Type of Dock Do You Want?
- General Permission is ideal for low-impact, strictly compliant, private docks in eligible areas.
- Specific Permission is the best option if you want more certainty, insurance, or flexibility.
Understanding the status and compliance of a dock is crucial. The next articles in this series will walk you through how to verify dock permissions, what to ask during a real estate transaction, and how to reduce risk as a buyer or seller.
This concludes Part 1 of Mark Brade’s 4-Part series on the complexities of buying real estate with docks in the Okanagan. Part 2 “How to Know if a Property Has a General or Specific Permission Dock in BC” is also published this month.
Stay tuned for Parts 3 and 4 next month which will cover “What to Do Before Making an Offer on a Property with a General Permission Dock” and “What to Do Before Making an Offer on a Property with a Specific Permission Dock”, respectively.
To learn more, contact Mark Brade at [email protected].
