Builders Liens and Construction Payment in British Columbia
Last legally reviewed: September 8, 2026
British Columbia’s Builders Lien Act protects many people who provide work or materials to a construction project but are not paid. It does this through three related mechanisms:
- liens against land and improvements;
- mandatory holdbacks; and
- trusts over certain construction funds.
The legislation is technical and imposes strict deadlines. The correct deadline may depend on facts that are not obvious.
If you may have a lien claim, obtain legal advice immediately. Do not wait until the end of a project or rely on this page to calculate your filing deadline.
Who may claim a builders lien?
Subject to the exceptions and requirements in the Builders Lien Act, a contractor, subcontractor, or worker may have a lien for the unpaid price of work or materials supplied to an improvement.
Potential lien claimants can include:
- general contractors;
- subcontractors;
- sub-subcontractors;
- workers;
- material suppliers;
- equipment rental businesses; and
- architects and engineers.
A claim of lien cannot be filed if the amount claimed, or the aggregate of claims joined together, is less than $200.
What does a builders lien do?
A builders lien is a statutory charge relating to the land or improvement on which the work was performed or the materials were supplied. Once filed, it appears on title and may interfere with a sale, refinancing, or further mortgage advances.
Filing a lien does not establish that the claimed debt is valid. The claimant may still have to prove:
- that the claimant is entitled to a lien;
- that the lien was filed against the correct interest in land;
- that it was filed on time;
- that the claimed work or materials relate to the improvement; and
- the amount actually owing.
A person who wrongfully files a lien against land to which the lien does not attach may be liable for resulting costs and damages.
An owner or other interested party may apply to have a lien removed from title by paying money into court, providing security, or establishing that the lien is invalid, extinguished, satisfied, frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process.
The 45-day filing deadline
A claim of lien will generally be extinguished unless it is filed within the applicable 45-day period. Identifying when that period begins is one of the most difficult and important parts of a lien claim.
If a certificate of completion has been issued for a contract or subcontract, the claims of the contractor or subcontractor and those engaged by or under that person generally must be filed no later than 45 days after the certificate was issued.
If no applicable certificate of completion has been issued, the deadline is generally no later than 45 days after:
- the head contract is completed, abandoned, or terminated, if the owner engaged a head contractor; or
- the improvement is completed or abandoned, if there is no head contractor.
The deadline is not necessarily calculated from:
- the claimant’s last day of work;
- the date of the claimant’s final invoice;
- the date payment was due;
- the date the claimant left the job site; or
- the date the owner took possession.
In some circumstances, one of those events may be relevant evidence, but none is a safe substitute for applying the statutory test.
A lien is normally filed in the Land Title Office using the prescribed form. The legal description of the affected land must be correct. Filing against a street address, project name, or incorrect parcel may not preserve the claim.
Certificates of completion
A certificate of completion can cause both the lien-filing period and the holdback period to begin running for a particular contract or subcontract and for those claiming under it.
A contractor or subcontractor may request that the payment certifier determine whether its contract or subcontract has been completed. The payment certifier must make that determination within 10 days after receiving the request. If the contract or subcontract has been completed, the payment certifier must issue a certificate of completion.
The payment certifier is normally the architect, engineer, or other person identified in the contract. If no one is identified, the Builders Lien Act specifies who acts as payment certifier.
A lien holder may make a written request to receive particulars of certificates of completion issued in relation to the project. This can help a potential claimant identify whether a 45-day filing period has started.
Holdbacks
The Builders Lien Act generally requires the person primarily liable under each contract or subcontract to retain a holdback equal to 10% of the value of the work or materials provided or the amount paid on account of the contract price, whichever is greater.
This creates a chain of holdbacks:
- the owner retains a holdback from the contractor;
- the contractor retains a holdback from each subcontractor; and
- each subcontractor retains a holdback from its subcontractors.
A holdback must not be retained from a worker, material supplier, architect, or engineer.
An owner must generally establish a holdback account at a savings institution and administer it together with the contractor. However, the statutory holdback-account requirement does not apply to certain public owners or to a contract under which the aggregate value of the work and materials is less than $100,000. The obligation to retain the 10% holdback may still apply even where a separate holdback account is not required.
Under the legislation currently in force, the holdback period is generally 55 days after:
- an applicable certificate of completion is issued;
- the head contract is completed, abandoned, or terminated, where there is a head contractor; or
- the improvement is completed or abandoned, where there is no head contractor.
Subject to the Act, the holdback may be released after the holdback period expires. A filed lien or an action asserting a lien against the holdback may affect whether and how it can be released.
Construction funds may be trust funds
Money received by a contractor or subcontractor on account of the price of a contract or subcontract is generally a trust fund for the benefit of people engaged by that contractor or subcontractor in connection with the improvement.
Until the beneficiaries are paid, the contractor or subcontractor must not use the trust money for an unauthorized purpose. Breaching the statutory trust obligations can result in civil liability and, in some circumstances, an offence.
A trust claim is different from a lien claim. Losing or failing to preserve a lien does not necessarily determine whether another contractual or trust remedy is available. Different limitation periods and legal requirements apply.
Filing a lien is only the first step
A filed lien does not remain effective indefinitely.
Unless the lien has already been removed or cancelled through another statutory process, the claimant must generally:
- start a Supreme Court action to enforce the lien; and
- register a certificate of pending litigation against the land,
within one year after the lien was filed.
That period can be shortened dramatically. An owner, or another lien claimant who has commenced an action, may serve a notice requiring the claimant to start its enforcement action and register the certificate of pending litigation within 21 days after service.
If the required action is not started and the certificate of pending litigation is not registered within the applicable period, the lien is extinguished.
British Columbia’s new prompt-payment legislation
British Columbia enacted the Construction Prompt Payment Act in November 2025. As of September 8, 2026, the Act has not yet come into force. It will come into force on a date set by regulation.
Until that happens, the new prompt-payment deadlines, adjudication process, and related amendments to the Builders Lien Act do not apply.
The Province has been consulting with the construction industry about the regulations required to implement the legislation. The regulations may address exemptions, phased implementation, calculation of deadlines, delivery of invoices and notices, interest rates, prescribed forms, adjudicator qualifications, and adjudication fees.
What will change when the legislation comes into force?
Subject to the final regulations and any exemptions or phased implementation, the new legislation will generally introduce:
- regular delivery of “proper invoices”;
- payment by an owner to a contractor within 28 days after the date of a proper invoice;
- payment down the contractual chain, generally within seven days after receiving payment or by a calculated statutory payment date;
- written notices of non-payment subject to strict deadlines;
- interest on late payments;
- interim adjudication of payment, valuation, and change-order disputes;
- payment of amounts awarded by an adjudicator within 15 days;
- a right to suspend work if an adjudicated amount is not paid as required; and
- limited and time-sensitive judicial review of adjudication determinations.
An owner disputing all or part of a proper invoice will generally have to issue a compliant notice of non-payment within 14 days after the invoice date. Contractors and subcontractors will face corresponding deadlines for passing payment or notices of non-payment down the contractual chain.
The adjudication regime is intended to produce a written determination quickly—generally within 30 days after the adjudicator receives the required records. The determination will be binding on an interim basis unless it is later displaced by a court judgment, arbitral award, or written agreement.
Changes to the Builders Lien Act
When the relevant provisions come into force, the legislation will also amend the Builders Lien Act by:
- reducing the statutory holdback period from 55 days to 46 days;
- changing the rules governing payment from a holdback where liens have been filed;
- expressly providing that there is no separate lien against the statutory holdback itself, commonly described as abolishing “Shimco liens”; and
- making other consequential amendments.
These changes are not yet operative. The existing 45-day lien-filing period and 55-day holdback period continue to apply unless and until the legislation is brought into force.
The new Act will generally not apply to a contract entered into before the applicable provisions come into force or to a subcontract relating to such a contract. Regulations may provide for gradual implementation across different sectors or classes of construction projects.
Owners, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and suppliers should review their contract forms, invoicing practices, approval procedures, accounting systems, and dispute-management processes before the legislation takes effect.
Get advice promptly
Builders-lien and construction-payment disputes are highly dependent on the particular contracts, payment chain, project structure, and chronology. A missed deadline can extinguish a lien even where the underlying debt is valid. Conversely, an improperly filed lien can expose the claimant to costs and damages.
We assist owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other construction participants with:
- determining whether lien rights exist;
- calculating filing and enforcement deadlines;
- preparing and filing claims of lien;
- removing or cancelling liens;
- prosecuting and defending lien claims;
- holdback and construction-trust disputes;
- unpaid invoices and breach-of-contract claims; and
- preparing for British Columbia’s new prompt-payment regime.
This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. The law may have changed since the last review date. Do not rely on this page to calculate a limitation period or other legal deadline.
Legislation and further information
People’s Law School: Builders liens
Construction Prompt Payment Act
Province of British Columbia: Prompt-payment legislation
Other resources
If you want more detailed information about builders liens in British Columbia but cannot afford a lawyer, then you can check out these websites: