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MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Building By-Law
B-028-26
Effective
Date:
May 8, 2026
Page | 1
Building By-Law B-028-26
Part 1 Purpose
1.1
The purpose of this by-law is to outline when building and occupancy permits are
required, the application and inspection process, and the roles and responsibilities of
property owners, applicants, and the authority having jurisdiction.
Part 2 Definitions
In this By-law, unless otherwise defined herein, definitions contained in the Building Code Act,
Nova Scotia Building Code Regulations and National Building Code of Canada apply to this
By-Law.
2.1
"Act" or "The Act" means the Nova Scotia Building Code Act, as amended from time to
time;
2.2
"Agent" means a person who is authorized to act for, or in the place of, another;
2.3
"applicant" means the owner or their agent, appointed in writing by the owner;
2.4
"architect" means a member or licensee of the Nova Scotia Association of Architects;
2.5
"authority having jurisdiction" means any person appointed as the building official;
2.6
"building" means a building as defined by the National Building Code of Canada;
2.7
"building code" means the National Building Code of Canada, as amended from time
to time;
2.8
"building official" means a person appointed as a building official under section 5 of
the Act;
2.9
"CAO" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the Municipality;
2.10 "construct" means to do anything in the erection, installation, extension, relocation,
material alteration or material repair of a building and includes the installation of a
factory-made building fabricated or moved from elsewhere;
2.11 "demolition" means the doing of anything in the removal of a building or any material
part thereof;
2.12 "material alteration" and "material repair" means work that is done in the alteration or
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Building By-Law
B-028-26
Effective
Date:
May 8, 2026
Page | 2
Building By-Law B-028-26
repair of a building which work is covered by the Building Code, and which:
2.12.1 is a non-structural repair or alteration which has a monetary value of more than
$5,000;
2.12.2 is a repair or alteration to the structure of a building.
2.13 "National Building Code of Canada" means the National Building Code issued by the
National Research Council;
2.14 "National Research Council" means the Associate Committee on the National Building
Code of the National Research Council of Canada;
2.15 "occupancy" or "class of occupancy" means the use or intended use of a building, as
defined in the National Building Code of Canada;
2.16 "owner" includes a person controlling the property under consideration, and also
includes the assessed owner of the property whose name appears on the assessment
roll prepared in accordance with the Assessment Act;
2.17 "permit" means a permit issued pursuant to The Act;
2.18 "professional engineer" means a member or licensee of the Association of
Professional Engineers of the Province of Nova Scotia;
2.19 "Regulations" means the Nov Scotia Building Code Regulations;
2.20 "superstructure" means that part of a building above the foundation;
Part 3 Permit Required
3.1
A permit is required, prior to commencing work, if work regulated by the Building Code
is to be done. In accordance with the Building Code, a permit is required, prior to
commencing work, for:
3.1.1 the design, construction, erection, placement and occupancy of new buildings;
and
3.1.2 the alteration, reconstruction, demolition, removal, relocation, occupancy and
change of occupancy classification of existing buildings in the Municipality.
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Building By-Law
B-028-26
Effective
Date:
May 8, 2026
Page | 3
Building By-Law B-028-26
3.2
In addition to the permit requirements of the Regulations, a building permit is required
for material alterations.
Part 4 Permit Not Required
4.1
Except as required by another enactment, a permit is not required for the following (but
not limited to - see Regulations for complete details):
4.1.1 accessory buildings not greater than 20 square metres (215.2 square feet) in
area; and
4.1.2 interior and exterior non-structural material alterations and material repairs with a
monetary value of five thousand dollars ($5000) or less.
4.2
Notwithstanding 4.1 above, the Building Code shall still apply.
Part 5 Building Permit Application
5.1
Before issuing a building permit, a complete application shall be filed with the authority
having jurisdiction.
5.2
Before issuing a building permit, the authority having jurisdiction shall be satisfied that a
development permit has been issued pursuant to the Land Use By-Law of the
Municipality.
5.3
Every Application for a permit shall:
5.3.1 Identify and describe in detail the work and occupancy to be covered by the
permit for which application is made,
5.3.2 Describe the land on which the work is to be done by a description that will
readily identify and locate the building lot,
5.3.3 Include the plans and specification as required by the Building Code and show
the occupancy of all parts of the building,
5.3.4 State the valuation and square footage of the proposed work and be
accompanied by the required fee, and
5.3.5 State the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the owner, architect,
professional engineer or other designer and constructor.
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Building By-Law
B-028-26
Effective
Date:
May 8, 2026
Page | 4
Building By-Law B-028-26
5.4
Before issuing a demolition permit, the authority having jurisdiction shall be satisfied that
the building is not subject to the provisions of a By-Law passed pursuant to the Heritage
Property Act.
5.5
When an application for a permit has not been completed in conformance with the
requirements of this By-Law within six months after it is filed, the application shall be
deemed to have been abandoned.
5.6
The Municipality may withhold the issuance of a building permit until satisfied that any
and all applicable federal, provincial and municipal regulatory requirements have been
met including, but not limited to, any requirements under a Land-Use By-law,
Subdivision By-law, or Municipal Planning Strategy.
Part 6 Building Permits
6.1
A permit is valid for twelve months from the date of issue and is renewable at the
discretion of the CAO who may delegate to the authority having jurisdiction.
6.2
Any permit issued for part only of a building shall be clearly marked as for part of a
building only, and shall also indicate that a permit for the entire building is not assured.
This permit shall be clearly marked "At Owner's Risk".
6.3
A permit for a whole project may be issued conditionally upon the submission of
additional information prior to commencing the work for which the information is of such
a nature that withholding the permit until the information was available would delay the
work unreasonably. The condition shall be set out on the face of the permit.
Part 7 Occupancy Permits
7.1
An occupancy permit is required:
7.1.1 to allow the occupancy of a building or part thereof, or
7.1.2 when the occupancy of the building or part thereof is changed.
7.2
Upon application by the owner, an authority having jurisdiction may issue an occupancy
permit for all or part of a building prior to the completion of work for which a building
permit was issued, where no unsafe condition exists or will exist because of the work
being undertaken or not completed.
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Building By-Law
B-028-26
Effective
Date:
May 8, 2026
Page | 5
Building By-Law B-028-26
7.3
An occupancy permit may be withheld until the Municipality is satisfied that the
provisions of the Land Use By-Law, the Heritage Property Act, applicable Development
Agreements and any other regulations or by-laws enacted, have been complied with.
The Building Official shall not issue an occupancy permit for the property before the
assigned civic number is posted for the property.
Part 8 Assignment of Agent
8.1
Consent must be provided to the Municipality authority having jurisdiction in writing
(letter, e-mail or assignment of agent form), by the owner of the property, should they
require a contractor or agent to apply for, pick-up and/or be responsible for the
building/demolition permit on their behalf. The Municipality's officers and agents shall
only communicate regarding the permit or application with the property owner or their
assigned agent.
Part 9 Permit Fees
9.1
All applicable fees, as established in the Municipal Fees Policy, shall be paid in full
before a building permit, occupancy permit, or demolition permit, is issued.
9.2
Fees for permits shall be levied in accordance with the Municipality's Fees Policy.
9.3
No refund will be issued for abandoned permits.
9.4
Refunds will be issued for rejected permit applications exceeding $100.
Part 10 Inspections
10.1 The Municipality having jurisdiction shall be notified 72 hours in advance of when an
inspection is desired, and the authority having jurisdiction shall be given an opportunity
to inspect at the stages of construction required by the Act.
10.2 The authority having jurisdiction may require additional inspections depending upon the
complexity of the construction to ensure compliance with the Act and Building Code.
Part 11 Offences
11.1 Penalties for violations of this By-Law shall be in accordance with The Act.
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Building By-Law
B-028-26
Effective
Date:
May 8, 2026
Page | 6
Building By-Law B-028-26
Part 12 Repeal
12.1
This By-law hereby repeals and replaces Building By-Law B-028-91.
Chief Administrative Officer's Annotation for Official By-Law Book
Date of First Reading
March 25, 2026
Date of Advertisement of Notice of Intent to Consider
April 2, 2026
Date of Second Reading
April 22, 2026
Date of Advertisement of Passage of By-Law
May 8, 2026
Date of Mailing to Minister a Certified Copy of By-Law
May 13, 2026
I certify that this Building By-Law B-028-26 was adopted by Council and published as
indicated above.
___________________________________
May 8, 2026
Chief Administrative Officer
Date
Date last reviewed: April 22, 2026
Date of last amendment: April 22, 2026