The case of, 2014 BCSC 249 Delta Corporation v. Stevens, deals with municipal injunctions. Here someone had proceeded to drywall in a crawl space without permits. It begs the question as to who would live in, or rent out a crawl space, but that’s for another day.

The municipality applied for an injunction requesting that construction proceed in compliance with the permitting requirements.

The Court granted the injunction. Municipal injunctions are based on statutory provisions and the Court has very little discretion to deny the injunction. As opposed to a common law injunction, the Court will refuse to grant the injunction where circumstances are “exceptional.” Exceptional circumstance are just that. They are far and few between.

The bottom line is that if you have proceeded to build and spend on construction without arranging permits in advance, count on an expensive litigation process dealing with an injunction application. You are far better off determining if you need permits in the first place than getting after the fact and in the face of an injunction application.

The case also speaks to the power of a building official to deviate from permitting bylaw requirements (not) and how intended uses of a structure are determined.