Construction material represents more than one-third of Victoria’s landfilled waste. To salvage valuable wood and construction materials, Victoria introduced the Demolition Waste and Deconstruction Bylaw. The bylaw will be implemented in two phases to grow industry capacity and to align with the City’s Housing Strategy.
Salvaging materials from demolitions in Victoria has the potential to divert 3,000 tonnes of waste from the landfill every year. This represents roughly 15 per cent of Zero Waste Victoria’s 2040 target.
Demolition permit applicants pay a refundable fee of $19,500. This fee is refunded after the permit holder salvages the target amount of wood for reuse during their demolition. The target is aligned with the size of the house: 40 kilograms per square metre of above-ground floor area. Permit holders must document and report the amount of wood salvaged and how it will be reused. Reusing might include:
donation to a charitable organization that sells building materials for reuse
direct reuse in a new build
remanufacture for applications such as architectural finishings or furniture
The new rules are being phased in to give industry time to prepare for the new requirements. The first phase applies to permit applications submitted on or after September 12, 2022. This phase includes demolition of single-family dwellings and duplexes built before 1960 that are being demolished to build another single-family dwelling or duplex.
The bylaw’s refundable fee does not have to be paid with permit applications submitted before September 12, 2023.
The second phase of the bylaw, beginning May 12, 2025, applies to demolition of all single-family dwellings and duplexes built before 1960, including those being demolished to build multi-family housing.
Sept 12, 2022
Bylaw phase 1 in effect
Refundable fee not charged
Sept 12, 2023
Grace period ends
Refundable fee charged
May 12, 2025
Bylaw phase 2 in effect
No. The bylaw is being phased in to avoid impacts to new housing supply. Currently, the bylaw only impacts properties where an older house is being replaced with a new single-family home or duplex. This first phase involves homes with an assessed value in the top 3% of residential properties in Victoria. This represents an estimated current market home value above $2 million. The regulation aligns with Victoria’s Housing Strategy.
Staff expect contractors and builders to adopt material salvage as common practice during the first phase of the bylaw. This will enable all pre-1960 single-family home and duplex demolitions to be brought under the bylaw in the second phase without impacting housing affordability.
There are between 40 and 60 buildings demolished every year in Victoria. Approximately three quarters of these are houses and duplexes.
Almost all demolished houses were constructed before 1960. Older homes contain valuable salvageable materials, including old-growth lumber.
Demolished single-family homes in Victoria provide an opportunity to divert 3,000 tonnes of valuable wood from the landfill every year. This represents roughly 15 per cent of Zero Waste Victoria’s 2040 target.
Staff worked with developers, builders and deconstruction services providers to develop the bylaw. The City also consulted used material resellers and housing charities. This was done to come up with the planned approach to regulate the salvage of building materials across Victoria. Staff continue to work with stakeholders to support implementation of the Bylaw.
Addressing construction waste is identified as a priority in the CRD’s Solid Waste Management Plan. The City of Victoria is working closely with the CRD on an approach that supports the region.
