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Guide to the Letters of Assurance
in the BC Building Code 1998


December 1998

Table of Contents

Forward

This document was jointly prepared by and is endorsed by the Architectural Institute of B.C., the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C., the Building Officials' Association of B.C. and the Building Policy Branch of the Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security (formerly Ministry of Municipal Affairs).


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Committee Members
Name Organization
Bob Thompson Building Policy Branch, Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security
Michael Ernest, MAIBC Director of Professional Services, Architectural Institute of B.C.
S. Ross Rettie, P.Eng. Director, Professional Practice and Ethics,
Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C.
Ric McWilliam, P.Eng. Building Officials' Association of B.C.
A.L. (Rick) Bortolussi Building Officials' Association of B.C.
Steve Hart, MAIBC Architectural Institute of B.C.
Barry Thorson, P.Eng. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C.
J.P. (Peter) Toneguzzo, P.Eng. City of Vancouver

The committee takes this opportunity to thank those owners, authorities having jurisdiction, registered professionals, builders and other participants who have taken the time to share their experiences so that all may benefit from the development of this document.

 

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Preface

This Guide to Letters of Assurance addresses some of the concerns that have been raised since the adoption of the Letters of Assurance and makes a number of observations, suggestions and recommendations which assist and reinforce their uniform use and application. Further questions regarding application of the B.C. Building Code, the Letters of Assurance or this Guide should be directed to the Building Policy Branch.

Questions relating to professional practice of engineers or architects regarding the use of Letters of Assurance, should be directed respectively to:

S. Ross Rettie, P.Eng
Director, Professional Practice and Ethics
 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C.
 200 - 4010 Regent Street
Burnaby, B.C. V5C 6N2
Telephone: 604 430-8035
Fax: 604 430-8085

or

Michael Ernest, MAIBC Director of Professional Services
Architectural Institute of B.C
Suite 100 - 440 Cambie Stree
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2N5
Telephone: 1 (800) 667-0753
Fax: 1 (800) 661-2955

Participants in the building design and review process are encouraged to refer to the relevant sections of the B.C. Building Code (chiefly Section 2.6, "Professional Design and Review," the referenced Schedules and the relevant Appendix Notes).

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Background

Prior to the inclusion of the uniform mandatory "Letters of Assurance" in the 1992 B.C. Building Code, there were a number of different versions of Letters of Assurance depending on the municipality from which they originated. Some were unacceptable from a professional commitment perspective and did not afford adequate protection to the various participants.

Mr. Dan Closkey, Inquiry Commissioner on the Station Square Inquiry, in his report recommended that standard Letters of Assurance be made mandatory for all buildings governed by Part 4 of the B.C. Building Code. Municipalities, owners, designers and anyone else who used them also expressed a strong desire for one standard set of Letters of Assurance for use throughout the province. A standard set of Letters of Assurance was then developed by a technical committee comprised of representatives from the Architectural Institute of B.C., the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C., the Building Inspectors Association of B.C., the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Building Standards Branch.

The current Letters of Assurance, which are unique to the B.C. Building Code, were introduced through revisions to Section 2.6, "Professional Design and Review."

(Note: The terms building inspector, building official and authority having jurisdiction are used interchangeably in documents relating to the building industry and are intended to refer to the same person. The Municipal Act defines the term building inspector, while the B.C. Building Code uses the term authority having jurisdiction. In this document, the term "authority having jurisdiction" is used).


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Amendment to Municipal Act (Bill 71-1990)

The Letters of Assurance are totally independent of the amendments to Section 734 of the Municipal Act resulting from Bill 71. The amendments to Section 734 were intended to reinforce the fact that the responsibility for the design of projects rested with the registered professionals. In return, the owner might receive a reduction in permit fees if it could be shown that some of the plan review would be carried out by the professional, consequently reducing the time required from the local government. For this provision to apply, local government must indicate in writing to the permit applicant that local government is relying on the professional certification of the design. The field review aspect was not addressed. A local Bylaw is required to bring the requirements of "Bill 71" into force.


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Responsibility

Letters of Assurance are intended to clearly identify the responsibilities of key players in a construction project. The Letters of Assurance do not alter the fundamental responsibility of local government or anyone else from what existed previous to their adoption; nor do the Letters of Assurance create new responsibilities for the architect or engineer. They do, however, commit a project's owner to engage the appropriate registered professionals in their corresponding disciplines (as well as a coordinating registered professional) to provide design and field review under appropriate terms of reference, with signed and sealed assurances.

Compliance with the B.C. Building Code, its referenced standards and the provision of field review are already part of the architects' and engineers' professional responsibilities which are specified in their professional acts and related bylaws. The Letters of Assurance are not intended to eliminate the present plan review process and site inspections carried out by the authority having jurisdiction. The authority having jurisdiction should continue an independent third party role of monitoring the construction for substantial compliance with the B.C. Building Code.


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Scope of Letters of Assurance

Sentence 2.6.1.1.(1) specifies the categories of buildings and the component parts of the work for which Letters of Assurance are required. The committee that developed the Letters of Assurance did not intend that they be used for those Part 9 buildings which are not covered by Section 2.6.1.1.(1). The use of the Letters of Assurance under the full system of requirements in Section 2.6 is generally inappropriate and unduly onerous on such building categories as single family dwellings, small (Part 9) offices and stores and most tenant improvements.


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Tenant Improvements

Tenant improvements were never intended to be a primary focus for Letters of Assurance. Many tenant improvements are simple; do not entail significant construction; involve no structural, mechanical or electrical components; introduce no other "public safety" concerns such as exiting and accessibility; and (because of their nature and/or small size) may be undertaken as to their design and field review without contravention of the professional statutes and the B.C. Building Code, by persons who are not registered professionals. In such cases, Letters of Assurance are not required.

There are some tenant improvements, however, which do require Letters of Assurance under the B.C. Building Code and which must be undertaken by registered professionals. In those cases, while noting that the "Project" is limited to a part (not the whole) of a larger building, the current Letters of Assurance (Schedules A, B-1, B-2, C-a and C-b) are appropriate. The owners are obliged to retain registered professionals (including a coordinating registered professional) from the outset.

(Note: Registered professionals are generally prohibited under statute from signing, sealing and claiming design authorship for documents which were not produced under their direction or control.)

Occasionally, the concern is not only with the tenant improvement itself but is also about whether or not the tenant improvement maintains the integrity of its "parent" building's code compliance. In that case, a signed and sealed statement should be provided by a registered professional, which gives assurances that "the design of the tenant improvement has been reviewed for compatibility with the original design of the base building and that, if constructed in accordance with it's plans and supporting documents, it will not increase non-conformance of the base building or create a non-conformity with respect to code requirements."

(Note: When a tenant improvement represents a "change in use or occupancy" it may have profound implications regarding not only itself but also the upgrading of its entire "parent" building. This should be determined at the earliest opportunity and will require Letters of Assurance.)


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Schedules A, B-1, B-2, C-a and C-b

The Letters of Assurance consist of Schedules A, B-1, B-2, C-a and C-b which are intended to identify the responsibilities of some key players in a construction project. Their use and application are as follows:

Schedule A

Schedule A, signed by both the owner and the coordinating registered professional, confirms that the owner has retained the identified coordinating registered professional and will also have the project designed and field reviews undertaken during construction by the appropriate registered professionals. Both the owner and the coordinating registered professional are required to advise the authority having jurisdiction of termination of the coordinating registered professional. The coordinating registered professional is required to advise the authority having jurisdiction of the termination of any registered professional and to obtain new schedules for replacement registered professionals.

Construction of a project or portions thereof for which the terminated coordinating registered professional or registered professional has responsibility shall cease until a replacement registered professional is in place and appropriate new Letters of Assurance have been submitted to the authority having jurisdiction.

(Note: There should be a means to determine which registered professionals are being coordinated by the coordinating registered professional under Schedule A. The practice of the owner hiring other registered professionals as needed but not necessarily advising the coordinating registered professional is unacceptable. The owner should be advised that the coordinating registered professional must be notified of all registered professionals retained on the project. The coordinating registered professional could otherwise appear to become responsible for coordinating the work of registered professionals without knowing they were involved in the project. There have been instances where the coordinating registered professional unknowingly became responsible for some additional work undertaken to satisfy a lease holder. The coordinating registered professional must be made aware of all equivalencies utilized on the project. In these circumstances the coordinating registered professional should discuss with the authority having jurisdiction what administrative procedures are acceptable to both parties).

Since there is no place on Schedule A to list the registered professionals, the coordinating registered professional should attach a list of those registered professionals for whom the coordinating registered professional is responsible.

Schedules B-1 and B-2

Schedules B-1 and B-2 identify the various registered professionals who acknowledge responsibility for certain portions of the design and that it substantially complies with the B.C. Building Code and other applicable enactments respecting safety except for construction safety aspects. They also provide a commitment to be responsible for the field review required for the project.

Schedule C-a

Schedule C-a confirms that the coordinating registered professional has coordinated the necessary field reviews of the registered professionals engaged on the project. It also confirms that he or she has coordinated the functional testing of the fire emergency systems and devices to ascertain that they substantially comply with the requirements of the B.C. Building Code.

Schedule C-b

Schedule C-b confirms that the necessary field reviews have been completed and the finished project substantially conforms to the registered professional's design and the B.C. Building Code.

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