The Builders Lien Holdback on a New BC Home

Buyers of newly built homes sometimes see a holdback on their paperwork and assume something has gone wrong. It usually means the opposite. The holdback exists to protect the title you are about to own from claims by people you have never met.

Why unpaid trades become your problem

On a construction project money moves in a chain. The owner pays the general contractor, the general contractor pays subcontractors, and subcontractors pay their suppliers and workers.

When that chain breaks partway down, the people who did the work have a remedy under BC's Builders Lien Act. They can register a lien.

The lien does not attach to the general contractor. It attaches to the title of the land that was improved. If you have bought that land, the claim is now registered against your property, even though you had no involvement in the payment dispute and no way of knowing it existed.

That is the risk the holdback manages, and it is why your conveyancer treats it as your issue rather than the builder's.

The 10% and the 55 days

Two numbers do most of the work here.

The holdback amount is 10% of the value of the work or materials provided. Rather than paying everything out immediately, that portion is retained.

The holdback period expires 55 days after the head contract is completed, abandoned, or terminated. Where there is no head contract, the 55 days run from when the improvement itself is completed or abandoned.

That window gives anyone with a claim time to register it. It is deliberately long enough for an unpaid supplier to notice a problem and act, and short enough that money is not tied up indefinitely.

What happens at the end of the period

Before releasing held funds, the party holding them conducts a title search through the Land Title and Survey Authority to confirm nothing has been registered against the property.

If title is clear when the period has run, the holdback can be released.

If a lien has been registered, the funds stay where they are while the claim is dealt with. That is precisely the scenario the holdback was designed for, and it is a matter for your lawyer rather than something you resolve yourself. This is one of the situations where the notary or lawyer question can become relevant, because a contested claim moves outside routine conveyancing.

It does not delay your keys

This is the reassurance most buyers need, so it is worth saying plainly.

The holdback is a money timeline, not a possession timeline. You complete on your completion date, you get your keys, you move in, and you live in your home. The held funds are released later once the period has run and title is confirmed clear.

Nothing about the holdback keeps you out of the house. Our closing day guide covers what actually happens on the day itself, and this runs in the background afterwards.

Where this shows up in a Fraser Valley purchase

Most first-time buyers here encounter this on new construction, whether that is a freshly completed townhouse in Willoughby or a new home in a recently built subdivision.

If you are buying a presale, the situation has its own layers, because your contract with the developer, the completion of the building, and the timing of your purchase all interact. Our guides to buying a presale condo or townhouse and presale versus resale cover the wider set of differences.

If you are buying a resale home where the seller recently completed a major renovation, the Act can also be relevant, because it applies to contracts for the improvement of land generally rather than only to new houses. That is a good question to raise with your conveyancer if you know significant work was just finished.

What to ask your conveyancer

Keep it simple. Once your offer is firm and you have retained a notary or lawyer, ask three things.

Is a builders lien holdback going to apply to this purchase. Who will hold the funds and for how long. What confirms the release at the end of the period.

Asking early means the answer arrives as information rather than as a surprise line item during completion week. It also gives your conveyancer a chance to flag anything unusual about the specific transaction while there is still time.

Our week-by-week closing timeline shows where this conversation fits alongside everything else you are juggling.

A separate thing from a deficiency holdback

Buyers sometimes conflate two different holdbacks on a new build.

A builders lien holdback protects the title against claims by unpaid trades. A deficiency holdback, when one is negotiated, is about incomplete or defective work in your own unit and is a contractual arrangement rather than a statutory one.

Both can appear on the same purchase. They do different jobs and they are released on different terms. Our guide to the deficiency walkthrough covers the second one, and new home warranty in BC covers what happens with defects after you own the home.

The short version

A builders lien holdback is a normal part of buying newly built property in BC. It holds back 10% of the value of the work for 55 days after the relevant contract or improvement is completed, so that unpaid trades have a window to register claims against title.

It does not delay your possession and it is not a sign that anything has gone wrong. Ask your conveyancer how it applies to your purchase, and let them handle the mechanics.

We are agents rather than lawyers, and nothing here is legal advice. Your notary or lawyer is the right person to explain how the Act applies to your specific transaction.

Key takeaways

• A builders lien attaches to the title of the improved land, which is why it becomes a buyer's concern.
• The holdback under the Builders Lien Act is 10% of the value of the work or materials.
• The holdback period expires 55 days after the head contract is completed, abandoned, or terminated.
• A title search at the LTSA confirms whether any lien has been registered before funds are released.
• The holdback affects money, not possession, so it does not delay your move-in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a builders lien holdback?

It is a portion of the money on a construction contract that is held back rather than paid out immediately, so that unpaid trades and suppliers have a window to register a claim against the title. Under BC's Builders Lien Act the holdback is 10% of the value of the work or materials.

How long does the holdback period last?

The builders lien holdback period expires 55 days after the head contract is completed, abandoned, or terminated, or where there is no head contract, 55 days after the improvement itself is completed or abandoned. That window gives anyone with an unpaid claim time to notice the problem and register a lien against the title, while still being short enough that the held funds, 10% of the value of the work under the Builders Lien Act, are not tied up indefinitely.

Why does this affect me as a buyer?

A builders lien attaches to the title of the property rather than to the general contractor, so if an unpaid trade registers a lien, it is registered against the land you are buying even though you had no involvement in the original payment dispute. This is why your conveyancer manages the holdback as your issue on a new home purchase rather than treating it as the builder's problem alone. The Builders Lien Act's 10% holdback and 55-day window exist specifically to manage this risk.

Does the holdback apply to every new home purchase?

The Builders Lien Act applies to contracts for the improvement of land in BC, which covers renovation work as well as brand-new houses. How the holdback is handled in a specific purchase depends on the contract and the circumstances, including whether you are buying a presale, a freshly completed home, or a resale property where the seller recently finished a major renovation, so ask your notary or lawyer how it applies to your file.

Who holds the money?

In a typical purchase, the builders lien holdback is retained in trust by the conveyancer handling the transaction rather than released directly to the seller or builder at completion. The exact arrangement can vary by transaction, so confirm with your own conveyancer who is holding the funds and for how long. This is one of three questions worth asking once your offer is firm and you have retained a notary or lawyer for a new build.

What happens at the end of the 55 days?

At the end of the 55-day holdback period, the party holding the funds conducts a title search through the Land Title and Survey Authority to confirm that no liens have been registered against the property. If title comes back clear at that point, the holdback can be released to the seller or builder. If a lien has been registered instead, the funds stay held while that claim is dealt with rather than being released on schedule.

What if a lien does get registered?

If a lien does get registered during the 55-day holdback period, the funds stay held while the claim is dealt with, which is exactly the situation the builders lien holdback exists to handle. This moves the transaction into contentious territory and becomes a matter for your lawyer rather than something a buyer resolves directly, since it is the same kind of complication that would normally shift conveyancing work from a notary to a lawyer.

Does this delay my move-in?

No. You complete on your scheduled completion date, get your keys, and move in on the normal schedule. The builders lien holdback runs on a separate money timeline in the background. The held funds, 10% of the value of the work, are released later once the 55-day period has run and title is confirmed clear of any liens. Your lawyer or notary handles that release, so it needs nothing from you on moving day.

Should I use a lawyer instead of a notary for a new build?

A routine new home purchase, including the standard builders lien holdback process, is ordinary conveyancing work that a notary handles regularly. Legal advice becomes appropriate when there is a dispute, a complication with title, or a lien actually gets registered during the 55-day holdback period, since those situations move outside a notary's non-contentious scope. Ask your conveyancer early in the process how they intend to handle the holdback on your specific purchase.

How is this different from a deficiency holdback?

A builders lien holdback protects the property's title against unpaid trades registering claims under the Builders Lien Act, holding back 10% of the value of the work for 55 days. A deficiency holdback, when one is negotiated, is a separate contractual arrangement about incomplete or defective work inside your own unit rather than a statutory protection tied to the title. Both can appear on the same new build, and they are released on different terms.

Sources

• Builders Lien Act, Government of British Columbia
• Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia

Verified September 1, 2026. General information only, not legal advice. How the Builders Lien Act applies depends on the contract and circumstances. Consult your BC notary or lawyer about your specific transaction.

Related FRIVE guides

• Notary or lawyer for your BC closing, who handles the conveyancing
• Closing day in BC, what actually happens when you complete
• Deficiency walkthrough on a new home, the other holdback buyers hear about
• New home warranty in BC, coverage after you own it
• Buying a presale condo or townhouse, where new construction timelines get complicated
• How much down payment for a condo in BC, the 5%, 10% and 20% minimums with worked examples

Next Steps: Work with FRIVE

New construction in the Fraser Valley comes with a set of mechanics that resale purchases do not have, and most of them are handled quietly by your conveyancer if you ask the right question early.

If you are buying new and want to know which questions to raise before completion week, start a conversation with the FRIVE team or browse current Fraser Valley listings.