The Homeowner Protection Office is a branch of BC Housing, a provincial Crown agency under the Ministry of Housing and Social Development. Minister Rich Coleman is the Minister of Housing and Social Development.

What We Do

The HPO is responsible for:

• licensing residential builders and building envelope renovators province-wide
• administering owner builder authorizations
• monitoring the performance of the third-party home warranty insurance system underwritten by the private sector, and
• carrying out research and education which benefits the residential construction industry and consumers.

As part of government’s review of Crown corporations, the Province transferred the administration of the Reconstruction Program to the Ministry of Finance effective April 1, 2010. HPO stopped accepting new applications for this program in July 2009. See the Ministry of Housing and Social Development Information Bulletin

Who We Serve

The HPO serves buyers of new homes and people arranging for new homes to be built, homeowners (particularly owners of homes covered by home warranty insurance), developers, residential builders and building envelope renovators. In undertaking its activities the HPO also works closely with warranty providers, building officials, industry and related consumer associations, governments including local governments and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), educational institutions, research organizations, architects, engineers, property managers, the legal community and the real estate community.