British Columbia is the third Western Canadian province to modernize its construction payment rules, following Alberta (2022) and Saskatchewan (2022). The Construction Prompt Payment Act will run alongside the existing Builders Lien Act, with the Builders Lien Act amended in tandem to shorten the holdback period from 55 days to 46 days.
The Act introduces a hard 28-day payment clock once a proper invoice is delivered, a 7-day window for owners to dispute deficient invoices, downstream payment rules that push payment through the contracting chain, and a statutory adjudication mechanism for fast dispute resolution. None of these tools exist under BC law today.
This guide explains what the Act will do once proclaimed, what is still pending in regulation, and what BC contractors should be doing now to get ready. Where the language of the statute is open, this page errs on the side of describing the published framework rather than predicting what the regulations will say.
Status: passed but not yet in force
Bill 20 received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025. That is a meaningful but limited milestone. Royal Assent means the Act is on the books; it does not mean the rules are in effect.
Most of the Act will come into force on dates set by Order in Council. The Province has signalled a staged rollout during 2026, but as of publication the regulations setting out the exact proclamation dates have not been issued. Until each provision is proclaimed, the existing Builders Lien Act and ordinary contract law continue to govern.
Two pieces of regulatory work need to land before some provisions can operate:
- The detailed field-list for what counts as a “proper invoice” under the Act. The statute sets a framework; the regulations will set the specific fields.
- The designation of an Authorized Nominating Authority (ANA) to operate the adjudication regime. Without a designated ANA, adjudication cannot begin.
Watch the BC Justice Reviews page for proclamation announcements: gov.bc.ca/prompt-payment-in-the-construction-industry.
The 28/7/14-day timeline
Once the Act is in force, payment timing on a BC construction contract will follow a fixed rhythm. All days are calendar days, not business days.
The downstream rule is the part most BC contractors underestimate. Once you receive payment from the owner, you have only 7 days to push it down. If the chain stalls and you have not been paid, you can refer the dispute to statutory adjudication and get a binding determination in roughly 30 days.
What is a “proper invoice”?
The Act establishes a proper-invoice concept similar to Ontario’s section 6.1 model. An invoice that meets the proper-invoice requirements starts the 28-day clock. An invoice that does not meet them can be rejected by the payer’s 7-day notice of improper invoice and the clock does not start.
The exact list of required fields is being set by regulation and has not been published. The framework in the statute and the experience under the equivalent Ontario rules suggests BC’s proper invoice will require, at minimum:
- Contractor’s name and business address.
- Invoice date and the period during which services or materials were supplied.
- A description of the services or materials and the amount payable.
- Identification of the authority under which the work was done (contract or job reference).
- The name and title of the person authorized to receive payment.
- Other information set by regulation.
We will update this list as soon as the BC regulations are published. Until then, contractors planning ahead should build invoices that include each of the above fields plus a clear period-of-work date range, that combination is the most likely to qualify under any reasonable interpretation of the regulations.
Statutory adjudication: fast dispute resolution
One of the most useful features of the Act is statutory adjudication. Either party to a construction contract can refer a payment dispute to an adjudicator nominated by a designated Authorized Nominating Authority (ANA). The adjudicator must issue a determination within 30 days of receiving the case materials. Payment of the determination is due within 15 days.
The determination is interim-binding. It must be paid even if either party later challenges it in court. This matters because it changes the leverage in a payment dispute: a payer cannot stall a contractor by threatening litigation, because the adjudicated amount is payable regardless.
The Province has not yet designated the ANA. Until it does, adjudication under the Act cannot begin even if all other provisions are proclaimed.
Builders Lien Act changes bundled with Bill 20
Bill 20 also amends the Builders Lien Act. Two changes matter most to contractors:
Holdback period reduced from 55 to 46 days
The statutory holdback (10% of progress payments) is now releasable 46 days after the earlier of a certificate of completion or completion of the head contract, down from 55 days. This shortens the time owners can sit on holdback funds.
Lien preservation deadline: still 45 days
The 45-day lien preservation window under section 20 of the Builders Lien Act is unchanged. Lien claimants still have 45 days from the earlier of a certificate of completion, or completion, abandonment, or termination of the head contract (or the improvement if there is no head contract) to file a claim of lien. BC courts apply this deadline strictly, there is no equitable extension. After preservation, court action must be commenced within 1 year of filing under section 33.
Markup’s lien-deadline tracker handles the BC 45-day clock automatically. Try the free calculator.
What about contracts already in place?
The Act applies only to contracts entered into on or after the coming-into-force date for the relevant provision. Construction contracts in place before then are not retroactively governed by the new prompt-payment rules, they continue to be governed by their existing terms and the pre-Bill-20 Builders Lien Act.
The practical implication: as 2026 approaches, BC contractors should think about contract timing. Signing a new contract a week before proclamation gives you Builders Lien Act protection only; signing a week after gives you both the prompt-payment regime and the adjudication mechanism. For large projects, that distinction is material.
Bill 20 vs the Ontario Construction Act
The BC Act closely mirrors Ontario’s structure but differs in three meaningful ways. If you have read about Ontario’s rules, here is what to remember about BC.
What BC contractors should do before proclamation
- Audit your invoice template now. Add a clear period-of-work date range and a contract or job reference if your current invoices do not have them. Both fields will almost certainly be required.
- Build a habit of dating invoices to the calendar day. The 7-day and 28-day clocks run on calendar days, not business days, and start from the day of delivery.
- Track the BC 45-day lien preservation deadline on every project. Bill 20 does not change this deadline, and missing it permanently extinguishes lien rights.
- Review your subcontracts. Once the Act is in force, you have 7 days to push payment down, that is much faster than most BC contracts currently require.
- Watch the BC Justice Reviews page for proclamation announcements and updates to the proper-invoice regulations.
Sources
- Bill 20, Construction Prompt Payment Act, SBC 2025, BC Laws: bclaws.gov.bc.ca
- BC Government Justice Reviews, Prompt Payment in the Construction Industry: gov.bc.ca
- Builders Lien Act, SBC 1997 c.45: bclaws.gov.bc.ca