Pictured: David Boles, St. Boniface MP Ginette Lavack, Lanny McInnes & Arin Comack at CHBA Day on the Hill

Quarterly, UDI Manitoba will be providing members with an update on our advocacy initiatives. Our “Advocacy at a Glance” update will provide members with a snapshot on the UDI’s top advocacy files and initiatives.

CLICK HERE to read the Q1 2026 update.

Manitoba’s Rent Regulation is being amended to increase the number of rental units subject to rent regulation, by increasing the monthly rent exempt threshold to $2000/month. The Rent Regulation is also being amended to reduce the portions of capital expenditures by 50 per cent that a landlord is entitled to claim as part of an above-guideline rent increase application. These changes are likely to significantly reduce the amount of renovation investment that occurs at apartment buildings in Manitoba.

Information on the proposed regulation amendments can be found at Proposed amendments to Residential Rent Regulation | EngageMB.

Members impacted by these proposed regulation amendments are encouraged to provide their feedback directly here.

This week, the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association received a response from the Province of Manitoba regarding the MHBA’s request for Manitoba to pause the adoption of the 2025 National Model Construction Codes. To view the Province of Manitoba’s response, click here.

The MHBA has replied to the response by asking Manitoba to consider how to best meet their Canadian Free Trade Agreement commitments while still addressing problematic and costly aspects of the 2025 model codes and work with other provinces to develop and consider an alternative harmonized approach that would not simply be a “blanket” adoption of the published national model codes. We have also provided Manitoba Labour & Immigration with a copy of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s (CHBA) new white paper, “Pause All Things Codes”, that provides more detailed information on our industry’s collective concerns and recommendations specific to the 2025 Code Changes. 

The MHBA has joined the CHBA and all other provincial Home Builder Associations across Canada in calling for a pause in adopting the 2025 National Model Construction Codes. On March 4, the MHBA provided Premier Wab Kinew with a letter signed by the CHBA, MHBA and all the provincial HBAs requesting provincial governments across Canada pause the adoption of the 2025 code changes. The MHBA also requested that the Manitoba government delay the publication and public review of the draft regulation that would see Manitoba adopting the 2025 model codes. Manitoba is one of 4 provinces that has legislated automatic adoption of the National Model Construction Codes. 

Our letter outlined that with the 2025 National Model Construction Codes, provincial governments are being asked to adopt the most extensive and costly set of code changes in recent history at precisely the moment when housing affordability, labour capacity, and delivery timelines are under severe strain. Many jurisdictions, including Manitoba, are still implementing major requirements from the 2020 code cycle, particularly higher energy efficiency tiers, yet our members are now expected to absorb another wave of complex changes.

To view our letter to Premier Kinew requesting code adoption be paused, click here.

To view the CHBA’s position paper on changes to codes, click here.

We will keep members informed of any new information regarding our engagement with the Manitoba government on our request. 

Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba invites the public and practitioners to participate in open houses regarding potential changes to The Engineering and Geoscientific Professions Act – online and in-person options available.

One of the fundamental goals of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba (the Association) is to ensure that “the interests of the public of Manitoba are protected as they relate to the practice of engineering and geoscience”.

The Council of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba invites all members of the public and practitioners to join the Association in an open engagement session discussing potential legislative changes to The Engineering and Geoscientific Professions Act. You can participate online or in-person at the Association’s office at 870 Pembina Highway. There is no cost to attend.

CLICK HERE for more information and to register.

The City of Winnipeg has published development permit and building permit statistics and permit processing times.

CLICK HERE to view.

Manitoba has introduced an important update to the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation that will impact many construction projects across the province. Beginning April 1, 2027, select large construction sites will be required to provide hot water for handwashing.

This change is aimed at improving worker health, hygiene, and overall site conditions, while also creating greater consistency across the industry.

What’s Changing?

Under the updated regulation, employers and prime contractors must ensure that hot water is available for handwashing at certain construction sites. This requirement applies to industrial, commercial, and institutional projects that meet all of the following criteria:

• The building is greater than 600 square metres or more than three storeys in height, AND
• There are more than 25 workers on site, or that number is expected at any point during the project

This means planning for hot water is no longer optional - it must be built into project logistics from the outset.

CLICK HERE for more information.

Please see the following update from the City of Winnipeg’s Director of Planning, Property & Development:

Development Permit Exemptions: March 2
 

As the City of WInnipeg continue to streamline processes to support building and development in Winnipeg, we launched more development permit exemptions on March 2. 

We implemented the first phase of these changes in March of 2024, which included 25 development permit exemptions. This reduced year-over-year volumes by more than 30%. 

The second phase was launched in September of 2025 and included 11 exemptions. Early results show a 30% reduction in volumes when comparing September to December 2025 volumes against the same period in 2024. 

Based on trends over the past two years, the latest round of development permit exemptions may contribute to a further reduction in annual volumes. We could potentially achieve up to a 20% reduction relative to 2025 levels. 

The five new development permit exemptions launched on March 2 are: 

• Change of use to establish an office in an existing commercial building anywhere in the city 
• Change of use to establish a personal services use or a retail sales use in an existing commercial building outside of the downtown area 
• Change of use to re-establish agricultural cultivation (farming) 
• Replacement of an existing fire escape 
• Like-for-like replacement of balconies 

This brings our total to 41 development permit exemptions introduced over the last two years. These exemptions benefit the development industry by allowing qualifying projects to move directly to the building permit stage. 

The latest round of exemptions went live on our website on March 2. See the full list of development permit exemptions here. 

Development & Building Permit Statistics: March 12 


Launched in September 2025, this web page is a valuable tool for the construction industry. Using Open Data, it displays the number of permits issued, and net changes in dwelling units. The data is categorized by project type and community. The website includes charts and graphs highlighting year-over-year residential and commercial building permit volumes from 2010 to present. On March 12, we added development permit statistics to the web page. 

This bulletin clarifies the correct method for measuring limiting distance under the Manitoba Building Code, as it relates to exposing building faces and compliance with spatial separation and fire protection requirements.

CLICK HERE to read the full bulletin.

The City of Brandon housing team would like to remind all housing developers (for profit and not-for-profit) that the Province of MB has a Rental Housing Construction Incentive (RHCI) program to help fund the construction of rental housing.

You can claim a tax credit up to $8500 per rental unit (up to 8% of capital costs) plus an additional $5000 per affordable unit. You must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility within 90 days of receiving your building permit so do not delay!

All the details on eligible projects and program criteria can be found here: Rental Housing Construction Incentive application guide in PDF format.

To determine which provincial housing programs you are eligible for, please do the self-evaluation here: Self-Assessment Tool | Housing, Addictions and Homelessness | Province of Manitoba.

The City of Brandon Engineering Department has released a draft form of Municipal Servicing Standards (MSS) to inform municipal engineering design throughout 2026. The MSS documents can now be found on the City website at https://www.brandon.ca/news/posts/municipal-servicing-standards/.

We encourage industry to become familiar with the MSS documents and share the MSS with their consultants in order to utilize and provide feedback on the standards prior to formal adoption. Formal adoption of MSS is anticipated in the first quarter of 2027. It should be noted Section 2: Engineering Submission Standards is still being drafted and is not yet available for use or comment.

Municipal servicing standards are municipal engineering design standards that will be the basis of design for both City of Brandon projects and private development projects within the City. Our expectation is that development shall be designed in accordance with the draft document throughout 2026 prior to becoming a requirement once adopted.

Winnipeg Construction Association has developed a Manitoba Prompt Payment Contractor Quick Reference Guide to help contractors make sense of the new prompt payment regime. The document outlines payment timelines, rules on disputes and more. You can download it for free here.

Manitoba Municipal Board public hearing notices can be found here.