In construction, “general conditions” means two related things. In the contract, they are the standard clauses that set the rules of the job: who administers it, how changes, payment, insurance and disputes work. In the budget, they are the indirect costs of running the site: supervision, temporary facilities, permits, cleanup and insurance. This guide explains both for commercial projects in British Columbia.

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TL;DR

  • General conditions are the rulebook of a construction contract. In Canada, most commercial projects start from a CCDC standard form, such as CCDC 2 for stipulated price work.
  • Supplementary conditions amend that rulebook for your project, and they outrank the general conditions when the two conflict.
  • “General conditions costs” are the indirect costs of running a site: supervision, temporary facilities, permits, safety, waste removal and insurance.
  • In an occupied building, the clauses on access, hours, safety, changes and payment matter most. Read them before you sign.
  • Ask your contractor to show general conditions as their own line items, so the scope is clear.

Table of Contents

What general conditions mean in a construction contract

General conditions are the standard, non-project-specific clauses of a construction contract. They set out the rights, responsibilities and relationships of the owner, the contractor and the consultant, and the procedures that govern the work. They stay the same from one project to the next. The drawings and specifications describe what is built.

One way to think about it: the drawings tell the contractor what to build, and the general conditions tell everyone how the project will be run. General contract guides describe them as the part of the contract that itemizes the rights, responsibilities and relationships of the parties.

Across Canada, owners rarely write these clauses from scratch. Public bodies publish their own versions. The City of Calgary, for example, issues Standard General Conditions for Construction that form a schedule to its tender agreements. The City of Winnipeg’s General Conditions for Construction run to 25 clauses, from definitions and changes in the work to warranty, force majeure and minimum insurance.

Private commercial work in BC, such as a tenant improvement or a café buildout, most often relies on the industry’s own standard forms.

What the CCDC 2 general conditions cover

The CCDC 2 Stipulated Price Contract is the most widely used standard form for fixed-price commercial work in Canada. Its general conditions are organized into 13 parts, covering administration, execution, payment, changes, default, disputes, safety, regulations, insurance, takeover and indemnification.

The CCDC 2-2020 table of contents lists the parts:

  1. General Provisions
  2. Administration of the Contract
  3. Execution of the Work
  4. Allowances
  5. Payment
  6. Changes in the Work
  7. Default Notice
  8. Dispute Resolution
  9. Protection of Persons and Property
  10. Governing Regulations
  11. Insurance
  12. Owner Takeover
  13. Indemnification and Waiver

CCDC describes the General Conditions in CCDC 2 as high-level administrative requirements and procedures. They address the consultant’s role and authority, changes in the work, work by other contractors, insurance, Ready-for-Takeover, dispute resolution and early occupancy by the owner.

A few details are worth knowing as a property owner or manager:

  • Governing law. Under GC 1.2.1, the law of the Place of the Work governs how the contract is interpreted. For a Vancouver project, that is BC law. (CCDC 2-2020)
  • The consultant’s role. The consultant is the first interpreter of the contract documents. The consultant can reject non-conforming work and issue certificates for payment. (Same document.)
  • Disputes. Part 8 sets out adjudication (GC 8.2) and a negotiation, mediation and arbitration path (GC 8.3). (CCDC 2-2020 template)
  • Safety. Part 9 includes GC 9.4 Construction Safety. (Same template.)

CCDC keeps its forms current. In 2025, four updated contracts were released, including CCDC 5A, CCDC 17 and CCDC 30. Confirm which edition your contract uses before you compare it with older paperwork.

How supplementary conditions change the rulebook

Supplementary conditions are project-specific amendments to the standard general conditions. They can add, delete or revise clauses to reflect the owner’s requirements and the unusual features of a job. Where they conflict with the general conditions, the supplementary conditions win. Read them as closely as the standard form.

The BC Construction Association’s guidance explains that supplementary conditions address specific issues that the project specifications cannot, and that they supersede the base CCDC contract. They can also delete and revise standard clauses, which changes the intent of the original document.

The order of priority is set in GC 1.1.5 of CCDC 2-2020. From highest to lowest, it is the Agreement, the Definitions, the Supplementary Conditions, the General Conditions, Division 01 of the specifications, the technical specifications, the material and finishing schedules, and the drawings (CCDC 2-2020). A requirement in the drawings will not override a clause in the supplementary conditions.

A BC example shows how this works. BC Housing publishes supplementary general conditions for CCDC 2 (2020). They state that an amended or deleted provision no longer applies to the amended portion, while the rest stays in force. They also replace GC 5.4.2 so that, unless the owner engages a third party, the consultant is the payment certifier responsible under the Builders Lien Act for certifying completion.

The lesson for a landlord or tenant: a short list of amendments can change who certifies payment, who carries a risk or how a dispute is handled. Have the supplementary conditions in front of you when you review the general conditions.

How supplementary conditions change the rulebook

General conditions costs: what the budget line includes

In a bid or budget, general conditions costs are the indirect expenses of running the project that are not tied to one trade. They typically cover project management, administration, coordination and site operations, and they are priced as their own line or spread across the trades.

The American Institute of Architects defines general conditions costs as indirect expenses covering project management, administration, coordination and operational support. Procore’s contractor guide lists typical categories: project and site management, permits, licences and regulations, insurance and bonding, change orders, payment terms, dispute resolution, closeout and warranty.

Here is how that looks on a commercial fit-out:

Category Typical examples What it looks like in an occupied building
Supervision and management Site superintendent, project manager, scheduling, coordination Daily coordination with the property manager and other tenants
Temporary facilities Site office, portable washrooms, storage, hoarding Storage in a loading area or vacant suite, protected corridors
Permits and inspections Permit fees, inspections, testing Municipal permits, inspection bookings, building-management approvals
Safety and security Safety measures, signage, site security Barriers, fire watch, after-hours access control
Cleanup and waste Debris removal, construction waste disposal Daily cleaning of shared areas, off-hours bin pickup
Mobilization Setup and demobilization of the site Elevator booking, loading dock scheduling
Insurance Liability coverage, bonding where required Certificates of insurance for the building owner

The categories come from the AIA’s examples, applied here to our typical commercial settings.

General conditions costs scale with duration, not just size. A longer schedule means more weeks of supervision, more time with a site office and more cleanup. That is why a phased job in a working building can carry higher general conditions than the same floor area built in an empty shell.

If a project needs a temporary on-site office or storage, the cost of one is a general conditions item. A container office budget gives an idea of what such a facility can cost when you plan it up front.

We do not publish a fixed percentage for general conditions, because the right figure depends on the duration, the access restrictions and the scope. The honest approach is to price them from the schedule and the site, then show them transparently. Our guide to construction contingency percentage covers the separate question of how much to hold back for unknowns.

General conditions versus general requirements

General requirements state what the contractor must provide, usually in Division 01 of the specifications. General conditions describe how the general contractor will meet those requirements and what it costs. The two overlap on a project, which is why the terms are often confused, so check how your documents use them.

Procore frames the distinction as what versus how: general requirements sit in Division 1 and state what the contractor needs to provide, while general conditions describe how the contractor will fulfil them and at what cost.

There is a second layer of vocabulary. In the contract, “General Conditions” is a capitalized, defined part of a standard form, as in CCDC 2. In a budget, “general conditions” is a cost category. When a contractor says the general conditions are 10 weeks of supervision, they mean the cost category. When your lawyer says GC 6 governs changes, they mean the contract clauses.

In the order of priority above, Division 01 ranks below the general conditions. If the two disagree, the general conditions govern.

What to check before work begins in an occupied building

Before signing, check the clauses that decide how a project behaves in a working building: access and hours, who certifies payment, how changes are priced, insurance, safety, holdback and takeover. These are the clauses that cause friction later, and they are easiest to fix before a contract is signed.

Use this list when you review a contract for a tenant improvement, retail buildout or common-area upgrade:

  1. Documents and priority. Confirm which documents form the contract and which edition of the standard form applies. Find the supplementary conditions and read every amendment.
  2. Consultant and certifier. Identify who administers the contract and who certifies payment. Under the Builders Lien Act, this role matters for completion certificates, as the BC Housing example shows.
  3. Changes in the work. Look for how a change is requested, priced and approved. A written process protects both sides. We cover the budget side in our guide to construction risk management.
  4. Schedule and working hours. In an occupied building, noise, shutdowns and after-hours work shape the plan. Make sure the contract and the building rules say the same thing.
  5. Safety responsibilities. Part 9 of CCDC 2 deals with protection of persons and property. On BC sites, the prime contractor role under WorkSafeBC also applies. Our article on the role of safety in construction explains how this works on site.
  6. Insurance. Check the required limits, who is named on the policies and when certificates are due.
  7. Holdback and payment. BC’s Builders Lien Act requires a holdback. The BC Construction Association notes that the release period is 46 days, currently 55 days, as the amendments take effect. Confirm the current rule with your lawyer or the BCCA before you set payment terms.
  8. Takeover and early occupancy. Ready-for-Takeover and early occupancy by the owner are covered in the CCDC general conditions. For a retail tenant who needs to open for a lease date, these clauses matter.
  9. Dispute path. Know whether adjudication, mediation or arbitration applies, and in what order.

Permits sit alongside the contract. Our overview of types of construction permits shows what a property owner may need, and the list of must-have construction documents shows what to gather before a start date.

For legal interpretation of a specific clause, see a BC construction lawyer. This article explains the structure. It is not legal advice.

Our perspective on general conditions

We see general conditions as the part of a contract that decides whether a project in an occupied building runs smoothly. The line items are not glamorous. They are supervision, protection of shared areas, cleanup, permits, scheduling and safety. They are also where a property manager’s day-to-day experience is decided.

Our approach is to self-perform where we can and manage the whole project as one accountable contractor. That means a fixed scope, a clear schedule and general conditions that are written down, not assumed. We are licensed, carry $5M in liability insurance, and meet WorkSafeBC requirements.

When we price a tenant improvement, a café conversion or a strata common-area upgrade, we set out supervision, site protection, waste removal and permit management as part of the scope. A property manager can see what is included before work starts, and compare bids on the same basis.

Our advice to owners: read the supplementary conditions first, ask what is in the general conditions line, and plan the schedule around the building, not just the floor plan.

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Working with a commercial GC on your project

The right contractor for a commercial project is one that prices general conditions clearly and manages permits, safety and phasing for you. We deliver tenant improvements, retail buildouts, restaurant and café conversions, warehouse renovations and strata common-area work across Metro Vancouver, inside occupied buildings.

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If you are scoping a project, start with the service page that matches it: tenant improvements, retail buildouts, coffee shop and restaurant renovations or warehouse renovations. For a wider look, see our commercial renovation services, view past work in the project portfolio, or contact our team to discuss scope, schedule and permits. If you want to understand the role first, our guide explains what a general contractor does.

FAQ

What are general conditions in construction?

General conditions are the standard clauses of a construction contract that set how the project is administered. They cover the roles of the owner, contractor and consultant, changes, payment, insurance, safety and disputes. In Canada, many commercial contracts use the CCDC standard forms, with supplementary conditions added for the project.

What are examples of general conditions?

In the contract, examples include change procedures, payment certification, insurance requirements, dispute resolution and takeover. In the budget, examples include a site superintendent, temporary facilities, permits and inspections, safety measures, waste removal and mobilization. Both sets of examples are listed in the sections above.

What is the difference between general conditions and general requirements?

General requirements state what the contractor must provide, usually in Division 01. General conditions describe how the contractor will do it and what it costs. In a contract, “General Conditions” also names the standard clauses, which rank below the supplementary conditions.

Who sets the general conditions on a BC project?

Usually the owner or consultant chooses a standard form, often a CCDC contract, and adds supplementary conditions. Public owners such as BC Housing publish their own supplementary conditions. On private commercial work, the parties can negotiate amendments before signing.

Are general conditions a percentage of the project cost?

They are best priced from the schedule and site, because supervision, facilities and cleanup depend on duration and access. Some contractors quote them as a lump sum or a percentage. Ask for the basis, so you can compare bids fairly.

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