In British Columbia, most ocean, lake, and river foreshore is
aquatic Crown land. BC Assessment uses a policy referred to as the
Occupiers Policy when assessing aquatic Crown land that is occupied by one or more third parties.
Who is an occupier of exempt waterfront property?
A person is an occupier of exempt property under Section 1 of the
Assessment Act if the person:
- is entitled to maintain an action for trespass if a trespass occurs;
- is in possession of Crown, municipal or otherwise exempt land under some form of tenure or other record;
- in respect of land ordinarily covered by non-tidal water or occasionally covered by tidal water, is entitled, under a license or lease, to possess or occupy land, water covering the land or the surface of the water covering the land (whether they actually possess it or not);
- or if the tenure is not a license or lease, if they actually do possess the water lot; or
- simply occupies the Crown, municipal or otherwise exempt land, water covering land or the surface of the water covering the land (i.e. squatters).
For more information on Occupiers Requirements including related policies and prescribed documents that may assist in determining occupier status, please review BC Assessment's
Occupiers Policy.
Change in occupation status requirements
What must happen?
- Where Crown land located within a municipality, including the City of Vancouver, becomes or ceases to be occupied part way through the tax year, a supplementary assessment must be issued to reflect the period when the Crown land began or ceased to be taxably occupied. Note that for this provision to apply, the Crown must continue to be the owner of the property. This provision does not apply to other exempt properties under Section 27 or 28 of the Assessment Act.
- Where Crown land located in a rural area becomes or ceases to be occupied part way through the tax year, the change must be reflected on the next assessment roll.
- Where land owned by a municipality or other exempt entity becomes or ceases to be occupied part way through the tax year, the change must be reflected on the next assessment roll.
Special considerations
When properties change ownership, the transfer of ownership is typically recorded in the records of the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA). However, when there is a private moorage structure, a dock or wharf, attached to the property, the LTSA will not update foreshore tenure records.
Additional steps and considerations are required depending on the status of your private moorage structure:
- Private moorage structures that exist under the General Permission Policy do not have a tenure and therefore you are required to contact BC Assessment directly to update the name and mailing address records for tax purposes.
- Private moorage structures that have a Specific Permission Tenure agreement will need to have their tenure assigned to the correct landowner. In this case, the Crown will provide updated tenure records for BC Assessment.
- Note: If you are still receiving assessment or tax notices for a private moorage structure attached to a property that has been sold, you are encouraged to connect with the realtor and/or notary that processed the property sale and request that they transfer ALL tax roll numbers associated with your previously owned property to the new owners.
You can also use the
iMap service to check if there is a tenure or not.
Important Notice: BC Assessment’s
Occupiers Policy is made available to the public for informational purposes only. The policy is not binding on BC Assessment. It does not constitute legal advice. If there is a conflict between this policy and the relevant legislation (or case law), the legislation (or case law) prevails.
