We appreciate the difficulties British Columbians may face as a result of recent extreme weather events (e.g. flooding, landslides, and wildfires), and you may have questions or concerns about the impact on your property assessment.
If your property has been recently impacted, please contact your local Assessment Office or use our Online Contact Us Form.
Sustained property damage prior to December 31st
When is damage or loss reflected in my assessment?
Per Sections 18(2) and (3) of the Assessment Act, substantial damage or destruction of buildings and/or structures due to weather events that is reported, and not repaired by October 31st of the current year (i.e. October 31, 2023), will be considered when determining your upcoming (i.e. 2024) assessment value.
When is damage or loss not reflected in my assessment?
Substantial damage or destruction of buildings and/or structures due to weather events that occurred between November 1st and December 31st of the previous year (i.e. 2023), and was not repaired by December 31st, will not be reflected in your upcoming (i.e. 2024) assessment. Section 10(3)(c.1) of the Assessment Act provides a framework for amending assessments in such cases. Follow the instructions below to initiate an assessment review for substantially damaged or destroyed buildings and/or structures.
What if my buildings and/or structures are undamaged, but my land is damaged?
Section 10 (3)(c.1) only permits amendment to an assessment if a property's buildings and/or structures were deemed substantially damaged or destroyed. Damage to land without substantial building and/or structure damage will not be considered until the following year's assessment.
What constitutes substantial damage?
Buildings and/or structures are considered substantially damaged if remediation costs are at least 25% of assessed improvement value, or the damage renders the improvements uninhabitable or unusable for their intended purpose.
How can you help us identify if your buildings and/or structures were damaged or destroyed?
BC Assessment uses mapping and emergency service notifications to identify areas and properties potentially affected by weather events; however, property owner self-reporting is critical to ensuring property assessments are fair and accurate.
If buildings and/or structures on your property were substantially damaged or destroyed by weather events between November 1st and December 31st, and were not repaired by December 31st, please contact your local Assessment Office or use our Online Contact Us Form to share details on the damage or loss, including repair costs and pictures.
Property owners are encouraged to complete one of our fillable PDF damage declarations below, and return it along with pictures by using our Online Contact Us Form.
Note: Save a copy of the damage declaration PDF to your computer or network drive before filling it out and sending
Government resources
Visit EmergencyInfoBC during partial and full-scale provincial emergencies for official responses, recovery resources, and verified event information.
