BC Land Buying Rules: ALR, Bare-Land Strata, Fee Simple

On this page (25 sections)

These BC rules apply to every land purchase on this site, whichever neighbourhood it is in. They are written once here; each community page covers only what is specific to that community.

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GST on vacant land — CRA GI-003 level only

most sales of vacant land by individuals are exempt (land kept for personal use is the CRA's example), while a sale can be taxable where the land is used in a business, sold in the course of a business, or is a parcel created by subdividing another parcel into more than two parts; sales of newly subdivided lots by a developer/business are generally taxable.

Property transfer tax

1% on the first $200,000, 2% from $200,000 to $2 million, 3% above $2 million, plus a further 2% on the residential portion above $3 million; any page row reading "Over $3M — 5%" compresses the 3% tier plus that further 2% — the tier math governs. Newly Built Home Exemption: full to $1,100,000, eliminated at $1,150,000 — a new-HOME exemption, not a bare-land exemption. Worked examples, inputs + tier math stated (fully residential, no exemption unless stated): $500,000 → $2,000 + $6,000 = $8,000; $700,000 → $2,000 + $10,000 = $12,000; $800,000 → $2,000 + $12,000 = $14,000 (fully-qualifying first-time buyer: $6,000); $900,000 → $16,000; $1,000,000 → $18,000; $1,200,000 → $22,000; $1,500,000 → $2,000 + $26,000 = $28,000; $1,800,000 → $2,000 + $32,000 = $34,000; $2,000,000 → $38,000; $3,500,000 → $2,000 + $36,000 + $45,000 (3% tier) + $10,000 (further 2% on the $500,000 over $3M) = $93,000. The $3.5M example is live at this pocket's price points.

FTHB GST rebate / programs — land angle

the FTHB rebate (Bill C-4, Royal Assent March 13, 2026 per CRA News No. 122; 100% to $1M, maximum $50,000, phasing to $1.5M; agreements Mar 20, 2025–2031) applies to new HOUSING, not bare land itself. New Housing Rebate 36% / maximum $6,300 / $350,000–$450,000 phase-out. Home Buyers' Plan $60,000; FHSA $40,000 lifetime / $8,000 per year.

GST on vacant land — CRA level only

CRA Info Sheet GI-003 states most sales of vacant land by individuals are exempt (personal-use land), while sales can be taxable where land was used primarily in a business, sold in the course of a business, or created by subdividing into more than two parts; developer/business sales and newly subdivided lots are therefore generally TAXABLE, an individual's personal-use sale generally exempt.

FTHB GST rebate

New HOUSING, not bare land (Bill C-4, assent March 13, 2026; 100% to $1,000,000, maximum $50,000, phasing to $1,500,000; March 20, 2025–2031). New Housing Rebate 36% / maximum $6,300 / $350,000–$450,000; Home Buyers' Plan $60,000; First Home Savings Account $40,000 / $8,000 per year.

PTT — worked example (inputs + tier math)

on a $900,000 purchase — 1% on the first $200,000 ($2,000) + 2% on $200,000–$900,000 ($14,000) = $16,000. Tiers: 1% to $200,000, 2% to $2,000,000, 3% above, plus a further 2% on the residential portion over $3,000,000.

Rebates attach to housing, not bare land

FTHB GST rebate (Bill C-4, Royal Assent March 13, 2026 per CRA News No. 122; 100% of GST to $1M, max $50,000, phasing to $1.5M, agreements Mar 20, 2025–2031) — a qualifying new HOME purchase, not raw land; New Housing Rebate 36% / max $6,300 / $350,000–$450,000 underneath. HBP $60,000; FHSA $40,000 / $8,000 per year.

PTT on land

general rates are 1% of fair market value up to and including $200,000, 2% of the portion over $200,000 up to and including $2,000,000, and 3% of the portion over $2,000,000, with a further 2% on the residential portion above $3,000,000. First-time buyers: exempt on the first $500,000 at $835,000 or less, partial to $860,000. Newly Built Home Exemption: full to $1,100,000, eliminated at $1,150,000 — new HOME, not bare land.

Subdivision + servicing requirements

subdivision parcel area, shape and dimensions must conform to the zoning bylaw for the parcel's zone, under the Burnaby Subdivision Control and Development Servicing Bylaw (renamed from the Burnaby Subdivision Control Bylaw 1971 by Amendment Bylaw No. 14667, 2024; the City's servicing updates took effect September 30, 2024). Required works and services include highways and lanes, water distribution connected to the City system, sewage collection and drainage collection, built to the City's Engineering Design Criteria Manual standards; the City's Servicing Improvements Guide addresses servicing for developments with four or more primary dwelling units on a residential lot. Confirm the parcel-level requirement with the City's Engineering Department before pricing a split.

Sources

BC land buying: your questions answered

Will GST apply if I buy a newly subdivided lot from a developer?

Generally yes — developer sales and newly subdivided lots are generally taxable under CRA's vacant-land rules, unlike an individual's personal-use resale (CRA GI-003). The FTHB GST rebate does not rescue a bare-lot purchase: it applies to new housing, not bare land.

What is the smallest lot I can create here?

By zone: RS Large Lot Residential carries a 0.2 ha subdivision minimum; R-3 / R-4 / R-6 carry 1,215 sq m — a subdivision minimum only, which does not apply to development on existing lots. RM-1 townhouse sites: 0.4 ha; RM-2: 3,035 sq m. Confirm the parcel's zone in Bylaw No. 2505, 2011.

Will GST apply to a newly subdivided lot bought from a developer?

Generally yes at the CRA GI-003 level — developer sales and newly subdivided lots are generally taxable, unlike an individual's personal-use resale. The FTHB GST rebate applies to new housing, not bare land.

Which schools serve my address?

No public school inside Dollarton is confirmed — the named schools beside the area are Cove Cliff Elementary and Seycove Secondary in Deep Cove and Seymour Heights Elementary to the north-west, and the catchment for any address must be run with SD44 before it is marketed.

Will GST apply if a developer sells me a newly subdivided lot here?

Generally yes — developer sales and newly subdivided lots are generally taxable under CRA's vacant-land rules, unlike an individual's personal-use resale (CRA GI-003).

Will GST apply if I buy a vacant lot?

Generally yes if the seller is a developer/business or the lot is newly subdivided; generally no for an individual's personal-use resale, per CRA GI-003 — and the FTHB GST rebate applies to new housing, not bare land itself.

Will GST apply if I buy a vacant parcel?

Generally yes if the seller is a developer/business or the lot is newly subdivided; generally no for an individual's personal-use resale, per CRA GI-003 — and the FTHB GST rebate applies to new housing, not bare land itself.

What Buyers & Sellers Say

Excerpts from Google reviews for Jared Gibbons, REALTOR® at Royal LePage Little Oak Realty (Suite 201 - 15272 Croydon Dr, Surrey). Quoted word for word; initials only.

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More real estate

Buying acreage or farm land?

The Agricultural Land Reserve, farm class and GST on farm land are explained on their own page.

BC Land Buying Rules: streets and boundaries

  • This page covers buying land anywhere in British Columbia: vacant parcels, acreages, farm land, Crown land and bare-land strata lots.
  • Title is registered with the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA); BC's Torrens register is conclusive evidence that the person recorded on title is the owner, subject to statutory exceptions.
  • Property transfer tax is calculated on fair market value (land and improvements) on the day the transfer is registered with the Land Title Office.

BC Land Buying Rules: the housing stock

  • Fee simple is the standard freehold: a title lists the registered fee simple holder, the legal description and the parcel identifier (PID).
  • Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) land is a provincial zone where agriculture is the priority use, run by the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) under the Agricultural Land Commission Act.
  • Crown land is usually used, not bought: upland Crown land can be sold at market price, but aquatic land including foreshore cannot be sold under the Land Act, so use is by lease (up to 30 years), licence of occupation (normally 10 years) or temporary licence (up to two years).

BC Land Buying Rules: rules that affect buyers

  • Every subdivision needs an approving officer: the municipal officer inside a municipality, and a Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure district officer for rural land.
  • The Land Owner Transparency Registry (LOTR) requires a transparency declaration from the transferee on every application to register an interest in land, plus a transparency report when a corporation, trust or partnership is involved.
  • The Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) declaration duty applies only to property classed as residential in a designated taxable area on the Province's published list.

BC Land Buying Rules: local details a buyer would not know

  • A title search cannot run by street address: the LTSA says the nine-digit PID is the best search key, found through ParcelMap BC or BC Assessment.
  • A title shows current owners, legal description, PID and registered charges — not past owners.
  • BC Assessment's database supplies the PID, assessed value and classification behind the tax bill, and links onward to LTSA records through myLTSA.
  • The provincial Site Registry records contaminated-site investigations and remediation, but the Province warns that no record is no assurance a site is clean.

BC Land Buying Rules: development and new projects

  • SVT rates rose January 1, 2026 to 3% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners and 1% for Canadian citizens and permanent residents; the foreign-owner class rises to 4% on January 1, 2027. Status: 2026 rates in force, 2027 rate enacted (as of November 3, 2026).
  • The BC home flipping tax applies from January 1, 2025 to income from selling a beneficial interest in BC residential property held under 730 days. Status: in force (as of November 3, 2026).
  • Environmental Management Act site remediation fees changed July 1, 2026 and Site Registry searches became free. Status: in force (as of November 3, 2026).
  • Most LTSA fees rose April 1, 2026; the electronic title search went from $10.89 to $11.06. Status: in force (as of November 3, 2026).

BC Land Buying Rules: costs and taxes

  • General property transfer tax (Province's page (as of November 3, 2026)): 1% of fair market value up to and including $200,000; 2% on the portion over $200,000 to $2,000,000; 3% above $2,000,000; plus a further 2% on residential value over $3,000,000.
  • LTSA fee listing, April 1, 2026: registering an indefeasible title (a transfer of title) costs $83.82.
  • Crown commercial leases rent at 8% of land value in urban areas, minimum $850 a year plus GST.

BC Land Buying Rules: getting around

  • Title information has three routes: an LTSA Explorer account, a State of Title Certificate by mail, or a registry agent ordering it for you.
  • Closing is a registration sequence: transfer registered at the Land Title Office, transfer tax assessed on the registration-date value, LOTR declaration filed with the same application.

BC Land Buying Rules: risks and due diligence

  • Run the ALR check first on any rural parcel, on the ALC map, because ALR status limits use and subdivision whatever the municipal zoning says.
  • Order the title and read every charge; use BC Assessment for the PID and classification, and the Site Registry for contamination records, remembering its no-record warning.
  • Check flood, well and septic questions lot by lot with the local government and the Province's well records service; no provincial land page maps one parcel's flood risk.

How BC Land Buying Rules compares

BC Land Buying Rules compared
Purchase pathWho approves a subdivision or non-farm useFee simple availableTitle at the LTSA
ALR landAgricultural Land Commission permissionYesYes
Non-ALR private landApproving officer, municipal or provincialYesYes
Crown landProvince, by disposition or tenure under the Land ActOnly on a provincial sale; foreshore cannot be soldYes, once granted

Sources for BC Land Buying Rules

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