Pilot Development Potential Relief Program

E News _Jul 23_City Of Vancouver

 

In 2023, the City of Vancouver launched a pilot program to offer property tax relief to eligible buildings taxed at the Highest and Best Use on Development Potential – the Development Potential Relief Program (DPRP).

There has been extensive media coverage on the issue of small businesses paying disproportionate property taxes due to Highest and Best Use assessments. BOMA BC actively engaged the Province during consultations that led to the development of legislation to grant Municipalities the power to offer property tax relief. We are now engaging the City of Vancouver to find program improvements in the Pilot program to ensure tax relief is provided to all tenants in need and to ensure the criteria is not overly restrictive.

To be eligible for the DPRP, a commercial property must meet the following criteria set by the Province:

  • Have land and improvements in Class 5 (light industry) and/or Class 6 (business and other);
  • Be occupied (not vacant) as of October 31 of the previous tax year; and
  • Have a combined Class 5/6 land value that is a minimum of 95% of the total Class 5/6 assessed value.

E News _Jul 23_downtown

The City of Vancouver is collecting feedback to better understand what is working well and what can be improved: https://survey.vancouver.ca/s3/Pilot-Development-Potential-Relief-Program We encourage you to fill out the survey to ensure our industry’s concerns are addressed.

If you have any questions or additional program feedback, please contact Zach Segal at zsegal@boma.bc.ca