Owners of residential properties in the UBC neighbourhoods pay a services levy to UBC and taxes to the province. Some of the taxes paid to the province are collected by it as the collection agent for other entities. Property taxes are payable at the beginning of July. The payment date for the services levy fluctuates between late July and early August.

The services levy and property taxes payable by an owner are based on the assessed value of the owner’s property and the mill rates for the services levy and taxes (called mill rates because they are expressed as the amount per $1,000 of assessed value).

The assessed values of properties are determined by the BC Assessment Authority. Assessed values are determined as of July 1 each year and are used as the basis for taxes and the services levy in the following year. The BC Assessment Authority sends a Property Assessment Notice early in January notifying owners of the assessed values of their properties.

Rural Property Tax

One of the taxes payable by owners of property in the UBC neighbourhoods is the provincial rural property tax. This is a tax payable by owners of property that is not in a municipality. It helps pay for the maintenance of secondary highways and for policing.

The rural property tax extracts a substantial amount of money from our community. It has been estimated that the value of the services received by the community in return for the payment of this tax is substantially less than the amount of the tax paid.

Speculation and Vacancy Tax

The speculation and vacancy tax is imposed by the province in respect of vacant or underused housing in areas of the province affected most by the housing shortage. It applies with respect to housing in the UBC neighbourhoods.

For information on the tax, see the speculation and vacancy tax web page.