How to Buy Vacant Land in BC: Steps and Checks Before You Buy

An empty lot can look simple: no house, no repairs, no surprises. In practice, vacant land often carries more unknowns than a finished home, because you are buying what the land will allow you to do, not what is already built on it.

This article walks through the checks buyers commonly make before removing subjects in British Columbia. It explains how things generally work and where your own facts may change the answer, so a lawyer can confirm the details for your lot.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Start with what you plan to build

Before anything else, decide what you want to do with the land: build a home, farm, hold it, or subdivide. A lot that suits one plan may not suit another, and the price you pay should reflect what is realistically allowed.

How zoning, building permits and servicing apply to a particular lot depends on its location and your plans, so it is worth confirming with the local government and a lawyer. Ask the local government what the zoning permits, what permits you would need, and whether anything stands in the way of your plan. Get answers in writing where you can, and do not rely only on what a seller or agent says.

Check access, services and the land itself

A lot is only useful if you can reach it and live on it. Confirm that there is legal access, not just a track people happen to use, and find out whether power, water and sewer are at the lot line or would need to be installed.

• Is there legal, registered access to a public road?
• Are water, power and sewer available, or would you need a well and septic system?
• Has the site been surveyed, and do the boundaries match what you were shown?
• Are there signs of flooding, slope problems or past fill?

If the lot relies on a well, remember that households using well water for domestic purposes are exempt from licensing, but groundwater used for non-domestic purposes such as irrigation or commercial use needs a licence. If a water licence comes with the land, it passes with the land on a sale, and the buyer takes on its rentals.

Look closely at title and land status

Order the title search and read every charge listed, such as easements, rights of way and covenants. These can limit where you build or who may cross your land.

Find out whether the land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve. ALR land cannot be subdivided unless the Agricultural Land Commission allows it or a regulation permits it, even for parcels under 2 acres. Approval for a non-farm use does not authorize subdivision, and subdivision approval does not authorize non-farm use. Meeting local zoning does not guarantee Commission approval.

Land on a reserve or treaty land follows different rules. Property of an Indian or a band on a reserve is generally protected from charge, mortgage and seizure by anyone other than an Indian or a band, although a leasehold interest in designated lands can be mortgaged. Nisga'a Lands are governed by the Nisga'a Final Agreement, and the provincial Torrens system does not apply to a parcel unless an indefeasible title application has been made. If your lot is on this kind of land, speak with a lawyer and the relevant land office early.

Know the taxes and reporting rules

Property transfer tax is charged at 1% of fair market value up to $200,000, 2% on the portion over $200,000 up to $2,000,000, and 3% on the portion over $2,000,000, and a further 2% applies to the residential value above $3,000,000. Whether a particular lot has a residential portion that attracts the extra tiers depends on the facts, so ask your lawyer to confirm.

Foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees pay an additional tax of 20% of the fair market value of their proportionate share of the residential portion in a specified area. Exceptions exist, including for a confirmed BC Provincial Nominee who registers as an individual and will use the property as a principal residence, certain Canadian-controlled limited partnerships, and mutual fund trusts, real estate investment trusts and specified investment flow-through trusts. The specified areas are the Capital Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, Metro Vancouver Regional District, Regional District of Central Okanagan and Regional District of Nanaimo. If title is shared with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, only the foreign buyer's share is taxed.

When you register the transfer, you generally must also file a transparency declaration under the Land Owner Transparency Act, and a transparency report is required only if the future owner is a reporting body such as a corporation, a trustee of a relevant trust or a partner of a relevant partnership. No transparency declaration is needed where the land is treaty land, self-governing First Nation land or reserve land; instead, a Declaration of Exclusion from the Land Owner Transparency Act is submitted with the application.

Owners in taxable areas must also make a speculation and vacancy tax declaration every year by March 31, even if nothing has changed.

Foreign buyers and what to do next

The federal ban prohibits a non-Canadian from purchasing residential property, directly or indirectly. Vacant land is not listed as its own exception. Property outside a census agglomeration or census metropolitan area is excluded from the definition of residential property, so whether a particular lot is covered depends on its location. The ban was announced as extended to January 1, 2027, so check the current status before you rely on it.

• Confirm zoning and permitted uses with the local government
• Confirm legal access and available services
• Order and read the title search and every registered charge
• Check whether the land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve
• Ask a lawyer how transfer tax and any additional tax apply to you
• Make your offer subject to conditions that give you time to finish these checks
• Do not remove subjects until you are satisfied with each answer

Frequently asked questions