Can the Government Expropriate Your Property in British Columbia?

A letter or a sign on your land says a road, utility or public project may take your property. Few things feel more unsettling for a homeowner, and the timelines can be short.

This article walks through the process under British Columbia's Expropriation Act, what you can ask for, how compensation is worked out, and the deadlines that matter. It is a general guide, and an owner facing a notice should get legal advice quickly.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Who can expropriate, and does registration protect you?

An expropriating authority is a person, including the government, empowered under an enactment to expropriate land. Whether a particular municipality or agency has that power for your project depends on the enactment that gives it authority, so that is one of the first things to confirm.

Having a registered title does not stop lawful expropriation, because an indefeasible title is subject to a right of expropriation or to an escheat under an Act. What the Act does is set a process the authority must follow and require compensation.

The notice and your right to an inquiry

The authority must not expropriate unless it serves the expropriation notice and the approving authority approves under section 18. It must serve the notice on the approving authority and the affected owners, post a sign on the land, and file the notice in the land title office.

If you want to challenge the plan, you may request an inquiry by serving the minister within 30 days of service of the notice, and the minister then appoints an inquiry officer within 21 days. Mark that 30-day date the day you are served.

The inquiry is not a debate about whether the project should exist. The necessity for the project must not be considered, but the officer looks at whether the land is needed or whether an alternative site, amount or interest in land would meet the objectives. The officer reports within 30 days after the first day of the hearing.

Approval, payment and transfer

The appraisal is prepared by an accredited appraiser and dated within 6 months of the registrar's endorsement. Read it closely and have your own appraiser review it.

How compensation is determined

The court must award the market value of the interest taken plus reasonable disturbance damages. Market value is the amount that would have been paid if the land had been sold at the date of expropriation, and the court disregards certain matters, such as the authority's intended use of the land.

Disturbance damages cover reasonable costs, expenses and financial losses directly attributable to the disturbance, plus reasonable relocation costs, and there are provisions about business losses and goodwill. A residential owner who is displaced may receive an additional 5% of market value, and certain short-term tenants receive three months' rent.

• Market value of the interest taken
• Reasonable disturbance damages and relocation costs
• The additional 5% for displaced residential owners
• Business losses, where they apply

Deadlines and next steps

An application to the court to determine compensation must be made within 1 year after payment, or you are deemed to accept the amount paid. A claim for injurious affection, meaning damage to land from a work where no land is taken, has a 1-year time limit. An application for judicial review of a decision must be made within 30 days.

• Note the date you were served and the 30-day inquiry deadline.
• Keep the notice, the sign photos and all letters.
• Do not sign anything or accept a payment before getting advice.
• Get your own appraisal and list of moving and business costs.
• Speak to a lawyer early, since several deadlines are short.

Frequently asked questions