What is apportionment?
Apportionment is the re-distribution of property taxes and assessment value of a property from the parent (developer) to newly created child (strata units) within that property. Apportionment generates a separate tax notice for each new strata unit and allows new owners, if eligible, to apply for a home owner grant for that year.
Please note: Special charges such as local improvement, parcel taxes and one-time fees are not apportioned and remain with the parent.
How does it work?
For new child units to receive an assessment value from BC Assessment, developers must register a strata plan with BC Land Title & Survey by November 30. Apportionment is used when the strata plan doesn't get registered in time and the City of Burnaby only has assessment information for the parent property. As a result, a property tax notice is issued only to the developer as owner of the parent property.
The developer has the option to either pay the taxes or request that the City apportion taxes to the individual strata units. Apportionment requests can only be made by the owner of the parent property (developer).
Why choose to apportion?
- Apportionment provides each new child unit with an individual tax notice, in their own name for their strata unit.
- The parent property will be clear of all property tax obligations following the completion of the apportionment process.
How to apply
Apportionment requests can only be made by the owner of the parent property. Developers seeking an apportionment should email [email protected], and provide the following details:
- plan number
- parent property PID and Folio
- subdivision description
- listing of each child unit in excel, together with individual unit entitlement
- billing/contact address
- civic address of parent and each child unit
Apportionment requests received after April 15 will be processed after the property tax due date in July. As a result, developers will have to pay the penalties applied after the July due date. When the City processes the apportionment, only the taxes levied will be split among the child units.
The current fee for an apportionment is set out in the Burnaby Consolidated Fees and Charges Bylaw. Apportionment fees, together with special charges will be invoiced by the City of Burnaby and are payable by the parent property (developer) prior to commencement of the apportionment process.
Questions and answers
Once the City of Burnaby has approved an apportionment application, staff will request an apportionment file from BC Assessment. This file will split assessed values for child units on the grounds of individual unit entitlement. The standard mill (tax) rates per taxing authority are then used to calculate the taxes due for each child unit. Note–the calculated taxes due per child unit may differ from any estimates previously agreed between developer and purchaser (new owner of child unit).
When a child unit is sold by the developer, the purchaser's lawyer or notary will draw up a Statement of Adjustments at the time of conveyance. This will outline the share of taxes between the developer and purchaser based on the period of time the developer was on title for that calendar year. Purchasers should confirm with the developer whether an apportionment has been requested. In cases whereby an apportionment has not taken place, property taxes will only reside on the parent property. In such cases it is important that the statement of adjustment reflect that the parent property owner is paying the taxes and not the owner of the child unit(s).
The City of Burnaby may refuse to start an apportionment request for any parent property that has an assessment appeal outstanding with BC Assessment. An apportionment cannot be made until the City of Burnaby receives confirmation from BC Assessment that the developer has withdrawn the appeal.
Contact us
Tax Office
Contact Us
- Phone
- 604-294-7350
- Fax
- 604-294-7153
- [email protected]
Hours:
Holiday Hours:
Closed on statutory holidays
About the Tax Office
The Tax Office is responsible for the billing and collection of utilities, garbage disposal fees, and property taxes. We also collect taxes for other authorities including Provincial Schools, TransLink, Metro Vancouver, Municipal Finance Authority and BC Assessment. The office also provides central revenue receipting services for the City.
The Tax Office is part of the Revenue Services division in the Finance department.