Encyclopedia
Development Potential Relief Program (DPRP)
A City of Vancouver pilot program that has given property tax relief to some eligible Class 5 and Class 6 properties paying high taxes because of development potential. Eligibility and the declaration deadline are set each year.
For example: A neighbourhood shop owner whose landlord's tax bill went up sharply checks with the landlord whether the property declared for the program. (Illustration only, not a real deal.)
Official source: Development Potential Relief Program (City of Vancouver)
Example only, not a real client. Say you lease a small shop on a busy Vancouver street under a triple-net lease. Your landlord’s land value jumped because the site could support a taller building someday. You ask whether the property was declared under the city’s Development Potential Relief Program, because that can change the tax line you help pay.
What I’d tell a friend
If you are on a net lease, ask the landlord each year whether the property is in the program. Relief is optional for each city, temporary, and it does not cover every tax on the bill.
Why it matters to you
It can reduce the municipal tax on unused development potential for eligible Class 5 and Class 6 properties. In Vancouver's 2026 pilot, a portion of eligible land value was taxed at half the regular general purpose rate. Check whether it applies, because it can lower costs for owners and for tenants on net leases.
How to use it in your deal
Owners and tenants should check whether their municipality has adopted a bylaw under the program, since it's optional for each local government. Eligibility depends on property class, how the land is used, and how assessed value is split; BC Assessment calculates the eligible amount.
Tenants in net leases pay the taxes, so they benefit too, and should ask landlords to apply if eligible. Applications have deadlines, so check the municipal and BC Assessment pages each year. The relief usually lasts only for a limited period, so it's a bridge, not a permanent fix. Buyers should not assume relief carries over without checking. Talk to your municipality's finance department for details. Compare it with land assessment averaging, which may also be available in some places.
Mistakes I see
Assuming every municipality offers it. Missing deadlines. Tenants not asking landlords.
In BC and Vancouver
The province lets municipalities opt in. Vancouver runs a Development Potential Relief Program pilot and publishes eligible properties and rates each year. BC Assessment's figures feed the calculation.
Official sources: Development Potential Relief Program (City of Vancouver) · Municipal tax rate flexibility / development potential relief (Government of BC) · BC Assessment
What it is
The Development Potential Relief Program lets participating BC municipalities tax part of the land value of certain occupied Class 5 (light industry) and Class 6 (business and other) properties at a reduced municipal rate when most of the assessed value sits in the land.
The idea is to ease the tax hit on working businesses in buildings whose land is priced for future redevelopment. It is a municipal choice, not an automatic provincial discount.
Vancouver figures for 2026 (check vancouver.ca)
Vancouver’s pilot continued for the 2026 tax year. For eligible properties, a portion of land value, ranging from about 20% to 30% by neighbourhood and zoning, up to a maximum of $6.5 million, was taxed at a DPRP rate set at 50% of the city’s blended general purpose rate for Class 5 and Class 6.
On Vancouver’s 2026 rates by-law, that DPRP land rate is listed as $3.54718 per $1,000 of taxable value, beside the regular Class 5 and Class 6 general purpose rate of $7.09436 per $1,000. The relief does not apply to provincial school tax or to other authorities such as TransLink. A property generally cannot stack DPRP with targeted land assessment averaging.
How owners and tenants use it
Eligibility depends on use, occupancy and assessment split, and the city publishes ineligible uses such as many chains, hotels and parking. Declarations have deadlines; Vancouver’s 2026 declaration window had already closed when this page was updated.
Tenants who pay taxes under a net lease should ask for the tax notice and whether relief was claimed. Buyers should not assume last year’s relief continues without checking the current by-law and declaration.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Has my municipality opted in?
- Do I qualify?
- What's the deadline?
- How long does relief last?
Keep reading
Related terms: Land assessment averaging, Class 6 Business and Other, Highest and best use
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General information for British Columbia only. It isn’t legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, laws and rates change, and reading it doesn’t make you my client. Any numbers or scenarios are hypothetical. Check the linked official source and talk to a lawyer, accountant or other qualified professional before you act or sign anything. See the terms and disclaimer.