Appendix F
Excerpts from statutes

Disclaimers

Please bear in mind certain disclaimers regarding the following excerpts from statutes. First, they are current to June, 1995. You will have to check if they have been amended. Second, these excerpts are unofficial. Consult the statutes published by the Queen's Printer of British Columbia for the official versions. Third, the precise meaning of any excerpt can be determined only in the context of the full statute, other statutes and any court decisions bearing on the subject.

Land Title Act, section 215

The following is the text of section 215 of the BC Land Title Act, RSBC 1979, c.219, as amended by Bill 28, Land Title Amendment Act, 1994, SBC 1994, c.44.

Registration of covenant as to use and alienation

215. (1) A covenant described in subsection (1.1) in favour of the Crown, a Crown corporation or agency, a municipality, a regional district or a local trust committee under the Islands Trust Act, as covenantee, may be registered against the title to the land subject to the covenant and is enforceable against the covenantor and the successors in title of the covenantor even if the covenant is not annexed to land owned by the covenantee.

(1.1) A covenant registrable under subsection (1) may be of a negative or positive nature and may include one or more of the following provisions:

    (a) provisions in respect of

      (i) the use of land, or

      (ii) the use of a building on or to be erected on land;

    (b) that land

      (i) is to be built on in accordance with the covenant,

      (ii) is not to be built on except in accordance with the covenant, or

      (iii) is not to be built on;

    (c) that land

      (i) is not to be subdivided except in accordance with the covenant, or

      (ii) is not to be subdivided;

    (d) that parcels of land designated in the covenant and registered under one or more indefeasible titles are not to be sold or otherwise transferred separately;

    (e) Repealed

(1.2) A covenant described in subsection (1.3) in favour of

    (a) the Crown or a Crown corporation or agency,

    (b) a municipality, regional district or local trust committee under the Islands Trust Act, or

    (c) any person designated by the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks on terms and conditions he or she thinks proper,

as covenantee, may be registered against the title to the land subject to the covenant and, subject to subsections (7) and (8), is enforceable against the covenantor and the successors in title of the covenantor even if the covenant is not annexed to land owned by the covenantee.

(1.3) A covenant registrable under subsection (1.2) may be of a negative or positive nature and may include one or more of the following provisions:

    (a) any of the provisions under subsection (1.1);

    (b) that land or a specified amenity in relation to it be protected, preserved, conserved, maintained, enhanced, restored or kept in its natural or existing state in accordance with the covenant and to the extent provided in the covenant.

(1.4) For the purpose of subsection (1.3) (b), "amenity" includes any natural, historical, heritage, cultural, scientific, architectural, environmental, wildlife or plant life value relating to the land that is subject to the covenant. ,

(2) A covenant registrable under this section may include, as an integral part,

    (a) an indemnity of the covenantee against any matter agreed to by the covenantor and covenantee and provision for the just and equitable apportionment of the obligations under the covenant as between the owners of the land affected; and

    (b) a rent charge charging the land affected and payable by the covenantor and his successors in title.

(3) Where an instrument contains a covenant registrable under this section, the covenant is binding on the covenantor and his successors in title, notwithstanding that the instrument or other disposition has not been signed by the covenantee.

(4) No person who enters into a covenant under this section is liable for a breach of the covenant occurring after he has ceased to be the owner of the land.

(5) A covenant registrable under this section may be

    (a) modified by the holder of the charge and the owner of the land charged; or

    (b) discharged by the holder of the charge

by an agreement or instrument in writing the execution of which is witnessed or proved in accordance with this Act.

(6) The registration of a covenant under this section is not a determination by the registrar of its enforceability.

(7) On the death or dissolution of an owner of a covenant registrable under subsection (1.2) (c), the covenant ceases to be enforceable by any person, including the Crown, other than

    (a) another covenantee named in the instrument creating the covenant, or

    (b) an assignee of a covenantee if the assignment has been approved in writing by the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks.

(8) If a covenantee or assignee referred to in subsection (7) is a corporation that has been dissolved and subsequently restored into existence under an enactment of British Columbia, the covenant continues to be enforceable by the restored corporation from the date of its restoration.

(9) A recital in a covenant that a person "has been designated by the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks under section 215(1.2)(c) of the Land Title Act," or a statement to that effect in the application to register the covenant, is sufficient proof to a registrar of that fact.

Property Transfer Tax Act, section 5.2

The following is the text of section 5.2 of the BC Property Transfer Tax Act, RSBC 1979, c.15, as amended by Bill 28, Land Title Amendment Act, 1994, SBC 1994, c.44.

Exemption for land subject to conservation covenant

5.2 (1) In this section "conservation covenant" means a covenant in favour of the Crown that

    (a) is registered under subsection (2), and

    (b) includes

      (i) one or more provisions described in section 215 (1.3) (b) of the Land Title Act,

      (ii) provisions that the covenant will not be amended or discharged without the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and

      (iii) any other provision prescribed by regulation for inclusion.

(2) A covenant referred to in subsection (1) may be registered against the title to land in the same manner as a covenant under section 215 (1) of the Land Title Act if the Lieutenant Governor in Council approves the registration and, on registration, it is deemed to be a covenant under that section.

(3) A taxable transaction is exempt from the payment of tax to the extent provided in subsection (4) if, at the time of registration of the taxable transaction, a conservation covenant is registered against the title to the land to which the taxable transaction relates.

(4) A taxable transaction to which subsection (3) applies is exempt to the extent of the fair market value, determined in the prescribed manner, of the interest being transferred that is subject to the conservation covenant.

(5) The administrator may, by certificate attached to the return filed under section 2, postpone for up to 6 months the time at which tax would otherwise be payable, if satisfied that a conservation covenant is intended to be registered within that time against the title to the land to which the taxable transaction relates.

(6) If, within one year after a taxable transaction is registered, a conservation covenant is registered against the title to the land to which the taxable transaction relates, the transferee may apply to the administrator within that same period for a refund under subsection (7).

(7) On receiving an application under subsection (6) and on being satisfied that the taxable transaction would have been exempt from tax had the conservation covenant been registered at the time of the taxable transaction, the administrator shall

    (a) pay out of the consolidated revenue fund a refund of the tax paid equivalent to the amount of exemption to which the transferee would have been entitled had the conservation covenant been registered at the time of the taxable transaction, or

    (b) send a letter to the transferee stating the reasons for the refusal, and the letter is deemed to be a notice of assessment for the purposes of allowing the transferee to file a notice of objection under section 8.

(8) If a conservation covenant is discharged after a taxable transaction has been exempt from taxation by reason of this section or after a transferee has received a refund under this section, the person registered in the land title office at the time of discharge as owner of the fee simple interest in the land against which the covenant was registered shall, at the time of discharge,

    (a) file a return referred to in section 2 (1), and

    (b) pay to the government, as tax payable under this Act, an amount equal to the tax that would be payable at that time were the title to the land being transferred to that person as transferee in a taxable transaction referred to in paragraph (a) (i) of the definition of taxable transaction.

(9) A registrar may, without a hearing, refuse to accept an application for discharge of a conservation covenant where there are reasonable grounds to believe

    (a) that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has not approved the discharge,

    (b) that the return required by subsection (8) has not been filed, or

    (c) that the tax imposed by subsection (8) has not been paid.

(10) As a matter of transition, if a conservation covenant is registered by a transferee before May 22, 1992 against the title to land to which a taxable transaction registered in the land title office before May 22, 1991 relates, that transferee may apply to the administrator before May 22, 1992 for a refund under subsection (11).

(11) On receiving an application under subsection (10), the administrator shall

    (a) pay out of the consolidated revenue fund a refund of the tax paid under this Act by the transferee in relation to the taxable transaction referred to in subsection (10) equivalent to the amount of exemption to which the transferee would have been entitled had the taxable transaction been registered after May 22, 1991 and had the conservation covenant been registered at the time of the transaction, or

    (b) send a letter to the transferee stating the reasons for the refusal, and the letter is deemed to be a notice of assessment for the purposes of allowing the transferee to file a notice of objection under section 8.

Assessment Act, section 26(3.5)

The following is the text of subsection 26 (3.5) of the BC Assessment Act, RSBC 1979, c.21, as amended by Bill 28, Land Title Amendment Act, 1994, SBC 1994, c.44.

26 (3.5) In determining actual value, the assessor shall give consideration to any terms or conditions contained in a covenant registered under section 215 of the Land Title Act.

Property Law Act, section 31

Court may modify or cancel charges

31. (1) A person interested in land may apply to the Supreme Court for an order to modify or cancel a charge or interest against the land, registered either before or after this section comes into force, and being an easement, a land use contract, a statutory right of way, a statutory building or statutory letting scheme, a restrictive or other covenant burdening the land or the owner, a right to take the produce of or part of the soil, or an instrument by which minerals or timber or minerals and timber, being part of the land, are granted, transferred, reserved or excepted.

(2) The court may make an order sought under subsection (1) on being satisfied that the application is not premature in the circumstances, and that

    (a) by reason of changes in the character of the land, the neighbourhood or other circumstances the court considers material, the registered charge or interest is obsolete;

    (b) the reasonable use of the land will be impeded, without practical benefit to others, if the registered charge or interest is not modified or cancelled;

    (c) the persons who are or have been entitled to the benefit of the registered charge or interest have expressly or impliedly agreed to it being modified or cancelled;

    (d) modification or cancellation will not injure the person entitled to the benefit of the registered charge or interest; or

    (e) the registered instrument is invalid, unenforceable or has expired, and its registration should be cancelled.

(3) The court may make the order subject to payment by the applicant of compensation to a person suffering damage in consequence of it; but no compensation is payable solely for an advantage accruing by the order to the owner of the land burdened by the registered instrument.

(4) The court shall, as it believes advisable and before making an order under subsection (2), direct

    (a) inquiries to a municipality or other public authority; and

    (b) notices, by way of advertisement or otherwise, to the persons who appear entitled to the benefit of the charge or interest to be modified or canceled.

(5) An order binds all persons, whether or not parties to the proceedings or served with notice.

(6) The registrar, on application and the production of an order made or a certified copy of it shall amend his records accordingly.

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