BC Assessment property record cards are the file BC Assessment keeps on every home in the province. Your card holds the details your value is based on, plus internal staff notes most homeowners never knew existed. This free guide shows you how to get yours, read it and check it every year.
What is a BC Assessment property record card?
It is the file behind your assessment. BC Assessment values every home in the province at once, using the details it has on record: size, age, construction quality, condition, land, view, waterfront and more. Your property record card shows those details, how your value was worked out and, when you ask for them, the internal notes staff have written about your home.
If any of those details are wrong, your value is wrong, and you will not know unless you ask. In the appeals I have worked on, data errors and the wrong sales are the most common reasons a value misses. That is why every appeal I help with starts here.
$0
for this guide, and to request your own record
4
steps to request your card with internal notes
2
versions of the card, and only one includes the notes
Every year
BC Assessment can change your details at any time
What you check
What to look for on your property record card
The building
Square footage, number of floors, basement, finished areas, year built and any renovations. A basement counted as finished, or an addition that does not exist, raises your value.
Quality and condition
The construction quality and condition ratings BC Assessment gave your home. A home rated better than it is gets valued like a better home.
The land
Lot size, view, waterfront and other land factors. These often carry more of the value than the house itself, especially on the water.
The internal notes
What staff wrote after an inspection, a sale or a past appeal. These notes can explain a change in your value that nothing else on the card does.
Changes year to year
Compare this year's card with past years. A change in square footage, basement or land size that you never made is worth asking about.
What it means for an appeal
Every error you find and can prove is evidence. It is often the simplest part of an appeal to win.
Why every year
Your details can change without you knowing. Your value changes with them.
BC Assessment can update the details on your file at any time, including by mistake. If it happens, nobody sends you a notice explaining what changed. Requesting your card every year, and comparing it with the last one, is how you catch it before it costs you.
If you find an error, the next step is your appeal. Every result I have helped with is on my BC Assessment Appeal Record, and the rest of the kits are on DIY Property Assessment Appeal Kits.
Common questions
Property record cards
How do I get my BC Assessment property record card?
You ask BC Assessment for it in writing. The guide gives you the request form and walks you through filling it out and sending it so you get the version with internal notes.
Is it free to request my property record card?
Requesting the records about your own home should not cost you anything, and this guide is free.
What are internal notes?
Notes BC Assessment staff write on your file, for example after an inspection, a sale or an appeal. They are not on the basic card, which is why the guide shows you how to ask for them.
Do I need my property record card to appeal?
You can appeal without it, but you should not. It is the only way to see what BC Assessment's value is based on, and errors on it are some of the easiest evidence to prove.
Get the Free Guide
Get My FREE Property Record Card Guide
This product has no pricing plans and so is not available for purchase
What’s Inside My Property Record Card Guide
Step by step video lessons and a ready to use request form that show you how to get your property record card with internal notes. More lessons on reading the card and spotting costly mistakes are on the way.
Steps:
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1Request Your Property Record Card to See What BC Assessment Really Has on File
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How to Get Your Property Record Card & Internal Notes
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Step 1: Download the Request Form
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Step 2: Fill Out the Form
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Step 3: Email the Completed Form and Watch for Confirmation
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Step 4: Review Your Delivered Records
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Your record card shows the details. Does your value add up?
Start with your address and see how your BC Assessment compares to what homes like yours actually sold for.
Check My PropertyMy Record: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2026
$22.6M+
cut from the values BC Assessment put on homeowners' properties
My 3 largest reductions for a homeowner: $2,063,000, $1,954,000 and $1,438,000
$110K+
in estimated property tax refunds and credits for homeowners
My 3 largest estimated refunds or credits for a homeowner: $10,315, $9,770 and $7,190
40
homeowners I helped appeal their BC Assessment
100% won a reduction. The average homeowner had approximately $566,000 taken off their value and an estimated $2,800 back in property tax.
63
appeals won, out of the 65 those homeowners took to a decision
97% won, at BC Assessment, the Review Panel and the Appeal Board
91%
of written Appeal Board decisions, made by an independent adjudicator, lowered the value
30 of the 33 that went that far
7,079
Vancouver Island home sales I checked against their BC Assessment
Less than 1% were assessed at what they sold for, and 40% were assessed above it
32
news stories about the appeals I helped with
Run more than 400 times in 68 news outlets across BC
23
freedom of information requests to BC Assessment for its records
$11,047.06 in fees BC Assessment estimated to release them. I paid $30 in total, after fee waiver requests on public interest and hardship grounds.
Are You Overassessed?
When BC Assessment gets your home's value wrong, I prove what it is actually worth using real sales of similar homes, so you don't pay more property tax than your fair share.
Jason Anson
I am not a lawyer or an appraiser, and nothing on this site should be considered legal or tax advice. When I help you, you are still the appellant and you file your own appeal. Every result depends on the evidence for that property, and the decision belongs to the Property Assessment Review Panel or the Property Assessment Appeal Board, not to me. My past results do not predict yours, and I cannot guarantee any outcome.
Helping homeowners with property assessment appeals is not a licensed activity in the province of British Columbia. It is not regulated by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) or the Real Estate Services Act, and it is not considered a real estate service.
I am also a licensed real estate agent with eXp Realty. That work gives me my experience in valuation and market movement, which is the evidence of market value the Review Panel and the Appeal Board weigh. This site and my appeal work are completely separate from eXp Realty. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by or provided through my brokerage, and the views here are my own, not eXp Realty's.
What I write about BC Assessment, the Property Assessment Review Panel, the Property Assessment Appeal Board, the Minister and Ministry of Finance, and the other public offices on this site is my own opinion, and I consider it fair comment on a matter of public interest. My opinions are my honest views, marked as my view, and based on facts anyone can check: Appeal Board decisions, public records and records released under freedom of information. Quotes from documents and news stories are the words of the people quoted. If anything here is inaccurate, let me know and I will correct it.