Administration Resources

Land Owner Transparency Registry

 

Churches in BC that own land received a letter from the Land Owner Transparency Registry in the end of July dated July 8, 2022.

Example of letter

I have confirmed that independent schools are exempt but charities and thus our churches must register with the Land Owner Transparency Registry by November 30, 2022 if they own land or have a lease of over 10 years.  If registration is not completed on time penalties could be very costly.  The district recommends that you address this immediately to allow time if there are any problems with your land title, address or ownership.

If you don’t already have a lawyer you normally work with, we have two great options:

 

Suite 1500, 13450 102nd Avenue, Surrey, BC V3T 5X3

Office Phone 604-581-7001, Fax 604-581-7110,Toll-free 1-877-581-7001

Contact: Melanie Saunders  msaunders@mcquarrie.com    https://www.mcquarrie.com/

  • $250+Tax+ expenses of $50
  • Recommended by the Lower Pacific District of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada

They will complete a basic file for you and will just need your society name and property addresses

 

#211 – 17660 65A Avenue Surrey, BC V3S 5N4

Office Phone 604-953-1500, Fax 604-953-1501, Toll-free 1-866-953-1500

Contact: Katrina Volkenant   katrina@dejagervolkenant.com  https://dejagervolkenant.com/

  • $300 + expenses of $160 with the possibly of hourly rate if a problem arises
  • Recommended by Nanoose Community Church
  • Can complete remotely

Letter re Land Owner Transparency Act (Society)

You will need to gather the following information for the lawyer:

  1. Addresses for all properties owned by the church
  2. Any relevant trust agreements or properties to which the church has a lease for a term of 10+ years
  3. Name, email address and position with the church of the individual who will be signing the report
  4. Home address and phone number of the individual who will be signing the report (for identification purposes in our file only)

 

It has been confirmed that with the changing of board members no update is required with the Land Owner Transparency Registry unless there is a change to the ownership or governance.

If financial assistance is require please reach out to the district office.

 

Constitution(Purposes) and Bylaws

Any changes to a church’s Purpose (formally known as constitution) and by-laws must be registered with the societies office in Victoria.  They scrutinize purposes, but bylaws are simply filed as the current working ones.

Updates and annual reporting is now completed through the BC societies online.

Once the bylaws are updated with BC Societies they must also be updated with CRA.

If the charity would like to charge their purposes it is recommended that they see legal advise before doing so as this could impact their charity status with CRA.

 

Annual filing requirements as a registered charity in canada: