Development Charge Payment Rules Become More Flexible for New Rental Construction | BC

Alongside the payment timeline, the province expanded where developers can use an on-demand surety bond instead of an irrevocable letter of credit to secure the deferred 75%. A handful of municipalities, including Burnaby, Surrey, Vancouver, and Mission, already accepted these bonds before this change. The amendment makes the option available province-wide, not just in cities that had separately adopted it. [Cite: BC Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, news release, "Instalments flexibility aimed to encourage more building," Jul. 2, 2025]

The practical advantage is what happens if a developer defaults. An on-demand bond can be converted to cash by the local government within 15 days, without going to court. A letter of credit ties up a line of bank credit for the full term of the deferral, which is capital a developer can't use for anything else on the project.

Eligibility for the bond option isn't automatic. It requires approval from a surety company, and the total charges payable have to exceed $50,000. Smaller projects, or ones without surety-company approval, still secure the deferred amount the conventional way.

The catch: your municipality still has to opt in

The regulation is provincial and took effect January 1, 2026, but that's the outer framework, not a guarantee that every local government has actually implemented it yet. Municipalities still need to update their own bylaws, systems, and staff processes to accept surety bonds and administer the new instalment schedule.

New Westminster is a useful example of the gap this creates. Its council didn't set up a pilot program accepting surety bonds for development charges until August 31, 2026, eight months after the provincial regulation's effective date. [Cite: New Westminster, Subdivision and Development Control Bylaw No. 7142, 2007, Amendment Bylaw No. 8602, 2026]

That means a developer can't assume every municipality is ready to process a bond or apply the new payment split just because the provincial rule is in force. Confirming local implementation before relying on these terms for a specific project isn't optional caution, it's often the actual determining factor in whether the new terms are available yet.

What this means if you're expanding rental stock

If you're a landlord or property manager developing new rental units rather than just operating existing ones, this changes the cash-flow math on a project, but only once your municipality has actually adopted the new terms locally. Before assuming you can defer 75% of a charge to occupancy, confirm three things with the local government where the project sits: whether it has updated its own bylaws to reflect the provincial change, whether it currently accepts on-demand surety bonds, and whether your total DCC, ACC, and school-site charges together clear the $50,000 threshold for bond eligibility.

If the local government hasn't caught up yet, the older instalment terms, or a negotiated arrangement with that municipality, may still be what actually applies to your project regardless of what the provincial regulation now technically allows.