Pond at Abkhazi Garden
As a landowner, you may want to see certain features of your property protected and you may be interested in gifting or selling your land to a land trust such as TLC. There are a number of different ways that you may go about gifting or selling your land to TLC.
The Land Conservancy is interested in lands and properties that have significant ecological, cultural or agricultural value. In addition, TLC protects land that has important scientific, recreational, or scenic values.
Some of the different types of property that TLC has protected include ranchland, wetlands, grasslands, old-growth forests, heritage buildings and gardens, recreational trails, eco-forestry sites, and bat houses.
Donating Your Property
There are a couple of ways that you, as a landowner, can go about donating your property to TLC.
Outright Donation
With an outright donation, you agree to gift your property to The Land Conservancy. In return for your donation, you will receive a tax receipt for the appraised value of the donation. If your property has ecological value, you may be able to increase this tax benefit under the Ecological Gifts Program. For more information on this program, please click here.
Read about the donation of Lehman Springs Conservation Area.
Life Estate
By donating a life estate to The Land Conservancy, you (and perhaps your children) retain the right to remain on your property for the remainder of your lives. Once you are no longer living on the property, it will transfer to TLC. Usually, a life estate involves certain restrictions on your use of the property. A life estate may contain some tax benefits depending on the value of the property and the length of time you will remain on the property. To view a sample life estate agreement, please click here.
Read the story of the Joseph Lohbrunner Farm and Bird Sanctuary.
You may also wish to make a bequest of land to TLC in your will. To find out more about bequests, please click here.
Morning mist on the Horsefly River. Photo couresty of C. Iwan
Selling Your Property
Selling your property to TLC can be more complicated than donating because TLC will need to determine if the financial resources are available to purchase your property. We will also need to undertake an assessment to determine whether or not the property has appropriate values that should be protected – as a charity, we must always be diligent in ensuring that we are working to meet our mandate.
Outright Sale
If you wish to sell your land directly to The Land Conservancy, you will need to determine how much money you wish to receive from the sale of your land. The best way to do this is through a certified appraiser who can determine the fair market value of your land. Once you have determined your sale price, TLC staff will need to determine if the resources are available to purchase your land. Because resources are limited, properties with key values are usually chosen by TLC for outright purchase.
Read the story of Creekside Rainforest.
Bargain Sale
You may wish to sell your land to TLC, but you may not want or need to receive full market value for your land. With a bargain sale (also called a Split Receipt), you can arrange to sell your land to TLC at a price that is lower than the full market value. If your sale price is less than 80% of the appraised value, you can receive a tax receipt for the difference.
Read the story of the Valhalla Mile.
Once you have considered some of the different options available for transferring your land, it is a good idea to consult the Regional Manager for your area. The Regional Manager can visit your property and help you to consider how your property fits with The Land Conservancy. You should also seek independent tax and legal advice to help you with this process.
Once you have decided to transfer your land, staff from The Land Conservancy will sit down with you and develop a Memorandum of Understanding. This document will outline the sale or gifting process and the next steps that need to be taken. To see a sample MOU, please click here. An appraisal will also need to be done to establish the value of the property.
