Buying ALR acreage in the Fraser Valley

Common questions about buying Reserve land

• What is the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR)?

  It is the provincial zone that protects farmland in BC. The Land Commission Act created it on April 18, 1973, and the Agricultural Land Commission Act now governs it. About 4.6 million hectares, roughly 4.9% of the province, sit inside it. The Township of Langley puts about 75% of its land in the Reserve. The Commission’s rules come first, and local zoning can only add limits. Source: Agricultural Land Commission, ALR History and 2025/26 Annual Report (alc.gov.bc.ca, read November 5, 2026); Township of Langley, Agriculture (tol.ca, read November 5, 2026).
• How do I check if a specific property is in the ALR?

  Use the Commission’s ALR Property and Map Finder, which searches by nine-digit parcel identifier (PID) or civic address. The Commission updates its maps four times a year, at the end of January, April, July and October, and calls the tools general reference. For an official confirmation, contact its mapping team. Source: Agricultural Land Commission, Agricultural Land Reserve Maps (alc.gov.bc.ca, read November 5, 2026).
• What can and can't I do on an ALR parcel?

  Most parcels may have one principal residence of up to 500 square metres (5,382 square feet) without applying to the Commission. Farming and the uses the regulation lists are allowed. Subdivision, uses unrelated to farming, and larger or extra homes need the regulation’s permission or the Commission’s approval. Local zoning can restrict further. Source: Agricultural Land Commission, Housing in the ALR and Buying and Owning ALR Land (alc.gov.bc.ca, read November 5, 2026).
• What are the new additional-residence rules on ALR parcels?

  Since December 31, 2021, a parcel with one residence may add a detached second home with local permits only. On 40 hectares (99 acres) or less, the second home may be up to 90 square metres (969 square feet) and the first up to 500 square metres. Above 40 hectares, the second may be up to 186 square metres (2,002 square feet). The occupant need not be farm help. Fill may still need a Notice of Intent. Source: Agricultural Land Reserve Use Regulation, BC Reg 30/2019, s. 34.3; Agricultural Land Commission, Housing in the ALR (bclaws.gov.bc.ca; alc.gov.bc.ca, read November 5, 2026).
• What is BC Assessment "farm" classification and why does it matter?

  A parcel, or part of one, can be classed as a farm if the farm operation earns the minimum gross income the regulation sets: $10,000 a year under 0.8 hectares, $2,500 from 0.8 to 4 hectares, and $2,500 plus 5% of the operation’s farm-use value above 4 hectares. Farm land is taxed in its own property class, so the rate differs from a residential rate. Leased land can count under a written lease. Ask BC Assessment and an accountant about the parcel. Source: Classification of Land as a Farm Regulation, BC Reg 411/95 (bclaws.gov.bc.ca, current to November 3, 2026).
• Does the federal foreign-buyer ban apply to ALR property?

  It can. The federal ban covers residential property in census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, and the Fraser Valley falls inside them. Whether a given farm parcel counts depends on the Act’s definition of residential property and on the buyer’s status. Current law ends the ban January 1, 2027. The federal budget of November 5, 2026 proposes extending it to January 1, 2029 for existing homes, with new homes exempt; that is not law yet. Confirm with a real estate lawyer before an offer. Source: Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, as summarized in our foreign-buyer ban guide.
• What's the ALR exclusion process?

  A buyer cannot start one. Only the Commission, local governments, First Nation governments or other prescribed public bodies may apply to take land out of the Reserve. In 2025/26 the Commission decided five exclusion applications, approved four and refused one. Treat exclusion as a base case of zero when you price a parcel. Source: Agricultural Land Commission, 2025/26 Annual Report, exclusion applications (alc.gov.bc.ca, read November 5, 2026).
• What about flood-construction-level (FCL) requirements on Fraser-frontage ALR parcels?

  In the Township’s rural floodplain zone RU-5, no part of a residential building may sit below the flood construction level. A builder may reach it by structural elevation, by up to 0.91 metres of fill, or by both. Ask the Township for the level on the parcel before you offer, and check the Commission’s rules if fill is involved. Source: Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw 2500, s. 205.2 (as published on tol.ca, read November 5, 2026).
• What's a typical Fraser Valley acreage market segmented by ALR status?

  No published source sizes the gap between Reserve and non-Reserve acreage, so this guide gives no range. The gap tracks the use limits: what you may build, subdivide or farm. Price a Reserve parcel from sales of similar Reserve parcels, not from non-Reserve acreage, and ask for a parcel-specific comparison before you offer. Source: Agricultural Land Commission, Buying and Owning ALR Land (alc.gov.bc.ca, read November 5, 2026).
• Where can I see ALR-driven inventory in the Fort Langley footprint?

  Glen Valley is almost entirely Reserve land. The Fort Langley rural edge and Aldergrove’s rural edge carry large Reserve areas too, and Campbell Valley has more. Each has an area page on this site, and the search page lists active homes. Check each parcel on the Commission’s map, because a neighbourhood name does not say which side of the line a parcel sits on. Source: Township of Langley, Agriculture (tol.ca, read November 5, 2026).