Property Images
The property images displayed are taken by and owned by BC Assessment, or they are Google images used under license through Google. The Assessment Act and associated regulations permit BC Assessment to provide a street front image for each property.
A Google image will have the Google logo at the bottom left and the Google copyright at the bottom right. A BC Assessment image will have no information displayed in the image corners at the bottom. No personal information is exchanged with Google in order to access and use their licensed images.
The process to resolve a problem with a property image is different for Google and BC Assessment images.
Google images
Privacy: For privacy and safety, Google automatically blurs the faces of people and vehicle license plates that may be inadvertently captured when the image is taken. If there are other parts of the image that concern you, Google provides a process to allow individuals to request that portions or the entire image of their property be blurred. The process can be initiated through the Google website. The link to the Google report a problem web page is:
BC Assessment does not have control over Google’s agreement to remove or blur an image. If Google does not resolve the problem, you can request that BC Assessment remove the property image from this site by contacting 1-866-825-8322 or using the Contact us form. Note that removing a Google image from this site does not remove the image from Google street view. That can only be done through the Google report a problem process as described above.
Picture quality: The Google images are taken from a vehicle driving on the street. If there are obstructions to the view of the front of the property (e.g. hedges, trees, fences, etc.), Google is not permitted to enter private property to gain a better picture, so the image view will be obstructed. The Google property images are also affected by the position of the property (e.g. irregular or large sized properties, corner properties, properties with back alleys, mountainous and remote locations, etc.).
The age of the Google image is determined by the frequency with which Google updates their street view image collection. Currently the update is done approximately every three years, so it is possible that the image shown will not reflect current changes or improvements to the property.
Use of the Google image: The use of the Google image is meant to enhance the property information. Unlike a BC Assessment property image, the Google image is not used in the assessment process and you can request it to be removed from this site if the quality is poor, or you prefer it was not displayed. To remove it from this site phone 1-866-825-8322 or use the Contact us form.
BC Assessment images
Privacy: BC Assessment property images are acquired through reassessment programs and employee inspections. Over time, BC Assessment's goal is to have a street front image available for each property. BC Assessment’s privacy policy is available here. If you are concerned about a privacy issue with a BC Assessment property image (which will not have a Google logo on the bottom), please phone 1-866-825-8322 or use the Contact us form.
Picture quality:The BC Assessment property image is taken from the street, typically from the front of a property. If there are obstructions to the view of the front of the property (e.g. hedges, trees, fences, etc.), BC Assessment is only permitted to provide images online that were taken from outside the property boundary, so the image view may be obstructed.
The age of the BC Assessment property images can vary widely as the frequency for BC Assessment image updates is not established. As a result, it is possible that the image shown will not reflect current changes or improvements to the property.
Use of the BC Assessment Image: BC Assessment is permitted to acquire a street front image for each property in BC and display the image in this site. The BC Assessment property image does contribute to the property assessment evaluation. Unlike a Google property image, BC Assessment will not remove a property image from this site unless a review confirms that the image does not meet privacy requirements.
