How much will Vancouver's Amenity Cost Charge rise in 2027?
For residential above 1.5 floor space ratio, from $53.82 to $110.87 per square metre on September 30, 2027. That is a 106% step rather than the 3% inflationary adjustment every other category gets, because Council phased that one rate in at half price for its first year.
Schedule C, Table B of the by-law sets four dated columns. Per square metre:1
| Rate category | Sept 30, 2026 | Sept 30, 2027 | Sept 30, 2028 | Sept 30, 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential at or below 1.2 FSR | $24.97 | $25.72 | $26.49 | $27.29 |
| Residential above 1.2 to 1.5 FSR | $53.82 | $55.43 | $57.10 | $58.81 |
| Residential above 1.5 FSR | $53.82 | $110.87 | $114.19 | $117.62 |
| Industrial | $12.92 | $13.30 | $13.70 | $14.11 |
| Mixed-employment (light industrial) | $24.22 | $24.95 | $25.69 | $26.46 |
| Commercial and other | $32.29 | $33.26 | $34.26 | $35.29 |
Every category except one rises about 3% a year. Council approved "annual inflationary rate adjustments of 3.0% to the ACC rates occurring on September 30, 2027, September 30, 2028 and September 30, 2029".1
Why one row behaves differently
The apartment rate is not rising by inflation in 2027. It is arriving. Council resolved that the rate for residential above 1.5 FSR "be phased in over a two-year period, with: 1. a 50% reduced rate effective September 30, 2026, and
- the full rate effective September 30, 2027".1
The full calculated rate is $107.64 per square metre, which the report also expresses as a round $10.00 per square foot.1 So the $53.82 payable in the first year is half of that, and the $110.87 in 2027 is the full rate plus the same 3% adjustment the other categories get.
For a project of any size this is the difference between budgeting one number and budgeting twice that number.
The 12-month protection, and the clause that undoes it
Section 3.2 of the by-law disapplies a Table B increase where two things are both true: the building permit is issued within 12 months of the increase, and a precursor application to it was in-stream on the date of the increase.1
It ends with a condition worth reading twice:
unless the payer agrees in writing that the rate increase should have effect.1
So the protection is waivable, and waivable in writing by the payer. Anyone signing documents around a permit issuance in the twelve months after September 30, 2027 should know that a signature can surrender it.
What this does not cover
The separate, one-time exemption for applications in-stream before the by-law took effect is a different mechanism under the Vancouver Charter, and it is priced and explained here. Note also that the rates above are read from the version of the by-law that went to Council as Appendix A of the July 14, 2026 report. We were not able to open the enacted consolidated by-law, which refuses automated requests.
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