Civil forfeiture – Property disposition

The Civil Forfeiture Office (CFO) may forfeit the following:

• Real property (houses, land), or
• Personal property (vehicles, jewellery, electronics etc.)

Proceeds of the sale of forfeited properties are paid into the civil forfeiture special account where they are used to pay for operational costs, compensation and grants.

Property is liquidated in the following ways:

• Real property (houses, land) is sold through a realtor and listed on the multiple listing service (MLS)
• Personal property (vehicles, jewellery, electronics etc.) is sold through the Ministry of Citizen Services’ B.C. Auction website
• Property that cannot be sold is disposed of or sent for salvage

Sometimes property is given a reserve price on the B.C. Auction website. This allows the CFO to ensure that it obtains the maximum price that can be sustained by the market in selling property.