FRONTIER LAW
OIL & GAS RENT REVIEWS
Rent Reviews for Oil & Gas Developments on Private Land and Grazing Leases in British Columbia.
Protecting your land, your livelihood, and your rights.
Based in Fort St. John, Frontier Law, working in partnership with KMSC Law LLP, helps landowners and grazing leaseholders across British Columbia review and increase annual surface lease rents for oil and gas and other energy developments located on privately owned land or grazing leases—at no out-of-pocket legal cost to you.
Your Right to a Rent Review in British Columbia.
In BC, landowners and leaseholders have clear statutory rights to review and update surface lease rent under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act (the “PNGA”). Importantly, when rent is renegotiated or ordered, the new rent is effective and retroactive to the anniversary date of the lease that immediately precedes your notice to renegotiate. That means acting in a timely way protects your backdated rent.
What Types of Sites Qualify?
Rent reviews are available for all energy dispositions located on the surface of privately owned land or grazing leases. Common examples include:
- Single and multi-well pads
- Access roads
- Riser sites
- Facilities
- Compressor stations
If you have energy infrastructure on the surface of your land or within your grazing lease, you likely have the right to a rent review.
Photo: Darcy Shawchek
Why Consider a Rent Review?
- Fair compensation: Rent is meant to address the ongoing impact of the operator’s activities on your land and operations, including nuisance, disturbance, and loss of use or profit.
- Changed conditions: Commodity activity, disturbance levels, and the value of money change over time.
- No out-of-pocket legal costs: In rent reviews, the operator pays the legal fees.
When Can You Apply?
- Four-year rent renegotiation: After the 4th anniversary of the effective date of your lease, or after the effective date of your most recent rent amendment. If negotiations fail within 60 days, either party may ask the Surface Rights Board to decide on the rent.
How the Process Works.
- Eligibility check: We review your lease, anniversary dates, rent history, and any prior amendments to confirm timing under PNGA.
- Notice to renegotiate: We serve the notice to trigger negotiations.
- Negotiations: We negotiate with the operator to reach a fair, updated rent that reflects current impacts and rent paid at comparable locations in the area.
- Surface Rights Board application (if needed): If no agreement is reached, we can apply to the SRB to resolve the rent. The Board can confirm, amend, or vary the lease rent.
- Outcome and retroactivity: Any new rent is effective and retroactive to the anniversary before your notice, preserving value for you.
- Fees paid by the operator: Frontier Law’s legal fees are paid by the operator as part of the rent review process.
What Frontier Law Brings to Your File
- Focused expertise: We concentrate on oil and gas surface rights and rent reviews under the PNGA before the Surface Rights Board.
- Clear strategy: We time your notice to maximize retroactive benefit and build a strong evidence base on disturbance, loss of use, and operational impacts.
- Practical, local knowledge: We understand farm and ranch operations, grazing management, seasonal access, and how energy sites affect real work on the ground.
- Strong negotiation and advocacy: If the operator resists, we are ready to advance your case at the SRB with clear, fact-driven submissions.
Where we Work
We represent landowners and grazing leaseholders across British Columbia, with a particular focus on the Peace Region:
- Fort St. John
- Dawson Creek
- Halfway River
- Charlie Lake
- Prespatou
- Rose Prairie
- Goodlow
- Clayhurst
- Farmington
- Groundbirch
- Doe River
- Rolla
If you own or lease land with surface lease developments anywhere in BC, we can help.
What We Look at to Increase Your Rent
- Current and future disturbance to your operation
- Loss of use and severance impacts
- Nuisance and inconvenience
- Rent paid at comparable locations in your area
- Cumulative effects from multiple sites or rights of entry
- Site-specific issues: access restrictions, safety buffers, dust, noise, lights, traffic, biosecurity, and reclamation delays
Why Choose Frontier Law?
- Local, approachable, and responsive
- Deep knowledge of the PNGA and the Surface Rights Board process
- Transparent process and timelines
- Operator-paid legal fees—no out-of-pocket legal costs for you
If you have a transmission line, well pad, access road, riser, facility, or compressor station on your private land or grazing lease, you may be entitled to a rent increase—at no out-of-pocket legal cost to you. Contact Frontier Law in Fort St. John today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We will confirm your eligibility, explain your options in plain language, and handle the process from start to finish.
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At Frontier Law, we ensure you have all of the relevant information needed to make good decisions.
Our Team is available to discuss your personal and business legal needs.