Commercial property management in Surrey for private owners

Surrey is one of the largest municipalities in British Columbia by land area, projected to pass Vancouver in population within the next decade or so, and its commercial market is growing faster than any other on this site. Campbell Heights in South Surrey and Port Kells in the northeast make up the region's largest industrial development pipeline; City Centre is the largest office node south of the Fraser; and the retail along 152 Street, King George Boulevard and Fraser Highway serves more than half a million people. Private owners hold a large share of the older industrial in Newton, Port Kells and Cloverdale, and those owners are who this page is for.

We run the whole cycle: rate opinion from live and brokerage comparables, listing, showings, tenant screening, offer to lease and lease negotiation under the Commercial Tenancy Act, then collection, CAM and tax reconciliation, maintenance, renewals and expiry planning. In Surrey the extra work is competition: a tenant looking at your 8,000 sq ft Newton warehouse is also looking at a new Campbell Heights building with 32-foot clear height, and the listing has to answer why yours is the better deal. Sale-versus-hold advice is part of the package; sale advisory is executed by Lawrence Siccia (Engel & Völkers). The full scope is on our commercial leasing services page.

The city is also six markets, not one. Campbell Heights is large-format distribution. Newton and Port Kells are older, owner-held industrial. City Centre is office. Cloverdale is a town centre with industrial behind it. South Surrey is retail and professional office for a wealthier catchment. They lease at different speeds and to different tenants, and the fastest way to lose money in Surrey is to price one submarket off another.

Surrey's Zoning Bylaw 12000 separates industrial into light impact (IL), business park (IB) and high impact (IH) zones, with comprehensive development (CD) zones for most new business-park projects. The differences are real: IL permits a broad list of light industrial and accessory office uses; IB is aimed at office-industrial flex with tighter appearance and outdoor-storage rules; IH is where trucking yards, recycling and heavy uses belong. Port Kells has IH; Campbell Heights is largely CD and IB; Newton is a mix of older IL and legal non-conforming uses. Confirm the schedule for your parcel with the City before you advertise a use.

Outdoor storage is the Surrey question. Container storage, truck parking and equipment yards are in high demand and are restricted or prohibited in many zones — and Surrey enforces. A tenant who tells you they need "a bit of yard" needs a zone that permits outdoor storage as a principal or accessory use, and the lease should say exactly what may be stored where. Our commercial lease types guide covers how to write the permitted-use and yard clauses.

City Centre and the station areas along Fraser Highway are governed by the City Centre Plan and new station-area plans, mostly through CD zones and density that assumes redevelopment. A single-storey retail building on King George or Fraser Highway is often worth more as land than as a rent stream, which changes the lease you should sign: shorter terms and demolition clauses preserve the option; a ten-year lease without one gives it away. Our sell or lease assessment puts the two numbers side by side.

Surrey industrial runs on Highways 1, 15, 17 and 99. Port Kells sits on Highway 1 at 176 Street with Highway 17 (the South Fraser Perimeter Road) to Deltaport and the Fraser Surrey Docks; Campbell Heights sits on Highway 15 to the Pacific Highway border crossing and Highway 99 to the tunnel. A trucking or import tenant chooses between those two corridors first and the building second.

The Expo Line ends at King George today. The Surrey–Langley SkyTrain extension runs from King George along Fraser Highway through Fleetwood and Clayton to Langley City, with construction under way and eight new stations planned. Station-area commercial along Fraser Highway is already being repriced on the plan. For office in City Centre, Surrey Central station and the SFU and hospital anchors are the marketing story; for South Surrey retail, it is Highway 99 and the 152 Street interchange, because that catchment drives.

In Metro Vancouver, commercial property management fees typically run 3–8% of gross collected rent (published rate cards from Metro Vancouver managers, 2025–26), and leasing commissions are commonly 4–6% of the total lease value or roughly one month's rent per year of term. David's leasing fee is typically the first and last months' rent on the lease, and ongoing management is quoted per property. The full breakdown, including what is and is not in a management fee, is on our commercial property management fees page.

Surrey sets its own Class 6 (business) tax rate, and tenants comparing a Port Kells unit to one across the border in the Township of Langley will notice the difference — check the current mill rate each spring, because a net lease passes it through as additional rent. Two other Surrey budget items: the cost of bringing an older Newton or Cloverdale building's electrical and fire systems up to what a new Campbell Heights competitor offers, and yard improvements (paving, fencing, lighting) that turn permitted outdoor storage into rent. Our industrial property management page covers the yard and loading items in detail.

Two tax points that apply in every BC municipality: GST applies to commercial rent and BC PST does not, and property tax is billed on the BC Assessment value at the municipality's Class 6 (business) rate — check the current mill rate each spring, because most net leases pass it straight through to the tenant as additional rent. Confirm the treatment for your ownership structure with your accountant.

The planning ranges we use across Metro Vancouver: small industrial and warehouse units are usually the fastest to lease, office and retail take longer because the tenant pool is thinner and fit-out matters more, and every deal adds a fixturing period before rent starts. Lease terms in the region are commonly 3–5 years with a 5-year renewal option, so the decisions you make at signing carry for most of a decade. These are planning assumptions, not promises — the honest answer for a specific building comes after we have seen it.

Surrey industrial leases on a two-speed track. Buildings with dock loading, clear height and zoned yard in Port Kells or Campbell Heights lease inside the regional norm — Metro Vancouver industrial availability is around 3–4% (brokerage market reports, 2025) — while older grade-level units in Newton compete with new supply and take longer unless they are priced to the difference. City Centre office is the slowest product; medical office near the hospital is the exception. South Surrey retail leases on the strength of the co-tenancy and can take a season to place the right operator.

If a lease is ending in the next 12–18 months, start with the lease expiry playbook and the lease expiry planner; if the unit is already empty, the how to find a commercial tenant guide is the step-by-step version of what we do.