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BC Rescission Period Calculator

Three business days, starting the day after acceptance, with every skipped day listed with its reason.

When there is no rescission period

There is no rescission period at all, and nothing to count, for:

  • residential property on leased land
  • a leasehold interest in residential property
  • a sale at auction
  • a sale under a court order or under the supervision of a court, which covers most foreclosure sales
  • a presale bought under a disclosure statement (it has its own seven-day right under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act)

Enter the date the seller accepted to see your deadline and how it was counted.

Notes: estimate only, confirm with a licensed professional

Estimate only. Confirm with a licensed professional before relying on this number.

How we verify

The two things people get wrong

The first is the start. Acceptance day is day zero, so an offer accepted on a Monday runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Counting Monday as day one costs a day of a three-day right.

The second is the word holiday. It does not mean the days an employer gives you. It means the list in section 29 of the Interpretation Act, which includes Easter Monday and December 26. Neither of those is a BC statutory holiday. It also works the other way: where one of those days falls on a weekend, the Monday taken in lieu is an ordinary business day and counts. That is the opposite of the rule for court filing deadlines, which is where the confusion usually starts.

The right cannot be waived and applies even where the contract has no subjects. The period runs from the day after the acceptance was signed and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. on the third business day. The fee is 0.25% of the purchase price, so rescinding a $1,000,000 purchase costs $2,500.

Questions people ask about the rescission period

  • Does the rescission period apply to a presale?
    No. A presale bought under a disclosure statement carries its own right of rescission within 7 days under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, which runs separately and is not what this page counts. The three-day period covers detached and semi-detached houses, townhouses, apartments in a duplex or other multi-unit dwelling, strata lots, manufactured homes affixed to land, and co-operative interests that include a right to occupy a dwelling. Source: Property Law Act, section 42(2); Real Estate Development Marketing Act, section 21(2); B.C. Reg. 175/2022, section 2.
  • Is there a rescission period on a foreclosure or an auction purchase?
    No. The Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation, section 3, exempts a sale at auction and a sale under a court order or the supervision of a court, which is how most BC foreclosures are sold. It also exempts a home on leased land and a leasehold interest. The regulation is at bclaws.gov.bc.ca (BC Reg 175/2022); on those purchases the contract is binding from acceptance. Source: B.C. Reg. 175/2022, section 3.
  • Can I give up the rescission period to make my offer stronger?
    No. The right cannot be waived, by either side, and it applies even where the contract is written with no subjects at all. An offer promising to waive it promises something that does not exist. Source: B.C. Reg. 175/2022, section 7; BC Financial Services Authority, Home Buyer Rescission Period.
  • What does it cost to rescind?
    A quarter of one percent of the purchase price, with no statutory cap. On a $1,000,000 purchase that is $2,500, payable to the seller. The deposit is returned less that amount. Source: B.C. Reg. 175/2022, section 6.
  • Does the deadline fall at the end of the day?
    The period ends at 11:59:59 p.m. on the third business day. A written notice sent by registered mail, by fax, or by email with a read receipt requested, to the seller’s address in the contract, counts as served when it is sent. Send it well before the end of that day. Source: BC Financial Services Authority, Home Buyer Rescission Period FAQ; B.C. Reg. 175/2022, section 5.
  • Which holidays actually drop out?
    The ones named in section 29 of the Interpretation Act: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, British Columbia Day, Labour Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and December 26. Easter Monday and December 26 are the two that surprise people, and a Monday taken in lieu of a weekend holiday is not one of them. Sundays also drop out, and a day set by Parliament as a day of thanksgiving may be caught too (see the note on Thanksgiving above). Source: Interpretation Act, section 29.
Sources(5)

Also drawn from: BC Financial Services Authority, BC Interpretation Act, section 29, Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation, section 3.

Spot an issue? Report an inaccuracy. How we verify.

Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR® at Momentum Realty Inc.. GVR Member #6015742 · FVREB Member #FJOBBR

Last reviewed by Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR®. Licence CC BY 4.0. How we verify.