The central reference for BC residential real estate

Marginal-rate brackets for the general Property Transfer Tax payable on title transfers in British Columbia. The 1%/2%/3% lower brackets apply to all property classes; the 5% top-bracket rate (above $3M) applies to residential-class property only.

Effective April 1, 2024, the First Time Home Buyers' exemption is available for a home with a fair market value (FMV) at or under $835,000. The exemption equals the property transfer tax on the first $500,000 of FMV — so a home at or under $500,000 pays no general PTT, and a home from $500,000 to $835,000 has $8,000 of PTT removed (the PTT on that first $500,000). From $835,000 to $860,000 the exemption phases out linearly to zero; there is no exemption at or above $860,000.

Full PTT exemption on newly constructed homes with FMV at or under $1,100,000 (raised April 1, 2024). Linear phase-out from $1,100,000 to $1,150,000. No exemption above $1,150,000. Buyer must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, will use as principal residence, and meet other Section 12.02 requirements.

20% additional PTT in specified BC areas (Metro Vancouver, Capital Regional, Fraser Valley, Nanaimo Regional, Central Okanagan) on residential property purchased by a foreign national, foreign corporation, or taxable trustee. Stacks on top of the general PTT.

Provincial tax on profit from residential property sales. 20% if held less than 365 days; linear phase-out to 0% from days 366 to 729; no flipping tax after 730 days. Owner-occupiers can deduct up to $20,000 if held ≥365 days as principal residence. In addition to standard capital gains and federal anti-flipping rule.

Sales of residential property held less than 365 consecutive days are deemed business income (100% inclusion rate; no Principal Residence Exemption available) unless a qualifying life-event exception applies (marriage breakdown, death, work relocation ≥40km, etc.). Effective for dispositions on/after January 1, 2023.

50% inclusion rate. The proposal to raise the inclusion rate to 66.67% on gains over $250,000 was CANCELLED on March 21, 2025; the rate remains 50% for all dispositions.

BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax rates and the tax credit that offsets them. For the 2019–2025 tax years the rates were 0.5% for Canadian citizens / permanent residents and 2.0% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners (which includes satellite families). Budget 2025 doubled both effective for the 2026 tax year: 1.0% and 3.0% respectively. Budget 2026 raises the foreign / untaxed-worldwide-earner rate again to 4.0% effective for the 2027 tax year. The tax is charged on the property's full assessed value — there is no exempt band beneath it. A separate non-refundable tax credit is then subtracted: for BC residents who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and are not untaxed worldwide earners, Budget 2025 raised the maximum from $2,000 to $4,000 for 2026 and later years. The credit is prorated by the owner's percentage interest in the property (a 25% owner receives 25% of the maximum), requires a filed declaration, and cannot be carried forward to another year or transferred to a spouse. Because $4,000 is exactly 1% of $400,000, a sole BC-resident owner's tax payable reaches zero at an assessed value of $400,000 or less — an artefact of the credit, not an exemption threshold. Foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners do not receive this credit. Declarations are due March 31 of the year following the tax year; where no declaration is filed, the owner is assessed at the maximum rate and forfeits the credit. Payment is a separate and later deadline: the tax is due on the first business day in July of that same year (July 2, 2026 for the 2025 tax year; July 2, 2027 for the 2026 tax year, July 1 being Canada Day in both). Note that a small set of entities never declare at all — Indigenous Nations and their corporations, registered charities, housing co-ops, municipalities and regional districts, other public bodies, crown corporations, and corporations designated as agents of government with their wholly owned subsidiaries — so the "every owner must declare" rule holds for individuals but is not universal.

The City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax — also called the Vacancy Tax, and imposed under Vacancy Tax By-law No. 11674 — is a municipal tax on residential property left empty, charged on the property's assessed taxable value for the reference year. It began with the 2017 reference year. The rate is 3% and has been since the 2021 reference year (1% for 2017–2019, 1.25% for 2020). It is separate from and additional to the provincial Speculation and Vacancy Tax (see bc.svt.rates_2026), so a vacant home inside Vancouver is exposed to both: 4% combined for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in the 2026 tax year, 6% for a foreign owner or untaxed worldwide earner. Vancouver runs its own cycle, and every Vancouver homeowner declares whether or not any tax is owed. For the 2025 reference year the declaration was due February 3, 2026, payment April 16, 2026, and late declarations supported by acceptable evidence July 3, 2026 — so the municipal declaration lands roughly two months before the provincial March 31 deadline and payment roughly three months before the provincial July date. Only one declaration is required per property each year, rather than one per owner, and a property with no declaration on file is deemed vacant. The provincial resident tax credit does not touch the municipal tax.

First Home Savings Account (FHSA) — federal tax-deferred savings vehicle for first-time home buyers. $8,000 annual contribution room (carry-forward up to one year unused), $40,000 lifetime maximum. Contributions are tax-deductible (like an RRSP); qualifying withdrawals are tax-free (like a TFSA). The account must be closed by December 31 of the year the earliest of these occurs: the 15th anniversary of opening your first FHSA, the year you turn 71, or the year after your first qualifying withdrawal.

How federal capital-gains rules interact with the Principal Residence Exemption (PRE) for BC sellers. Federal capital-gains inclusion: 50% of any taxable capital gain is included in income — the proposed 66.67% inclusion-rate increase on gains above $250,000 was CANCELLED by the federal government on March 21, 2025, so the inclusion rate is 50% across the board for the foreseeable future (see fact ca.capital_gains.inclusion_rate). PRE: a Canadian-resident individual can claim the PRE on a property that is "ordinarily inhabited" as a principal residence for every year designated, fully exempting the otherwise-taxable capital gain attributable to those designated years. Critical detail BC sellers underweight: only ONE property per family unit per year can be designated, so cottage/investment owners must compute the PRE allocation across properties. The "+1 rule" (one extra year tacked onto the designation) lets a seller cover the year of acquisition of a replacement property. The step most BC sellers miss: the exemption does not apply automatically at sale. Since the 2016 reporting changes, every disposition of a principal residence MUST be reported on Schedule 3 of the T1 return, with the PRE designation made via Form T2091(IND). Failing to file is a CRA penalty trigger ($100/month, max $8,000) and can cost the exemption retroactively. For multiple-property owners, also consider: federal anti-flipping rule (≥365-day hold to avoid 100% deemed business income; see ca.anti_flipping_rule) and BC Home Flipping Tax (≥730-day hold to avoid all provincial tax; see bc.flipping_tax).

How CRA and BC treat the assignment (sale) of a presale-condo purchase contract before completion. Three tax overlays apply: (1) GST — effective May 7, 2022, every assignment of a new or substantially-renovated residential property is subject to GST under the federal Excise Tax Act (Budget Implementation Act, 2022 amendments). The assignor charges 5% GST on the assignment fee (the consideration paid for the assignment over and above the original deposit refund) and remits to CRA; the deposit portion paid back to the original purchaser is excluded from the GST base. (2) Income tax — CRA has signalled (and audits) that assignment profit is generally treated as 100% business income, NOT a 50% capital gain, where the assignor never intended to occupy. The "intended occupancy" test is fact-dependent — documented evidence of intent (mortgage pre-approval for owner-occupancy, school enrolment, moving plans) materially affects the outcome. The federal anti-flipping rule (deemed business income on sales within 365 days; see ca.anti_flipping_rule) further hardens the income-vs-capital-gain question for short-hold assignments. (3) BC SVT — an unfinished presale unit is exempt from Speculation and Vacancy Tax for as long as it remains uncompleted; once the unit completes, SVT applies in subsequent years if the unit is not occupied per the SVT rules (see bc.svt.rates_2026). BC Home Flipping Tax (see bc.flipping_tax) generally does not apply to assignments before the property is registered to the assignor on title, but applies to an assignor-then-take-title-then-flip pattern.

A federal GST/HST rebate available to buyers of new or substantially-renovated owner-occupied housing. In BC (a GST-only province), the rebate is calculated against the 5% federal GST. Full rebate is 36% of the GST paid for new homes priced up to $350,000; the rebate phases out linearly between $350,000 and $450,000 (computed under the formula in s. 254(2) of the Excise Tax Act). New homes priced at or above $450,000 receive ZERO federal GST New Housing Rebate. Rebate forms: GST190 (new home from a builder), GST191 (owner-built home). The 1991-set $350,000 / $450,000 thresholds have NOT been indexed to inflation; nearly every new home in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley sells above the upper threshold and therefore receives no rebate. A separate "First-Time Home Buyers' GST Rebate" was enacted by Bill C-4 (Royal Assent March 12, 2026): for a qualifying first-time buyer it removes the full 5% GST on a new home priced up to $1,000,000 and gives a reduced rebate on new homes from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, to a maximum of $50,000. It applies to purchase agreements entered on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.

An annual reduction of property taxes available to BC owners who occupy their property as their principal residence on December 31 of the assessment year. Two grant amounts: $570 (basic, available across most of BC) and $770 (northern and rural — outside the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Capital Regional Districts). Higher additional-grant amounts (up to $275 extra, total grant up to $845 / $1,045) apply to seniors 65+, persons with disabilities, and certain veterans / spouses of deceased owners. The grant is reduced by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value above the phase-out threshold. The threshold is set annually by the Province; for the 2026 tax year the threshold is $2,075,000 (down from $2,175,000 for 2025). The grant is reduced by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value above the threshold, so for 2026 the basic grant phases out completely above $2,189,000 and the additional grant above $2,244,000. Confirm the threshold for the current tax year against gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant. The grant is claimed annually and applied to the property tax notice — not automatic; if you forget to claim, you pay full tax. Effective January 1, 2027 the northern and rural top-up is eliminated: the regular grant becomes $570 everywhere in B.C., including northern and rural properties (gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant, read 2026-09-21).

Tax-free RRSP withdrawal for first-time home purchase. Limit raised from $35,000 to $60,000 for withdrawals made on/after April 16, 2024. The 5-year (vs standard 2-year) repayment grace period covers first withdrawals made between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025, and was extended to first withdrawals between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2028: the 15-year repayment period then starts in the fifth year after the year of first withdrawal, so a first withdrawal in 2026 has a first repayment year of 2031. Standard repayment over 15 years applies in all cases.

Maximum home purchase price eligible for default mortgage insurance (CMHC, Sagen, Canada Guaranty). Raised from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 effective December 15, 2024. Below this cap, buyers can put as little as 5% down on the first $500,000 + 10% on the portion above. Above this cap, conventional 20%-down mortgage required.

CMHC-insured mortgages permit 30-year amortization (vs. standard 25-year max) for two specific borrower categories: (1) all first-time home buyers regardless of property type, and (2) any buyer purchasing newly constructed housing (new build). Effective December 15, 2024.

Federally-regulated lenders (banks, federal credit unions) must qualify uninsured borrowers at the GREATER of (a) the contract rate + 2 percentage points, or (b) the Bank of Canada qualifying rate (currently 5.25%). Insured borrowers are qualified at the same higher-of test by CMHC. Applies to new originations and to refinances — any increase in loan amount or remaining amortization. It does NOT apply to a straight switch at renewal (see osfi.b20.renewal_no_stress_test), and it never applied to renewing with the existing lender, which is not a new origination.

Effective November 21, 2024, a borrower renewing an uninsured mortgage may move it to a DIFFERENT federally-regulated lender without re-passing the B-20 stress test, provided it is a "straight switch" — the loan amount does not increase and the remaining amortization is not extended. Insured borrowers have had the same relief since January 2024. Renewing with the existing lender never required the test in the first place, because a renewal is not a new origination. A refinance — any increase in loan amount or extension of amortization — still triggers the full test, whoever the lender is. The practical effect is that a borrower at renewal can shop competing lenders on rate without re-qualifying, which is the reverse of the pre-2024 position where the incumbent lender knew the borrower had no exit.

Loan-to-Value (LTV) is the ratio of the mortgage loan amount to the lower of (a) the purchase price or (b) the appraised value of the property, expressed as a percentage. LTV is the binding constraint on whether a mortgage requires default insurance: any loan above 80% LTV (i.e., a down payment below 20%) requires CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty default insurance under federal rules. CMHC default-insurance premium tiers are LTV-banded (95.01–90.00% LTV, 90.01–85.00% LTV, etc.), with higher LTV brackets carrying higher premium percentages. OSFI Guideline B-20 also references LTV in its underwriting expectations for federally regulated lenders. The Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act set the statutory 80% LTV ceiling above which insurance is required.

A buyer of residential real property has 3 business days after acceptance of the offer to rescind for any reason. Rescission fee is 0.25% of the purchase price (no statutory cap). Established by the Property Law Act, with regulations effective January 3, 2023. The HBRP cannot be waived; it applies even if the contract has no subjects/conditions.

Since June 15, 2018, BC operates under designated agency: the agency relationship is between the client and the individual licensee, NOT the brokerage. Section 63 of the Real Estate Services Rules prohibits a brokerage from engaging in dual agency; section 64 permits it only where the property is in a remote location under-served by licensees and it is impracticable for the parties to use different licensees. That exception is NOT granted by anyone. The brokerage assesses it itself, and before acting must disclose to each party on a form approved by the superintendent, including a statement signed by the managing broker giving the reasons, and sign a written dual-agency agreement with each party; the disclosure goes to the superintendent promptly AFTER those agreements are signed. Section 65 covers every other conflicted case, including two buyers with competing interests in the same property: the licensee must either drop the trade entirely or represent one client only, with written agreement from all of them. The Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services (DORT) form must be presented and signed by all clients before substantive services are provided.

Section 59 of the Real Estate Services Rules requires a listing licensee, NOT the seller, to disclose to every other party to the trade any Material Latent Defect of which the licensee has knowledge, before any agreement is entered into. The definition in Real Estate Services Rules s.59(1) has one requirement: a material defect that cannot be discerned through a reasonable inspection. It then gives an INCLUSIVE list of six examples, so a defect need not match one of them to qualify: dangerous or potentially dangerous to occupants; unfit for habitation; unfit for a purpose the party has made known to the licensee or the licensee has otherwise learned; great expense to remedy; a circumstance a local government has given notice must or should be remedied; and a lack of appropriate municipal building and other permits. Real Estate Services Rules s.59(3): if the client instructs the licensee to withhold the disclosure, the licensee must refuse to provide further trading services to that client on that trade. Real Estate Services Rules s.59(4): disclosure is not required where the party has already had written disclosure of it from the client. Disclosure is required regardless of whether a Property Disclosure Statement (PDS) is provided, and the obligation cannot be waived by contract.

The Agricultural Land Commission Act establishes the BC Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) — the provincial zone of protected farmland — and gives the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) authority over subdivision of ALR parcels, applications for non-farm use, ALR exclusion / inclusion proposals, and (in many cases) the placement of additional residences. Originally established as the Land Commission Act in 1973; the modern Agricultural Land Commission Act dates from 2002 and was substantially amended in 2019 (Bill 15) to strengthen ALC authority and limit non-farm use. ALR designation overrides local-government zoning where the two conflict on agricultural-use questions; local zoning continues to apply on permitted-use questions inside the ALR.

BC introduced ALR additional-residence reforms effective late 2021, with updated ALC guidelines published in 2024 and refreshed in October 2025. The framework allows one additional residence on most ALR parcels under local-government permits only — no ALC application required — provided the parcel size and primary-residence size fall within the published thresholds. Parcels that fall outside the thresholds (e.g. larger primary residence, additional dwelling beyond the first) still require an ALC application. These thresholds are policy guidance and have changed twice since 2021; verify against alc.gov.bc.ca/alr/ before relying on the threshold for a specific parcel, particularly because local-government bylaws can further restrict what is permitted under provincial guidance.

The Agricultural Land Reserve restricts use of designated parcels to farming, farm-related activities, and a defined set of permitted accessory uses. Non-farm uses (commercial businesses unrelated to agriculture, landfill, fill-and-soil-removal beyond limits, etc.) generally require an ALC non-farm use application. Subdivision of an ALR parcel typically requires ALC approval. Local-government zoning continues to govern where it is consistent with or more restrictive than the ALC framework. Permitted-use determinations are parcel-specific and can hinge on whether an activity is "necessary for farm use" — verify against alc.gov.bc.ca/alr/ before relying on a use determination for a specific parcel.

The Builders Lien Act (SBC 1997, c. 45) lets contractors, sub-trades, workers, and material suppliers register a lien against a property's title for unpaid work or materials. Lien claimants must file in the Land Title Office within 45 days of substantial completion (or abandonment) of the head contract — for contracts where the certifier issues a certificate of completion, the 45-day window runs from that certificate. Owners (and head contractors) must retain a 10% statutory holdback from each progress payment and continue holding it until 55 days after substantial completion (subject to no liens having been filed). Practical implications: a builder's lien on title is a deal-killer for buyers — the seller's lawyer must show a clean title at closing, which usually means paying out the lien or posting security to vacate it. For sellers of a renovated home, retain at least 10% of every contractor invoice and do not release the holdback until the 55-day window has cleared.

The Real Estate Services Rules (BC Reg 209/2021, in force August 1, 2021, made under the Real Estate Services Act; the companion Real Estate Services Regulation is BC Reg 506/2004) and the BCFSA Standards of Conduct govern how BC realtors share listings via member-board MLS systems. Cooperation rule: a listing licensee must offer the listing to every cooperating licensee at the published commission split — a listing brokerage cannot privately steer the listing to in-house buyers in a way that excludes member-board cooperation (subject to any disclosed exclusive-listing agreement with the seller). Since June 15, 2018, BC has operated under designated agency: the agency relationship is between the client and the individual licensee, not the brokerage. Dual agency was prohibited in BC effective the same date by Rules s.63, with one exception in s.64 for a remote location under-served by licensees, which the brokerage assesses itself rather than applying for. Buyer and seller in the same transaction must each have separate representation. The Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services (DORT) form must be presented and signed by all clients before substantive trading services are provided. Practitioner detail: when an in-house buyer at the listing brokerage wants to write on a listed property, the brokerage designates a second licensee, and s.63(2) is explicit that doing so is not dual agency at all. The rule bites when ONE licensee would end up on both sides, including two of that licensee's own buyers competing for the same property, and then s.65 gives only two options: step off the trade completely, or keep one client and release the other in writing.

The Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) operates BC's land title registration system under the Land Title Act, RSBC 1996, c. 250. Every BC residential transaction must register the transfer of fee simple title at the Land Title Office; until registration is complete, the buyer is not the legal owner. The LTSA is a statutory corporation (not a government department) operating under a 2004 administrative agreement with the Province. It maintains the indefeasible title register, processes mortgage charges and discharges, registers easements and rights-of-way, and handles strata plan filings. BC operates a Torrens system: the registered title is generally conclusive evidence of ownership, subject only to limited statutory exceptions enumerated in s. 23 of the Land Title Act.

BC uses a judicial (court-supervised) foreclosure process — NOT power-of-sale as in Ontario or several US states. Where a borrower defaults on a mortgage, the lender petitions the BC Supreme Court for an Order Nisi (the initial foreclosure order, which sets a redemption period — typically 6 months, sometimes shorter on application). If the borrower fails to redeem (pay arrears or the full mortgage debt) within the redemption period, the lender returns to court for either an Order Absolute (transferring title to the lender) or — much more common in practice — an Order for Conduct of Sale, under which the property is listed for sale on MLS and offers must be approved by the court. All offers are presented at a court-confirmation hearing where the highest qualified bidder typically wins; competing buyers can show up at the hearing and bid against the accepted offer. Distinguishing features for buyers: the property is sold "as is, where is" with no Property Disclosure Statement and no Material Latent Defect disclosure (the lender has no knowledge to disclose); the deposit is forfeited if the buyer fails to close; subjects must usually be removed before the court hearing. Statutory basis: Law and Equity Act + BC Supreme Court Civil Rules (Rule 21-7).

Title insurance is an indemnity policy protecting the insured (owner or lender) from financial loss due to title defects, encroachments, fraud, unregistered interests, survey errors, work orders, or zoning violations that pre-date the policy date. Unlike home insurance (annual premium, replacement cost on the structure), title insurance is a one-time premium paid at closing for the duration of ownership. Two products are typically purchased on a BC residential transaction: an owner's policy (protecting the buyer against post-closing discovery of title defects — typically $300-$400 one-time on a residential file) and a lender's policy (mandated by most BC lenders in lieu of an updated land survey on detached properties; typically $200-$300 one-time and bundled into closing costs). Title insurance is NOT statutorily required in BC — but most BC lenders now require lender title insurance instead of a current Real Property Report (RPR) on detached homes, which materially compresses closing timelines. Two leading providers: First Canadian Title (FCT) and Stewart Title.

BCREA standard form completed by the seller disclosing known facts about the property to the buyer's knowledge. NOT statutorily required, but standard MLS practice, and providing one is the norm on a BC listing. The form is "to the best of seller's knowledge"; caveat emptor governs patent (visible) defects. A "Property No Disclosure Statement" form exists for sellers who decline, and declining changes nothing about Material Latent Defect disclosure: section 59 of the Real Estate Services Rules puts that duty on the listing licensee, not on the seller, whether or not a Property Disclosure Statement is given.

An Official Community Plan (OCP) is a long-range land-use and policy document adopted by a BC local government under Part 14, Division 4 of the Local Government Act (RSBC 2015, c. 1). The OCP designates broad land-use categories (residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, parks), sets density and built-form policies, and identifies development permit areas. Once adopted by bylaw, all subsequent zoning bylaws, subdivision approvals, and rezoning decisions must be consistent with the OCP — though local governments may amend the OCP itself by bylaw with a public hearing. Bill 44 (2023) amendments removed the public-hearing requirement for in-OCP rezoning that adds residential housing, materially accelerating in-OCP approval timelines.

The BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) is the provincial Crown agency that regulates BC real estate licensees, mortgage brokers, credit unions, trust companies, and pension plans. BCFSA was established on November 1, 2019 by the Financial Services Authority Act, SBC 2019, c. 14, consolidating the former Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM) and Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC). For real estate, BCFSA sets licensing requirements, enforces the Real Estate Services Act + Rules (including the designated-agency model, disclosure obligations, and trust-account standards), investigates complaints, and disciplines licensees. For mortgages, BCFSA enforces the Mortgage Brokers Act. For credit unions, BCFSA regulates capital, governance, and consumer protection.

BC has 8 regional Real Estate Boards and associations that each operate a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) under MLS Rules of Cooperation set by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA). The count fell from 11 after the Interior amalgamations — Kamloops, Okanagan Mainline, and South Okanagan merged into the Association of Interior REALTORS in 2021, with the Kootenay board joining in 2022. Each board licenses MLS access for member realtors within its geographic territory, publishes monthly benchmark statistics (HPI Composite Benchmark), and runs the local MLS data feed that powers IDX websites. The largest Lower Mainland boards are Greater Vancouver REALTORS (GVR, formerly Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver — REBGV) and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB). FVREB covers Surrey, Langley, North Delta, White Rock, Abbotsford, and Mission; GVR/REBGV covers Vancouver, Burnaby, North Shore, Richmond, New Westminster, Tri-Cities, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Squamish. Boards are member-owned not-for-profits; they are regulated by BCFSA only insofar as they touch licensee conduct.

A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a written report prepared by a BCFSA-licensed REALTOR® for a seller (or prospective seller) to support a recommended listing price. The CMA is not an appraisal under the BC Appraisal Institute framework; it is a market-opinion document and does not carry the regulatory standing of an appraisal report. A typical BC CMA includes (a) 3-6 recent comparable sales from the same neighbourhood or submarket, adjusted for square footage / lot size / condition / features; (b) current active listings as a competitive snapshot; (c) recently expired or withdrawn listings as overpricing signals; (d) the realtor's recommended listing range and pricing strategy. CMAs are widely used in BC for listing decisions, but do not satisfy lender appraisal requirements — lenders require a CRA / AACI / RI-designated appraiser under the federal Bank Act framework.

A Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) is a negotiated contract between a BC local government and the owner of a heritage property under Section 610 of the Local Government Act (RSBC 2015, c. 1). The HRA varies the otherwise-applicable zoning or subdivision bylaw for the specific parcel in exchange for binding heritage protection of identified features — typically the exterior building envelope, key character-defining elements, and sometimes interior features. HRAs are widely used in BC to balance heritage conservation with property-owner economic interests: an owner of a 1910 character home may negotiate added density (e.g., a duplex conversion or a coach house) in exchange for legal protection of the main heritage building. Each HRA is registered against title and binds successors in title — a buyer purchasing an HRA-protected property inherits both the use-rights and the heritage-protection obligations. Demolition or significant exterior alteration of the protected features typically requires a Heritage Alteration Permit (HAP) under Section 617.

Every new home built in BC under a building permit applied for on or after July 1, 1999 must carry third-party home warranty insurance, arranged by a licensed residential builder before construction starts. Coverage runs 2 years on materials and labour, 5 years on the building envelope, and 10 years on the structure. The 2-year tier is itself staged: 12 months on the home and on defects in materials and labour, 15 months on the common property of a strata, and 24 months on the electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and gas systems. Payouts are capped at the LESSER of the first owner's purchase price or a dollar limit: $200,000 for a detached home, $100,000 for a strata unit, and for strata common property the lesser of $100,000 per unit or $2,500,000 per building. Warranty runs with the home rather than the owner, so the unexpired balance transfers on resale. Homes built under the owner-builder exemption are outside the scheme.

Federal Act prohibiting most non-Canadians (and entities controlled by non-Canadians) from purchasing residential property in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) and Census Agglomerations (CA). Originally effective January 1, 2023 with a 2-year sunset (expiry January 1, 2025); extended once on February 4, 2024 to January 1, 2027. Applies to most BC urban areas including the Vancouver CMA (covering Metro Vancouver) and the Abbotsford–Mission CMA (covering the Fraser Valley urban core). Excludes residential property of 4+ units. Penalty: up to $10,000 fine plus court order to sell.

BC regions where the 20% foreign-buyer additional PTT applies. The list expanded geographically Feb 21, 2018 from Metro Vancouver only to include four additional regional districts.

Categories of non-Canadian persons who are exempted from the federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. The two temporary-resident routes carry conditions read straight from section 5 of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations: a work permit is tested on validity remaining at purchase, not on time already spent in Canada, and the student route carries a $500,000 purchase-price ceiling. Both are capped at one residential property. Always confirm eligibility with a real estate lawyer before any offer where status is in question.

The federal Underused Housing Tax charged 1% a year on the taxable value of vacant or underused Canadian residential property, mostly against non-resident non-Canadian owners, and required an annual return even from owners who owed nothing. Budget 2025, tabled November 4, 2025, announced its elimination. Bill C-15, the Budget 2025 Implementation Act No. 1, received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026 and ended the tax for the 2025 calendar year and every year after. Both the tax and the filing obligation are gone from 2025. The 2022, 2023 and 2024 years are untouched: tax, returns, penalties and interest for those three years remain assessable and enforceable, including against corporations, partnerships and trusts that never filed. The Underused Housing Tax Act itself is not struck from the statute book until January 1, 2035, which is housekeeping so the Canada Revenue Agency can still assess and collect the open years, and does NOT mean the tax runs until 2035. Provincial and municipal vacancy taxes are unaffected: the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax and the City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax both continue.

Maximum fee a strata corporation may charge for a Form B Information Certificate is $35 under section 4.4 of the Strata Property Regulation (BC Reg 43/2000). The $35 cap is for the Form B certificate itself; a $0.25/page photocopy cap applies separately to (a) attachments accompanying Form B and (b) copies of other strata documents requested under section 4.2 of the Regulation (which implements Strata Property Act s. 36 — bylaws, rules, financial statements, AGM/SGM minutes). Form B must be issued within 1 week (commonly rendered as 7 days) of request, per SPA s. 59.

NOT to be confused with Bill 44 (2023) SSMUH. The 2022 Bill 44 amended the Strata Property Act effective November 24, 2022 to: (1) void all rental restriction bylaws (strata corps can no longer prohibit or limit rentals to non-family); (2) restrict age-restriction bylaws to 55+ only (no other age cohorts). Passed in response to BC's rental supply crisis.

Strata corporations of 5+ residential units must obtain a depreciation report every 5 years. Effective July 1, 2024 — phased compliance dates apply. A strata corporation that has no depreciation report, or whose report was received before December 31, 2020, must obtain one by July 1, 2026 if it is in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley or the Capital Regional District; by July 1, 2027 everywhere else in BC, including the Southern Gulf Islands and Bowen Island (islands within those three districts reachable only by boat or air fall in the later group). A strata whose report was received on or after December 31, 2020 stays on the ordinary 5-year cycle. The depreciation report must accompany Form B once mandatory for that strata.

In 2019-2020 BC strata corporations faced a documented insurance market crisis: industry-reported premium increases of roughly 40% on average across the province, deductibles that rose materially (often into the $50,000-$250,000 range, sometimes higher on water-damage claims), and several insurers exiting the market entirely. In response, the Province enacted strata-insurance reforms via Bill 14 (Municipalities Enabling and Validating (No. 4) Amendment Act, 2020) and amendments to the Strata Property Regulation taking effect November 1, 2020. Key changes: (1) strata corporations must obtain insurance covering full replacement value of common property, common assets, and fixtures, plus the standard unit definition; (2) strata corporations must disclose (in Form B and at AGM) the deductible level, the most recent appraisal date, and any uninsured perils; (3) a strata lot owner whose negligence caused damage may be required to reimburse the strata's deductible up to a regulated maximum; (4) section 158 was amended to limit certain "chargeback" practices; (5) the Province enabled stratas to purchase commercial general liability for council members. The crisis hardened the case for current and well-insured-against depreciation reports — see bc.strata.depreciation_report_mandatory.

Companion legislation to Bill 44 (see bc.bill44_2023_ssmuh). The Transit-Oriented Areas regulations under the Local Government Statutes (Housing Statutes) Amendment Act (Bill 47) — passed in November 2023, in force December 7, 2023 — designate prescribed transit hubs across BC as Transit-Oriented Development Areas (TOD Areas). Within an 800m radius of a designated SkyTrain station and 400m of a designated bus-exchange / RapidBus stop, municipalities are required to permit minimum density and height per provincial Tier (1/2/3 — distance bands from the station). Around a SkyTrain station: tier 1 within 200m, up to 5.0 FAR / 20 storeys; tier 2 from 200-400m, up to 4.0 FAR / 12 storeys; tier 3 from 400-800m, up to 3.0 FAR / 8 storeys. Around a bus exchange the regulation uses its own bands, which it numbers tier 4 (within 200m) and tier 5 (200-400m), and the prescribed minimums are lower than the SkyTrain ladder and vary by jurisdiction — Metro Vancouver, the rest of BC, and smaller jurisdictions each get different figures, so the bus-side density for a specific hub has to be read off the regulation for that municipality. Provincial framework overrides single-family-only and most low-density municipal zoning within the TOD area. Municipalities had to designate the TOD areas in their bylaws by June 30, 2024. Lower Mainland designated SkyTrain station hubs include Surrey Central, Gateway, King George (Surrey), Lougheed Town Centre, Production Way–University, Coquitlam Central, Lincoln, Burquitlam, plus Langley's future SkyTrain stations (Surrey-Langley extension) and bus exchanges such as Carvolth. Practical consequence for buyers and sellers: a house listed inside a TOD area may carry assemblage value materially above the lot's detached-housing comparable; a strata unit inside a TOD area may face significant near-term redevelopment pressure (and future demolition / displacement risk) that should be priced into purchase decisions.

NOT to be confused with Bill 44 (2022) Building and Strata Statutes Amendment Act. The 2023 Bill 44 (Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023) requires most BC municipalities to permit 3-4 units on lots zoned for single-family/duplex, and 6 units on larger lots near "frequent transit" hubs. Which number applies turns on two conditions the unit counts are meaningless without: lot area, where a parcel of 280 m² (3,014 sq ft) or smaller carries the 3-unit minimum and a parcel larger than 280 m² (3,014 sq ft) carries the 4-unit minimum, and distance to frequent transit, where 400 m of a qualifying stop unlocks the 6-unit minimum on a lot above 280 m² (3,014 sq ft). A stop QUALIFIES only if the transit authority has published it on its Bill 44 prescribed-stop mapping, which local governments use as it stands when they update the zoning bylaw, and seasonal service is judged at the lowest level available throughout the year. That is not the same test as reading a timetable and finding a bus every 15 minutes; a stop that drops below its summer frequency in winter is assessed on the winter figure. Most municipalities adopted bylaws by the June 30, 2024 statutory deadline. Township of Langley adopted Bylaw 6020 on November 18, 2024 (extended deadline grant). Also abolishes most public hearings for OCP-conformant rezoning. Amended by Bill 25 (2025), the Housing and Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, which received Royal Assent November 27, 2025 and widened the definition of a restricted zone to reach zones permitting a detached house plus a secondary suite plus a detached accessory dwelling — closing the argument that a zone already allowing three units sat outside the requirement. Local governments had to bring bylaws into line with the widened definition by June 30, 2026, and the Province may override a non-compliant zoning bylaw.

Maximum allowable rent increase for existing tenancies in 2026 calendar year. Set annually by the Residential Tenancy Branch in November of the prior year, indexed to CPI but capped to mitigate housing affordability pressure. The 2026 value of 2.3% reflects the publicly-reported figure; this fact should be re-verified directly against the BC RTB rent-increase page each calendar year because the cap is one of the most volatile YMYL numbers on the site.

Maximum allowable rent increase for existing tenancies in the 2027 calendar year, published by the Residential Tenancy Branch on 2026-08-27 as 2.2%. Applies to increases taking effect on or after 2027-01-01; because the Branch requires three full months of notice, a notice served from October 2026 onward for a January 2027 increase is governed by this figure rather than the 2026 cap of 2.3%. Like its 2026 sibling this is one of the most volatile numbers on the site and one a reader acts on directly, so it is watched weekly by audit:fact-drift.

A personal-use eviction in BC now runs on three months of notice with 21 days for the tenant to dispute it, whoever is moving in. That was not always so, and the two cases arrived at it separately. Bill 14 raised both to 4 months on July 18, 2024, from 2 months before that. A regulation effective August 21, 2024 cut the PURCHASER'S-use notice back to 3 months with a 21-day window, because the 4-month period was blocking first-time buyers who needed vacant possession. A further change effective June 18, 2025 did the same for the LANDLORD'S own or a close family member's use, explicitly to align the two, so the differential no longer exists. A notice served before June 18, 2025 stays on the old 4-month, 30-day terms. A landlord's-use notice cannot be given at all in a non-strata rental building of five or more units. In either case the new occupant (landlord, close family member, or purchaser) must occupy the unit for at least 12 months; failing to do so entitles the tenant to compensation of 12 months' rent, on top of the one month's rent compensation payable when the notice is served. Notices must be issued through the province's web portal, introduced to combat fraudulent personal-use evictions.

Effective May 1, 2024 in most BC municipalities. Short-term rentals (under 90 consecutive nights) are restricted to the operator's principal residence, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on that property. Exempts certain resort-area municipalities (e.g. Whistler) and First Nations land. Provincial registry now mandatory; platforms (Airbnb, VRBO) must validate listings against the registry.