Glossary
68 BC real estate terms in plain English, each checked against a primary source.
A
Adjustment Date
The date the contract uses to split ongoing costs between seller and buyer. Property tax, strata fees, prepaid utilities and any oil left in the tank are prorated to it, and it usually matches completion or possession. It appears on the Statement of Adjustments your lawyer or notary prepares.
Adverse Possession in BC
The old doctrine that let someone occupying land long enough claim it from the registered owner. It does not work against registered land in BC: section 23(4) of the Land Title Act closed it, so a squatter cannot take title to land in the Torrens register.
Agricultural Land Reserve
A provincial zone covering about 4.6 million hectares of BC farmland where the permitted uses are farming and a short list of accessory ones. The Agricultural Land Commission administers it and decides any application to exclude land or add a use.
B
B-20 Straight-Switch Renewal Exemption
You can move an uninsured mortgage to a different federally-regulated lender at renewal without re-passing the stress test. The rule took effect November 21, 2024 and covers only a straight switch, where the loan amount does not go up and the remaining amortization is not extended. Renewing with your existing lender never required the test at all.
BC Annual Rent Cap
The maximum allowable annual rent increase for existing BC tenancies, set yearly by the Residential Tenancy Branch: 2.3% for the 2026 calendar year and 2.2% for 2027.
BC Financial Services Authority
The provincial Crown agency that licenses and disciplines BC real estate agents. It also regulates mortgage brokers, credit unions, trust companies, insurers and pension plans, and was established on November 1, 2019.
BC Foreclosure (Court-Order Sale)
BC foreclosure runs through the courts rather than by private sale, so a judge sets the timeline. The lender petitions the BC Supreme Court for an Order Nisi, which opens a redemption period of usually six months. After that the court orders the sale and approves offers at a hearing, where other buyers can bid against yours.
BC Foreign Buyer Additional PTT
A 20% additional property transfer tax on residential purchases by foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees. It applies in five specified BC regional districts, not across the whole province.
BC Foreign Buyer Additional PTT: Specified Areas
BC charges a 20% additional property transfer tax on foreign buyers in five regional districts and nowhere else in the province. Those five are Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District, the Fraser Valley, Nanaimo and the Central Okanagan. The federal ban on non-Canadian buyers is a separate question with a different map.
BC Home Flipping Tax
A BC tax on the profit when you sell a home you have owned less than 730 days. The rate is 20% inside the first 365 days, then falls on a straight line to zero across days 366 to 729. It has applied since January 1, 2025 and sits on top of federal tax.
BC Home Owner Grant
A yearly cut to your BC property tax bill if you lived in the home as your principal residence on December 31. The basic grant is $570, or $770 in northern and rural areas, with up to $275 more for seniors 65 and over, people with disabilities, and certain veterans. It shrinks by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value above a threshold the province resets each year.
BC Land Title Office (LTSA)
The BC land registration system operated by the Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) under the Land Title Act, RSBC 1996, c. 250: a Torrens system where the registered title is generally conclusive evidence of ownership.
BC MLS Rules of Cooperation
The rules governing how BC listings are shared between brokerages, and requiring single-agent designated agency in place of dual agency. They come from the Real Estate Services Rules, BC Reg 209/2021, together with the BC Financial Services Authority Standards of Conduct.
BC Notice to End Tenancy (RTB Forms)
The form a BC landlord must use to end a tenancy, set by the Residential Tenancy Branch. RTB-30 is the 10 Day Notice for unpaid rent or utilities, and RTB-33 the One Month Notice for cause. RTB-32L and RTB-32P give three months when a landlord, family member or buyer is moving in.
BC Residential Tenancy Act (SBC 2002, c. 78)
The BC Residential Tenancy Act (SBC 2002, c. 78) sets the rules for residential landlords and tenants in BC. It covers deposits, rent increases under the annual cap, entry rights, eviction grounds and notice periods. Disputes go to the Residential Tenancy Branch rather than to court.
BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax
An annual BC tax on homes in specified urban areas that are neither a principal residence nor rented for at least six months of the year. For 2026 it is 1.0% of assessed value for Canadian citizens and permanent residents and 3.0% for foreign owners and satellite families, rising to 4.0% in 2027. A BC resident then subtracts a credit worth up to $4,000, which foreign owners do not receive.
BC Strata Insurance Crisis (2019-2020)
The sharp run-up in BC strata insurance premiums and deductibles through 2019 and 2020. Premiums were reported up roughly 40% on average, and deductibles often landed between $50,000 and $250,000. Bill 14, in force August 14, 2020, made a strata tell owners about material changes in its coverage, including a higher deductible, and since April 1, 2023 the Form B carries a summary of the strata's insurance. Neither caps what a strata can recover from an owner: an owner responsible for the damage can still be billed the full deductible.
Bill 44 (2022): Strata Reform
BC legislation effective November 24, 2022 that voided all strata rental-restriction bylaws and limited strata age-restriction bylaws to 55+ only.
Bill 44 (2023): SSMUH
BC legislation requiring most municipalities to allow three to four homes on lots zoned for a single house or duplex. Lot size decides which: three at 280 m² (3,014 sq ft) or under, four above it. A lot over 280 m² (3,014 sq ft) and within 400 m of a qualifying frequent-transit stop goes to six. Most municipalities adopted their bylaws by the June 30, 2024 deadline.
Bridge Financing
A short-term loan covering the gap between the day your down payment is due and the day the money from your old home actually arrives. Lenders typically fund it for 90 to 120 days and want a firm sale on the outgoing property.
Builders Lien (BC Builders Lien Act)
A statutory charge under the BC Builders Lien Act (SBC 1997, c. 45) that contractors, sub-trades, workers, and material suppliers can register against a property's title for unpaid work, with a 45-day filing window and a 10% holdback requirement.
Buyer's Agency Contract (Exclusive Buyer's Agency Agreement)
The contract that names one licensee as your buyer agent, how long they represent you, where, and what happens if the commission offered falls short. BC has run on designated agency since June 15, 2018, meaning the duty is owed by an individual rather than the brokerage.
C
Capital Gains × Principal Residence Exemption (PRE)
How the federal principal residence exemption meets the 50% capital gains inclusion rate when you sell a BC property. Only one property per family per year can be designated, and the exemption never applies automatically. Every principal-residence sale since 2016 has to be reported on Schedule 3 with Form T2091(IND).
Capital Gains Inclusion Rate
Half of a capital gain is included in taxable income federally, and that has not changed. Ottawa proposed raising it to 66.67% on gains above $250,000 in 2024, then cancelled the plan on March 21, 2025.
Capitalization Rate (Cap Rate)
Net operating income divided by the purchase price, which is the annual return a rental property produces before any mortgage. That last part is the catch: two buildings at the same cap rate can behave very differently once financing is on them.
Closing Day (Completion)
Closing day, or completion, is when the buyer's lawyer registers the title transfer at the BC Land Title Office and the money reaches the seller. It is not the possession date, which is usually one day later, and not the adjustment date, when property tax, utilities and strata fees are prorated.
CMHC Default Insurance Cap
The maximum home purchase price eligible for CMHC default mortgage insurance, raised from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 effective December 15, 2024.
Comparative Market Analysis
An agent opinion of value, prepared from recent comparable sales, to support a listing price. It is not an appraisal: a federally regulated lender will not accept it as the appraisal of record, and only a designated appraiser can produce that.
D
Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)
Net operating income divided by the annual mortgage payments. Lenders financing a BC rental usually want at least 1.10 to 1.20 before they will approve it.
Depreciation Report
A reserve study that BC strata corporations of five or more residential units must obtain every five years. It inventories the common property components and projects what replacing each one will cost.
Designated Agency
BC's real estate agency model since June 15, 2018: the agency relationship is between the client and the individual licensee, not the brokerage; dual agency is prohibited except in narrow remote-market exceptions.
Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services (DORT)
A form a BC licensee has to walk you through and have you sign before doing any substantive work for you. It sets out whose agent they are and what they owe you under designated agency, and it is required by the BC Financial Services Authority rather than offered as a courtesy.
F
Federal Anti-Flipping Rule
A federal rule that treats the profit on a home sold within 365 days as fully taxable business income rather than a capital gain. The principal residence exemption does not apply. Ten named life events are carved out, among them a death, a marriage breakdown, a job move of at least 40 kilometres and insolvency. In force since January 1, 2023.
Federal Foreign Buyer Ban
Federal legislation prohibiting most non-Canadians from purchasing residential property in Census Metropolitan Areas, in force through January 1, 2027.
Federal Foreign Buyer Ban: Exemption Categories
The 7 categories of non-Canadian persons exempted from the federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.
First Home Savings Account
A federal savings account for first-time home buyers, with $8,000 of contribution room a year and a $40,000 lifetime maximum. It is deductible on the way in and tax-free on the way out, which is what sets it apart from the other registered accounts.
First Time Home Buyers' PTT Exemption
A BC Property Transfer Tax exemption for qualifying first-time home buyers, available for homes up to $835,000 fair market value: full exemption (no PTT) to $500,000, $8,000 off from $500,000 to $835,000, linear phase-out $835,000–$860,000.
Form B Information Certificate
A statutory information certificate issued by a BC strata corporation for a strata-lot sale, capped at $35 (Form B itself) under s. 4.4 of the Strata Property Regulation (BC Reg 43/2000).
Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
The BC regional real estate board operating the MLS data feed and benchmark statistics for Surrey, Langley, North Delta, White Rock, Abbotsford, and Mission.
G
Greater Vancouver REALTORS
The regional board that runs the listing system across Vancouver and most of the region north and east of it. That reaches Burnaby, the North Shore, Richmond, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Squamish. It was the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver until it rebranded in 2024, which is why older data still carries the old name.
Gross Debt Service Ratio (GDS)
The share of your gross income that housing alone takes up: the mortgage payment, property tax, heat, and half of any strata fee. Lenders generally want it under 39%. The mortgage payment in that sum is calculated at the stress-test rate rather than the rate you were quoted, which is the part that catches people out.
GST New Housing Rebate (BC)
A federal rebate on the 5% goods and services tax charged on a new home, and since 2026 there are two of them. The original refunds 36% of the tax below $350,000 and nothing at or above $450,000, thresholds set in 1991 and never indexed, so almost no new home in this market qualifies. The first-time buyer rebate enacted under Bill C-4 is the one that matters here: up to $50,000 back on a new home priced to $1,000,000, tapering to nothing at $1,500,000.
H
Heritage Revitalization Agreement
A contract a BC local government negotiates with the owner of a heritage property. It trades relief from the zoning or subdivision bylaw for binding protection of named heritage features. Section 610 of the Local Government Act.
Home Buyer Rescission Period
A BC home buyer has three business days after an offer is accepted to back out for any reason, for a fee of 0.25% of the price. It cannot be waived.
Home Buyers' Plan
A federal program allowing first-time home buyers to withdraw up to $60,000 tax-free from RRSPs to purchase a home, repaid over 15 years.
L
Leasehold Property in BC
With a leasehold you own the building or strata unit but rent the land under it from a long-term lessor. In BC that means the UBC Endowment Lands, some First Nations reserves, and Crown-leased land. The lease has a fixed end date, and that date drives both what a lender will offer and what the place resells for.
Listing Contract (BC Multiple Listing Contract)
The agency contract a BC seller signs with a designated listing licensee, on the standard Multiple Listing Contract form. It sets the agency relationship, how long the listing runs, how commission works, and the authority to publish the property on the board MLS system.
Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio
The mortgage divided by the lower of the purchase price and the appraised value. Above 80% you have to carry default insurance in Canada, which is why the twenty percent down payment matters more than any other threshold in a purchase.
M
N
Net Operating Income (NOI)
What a rental building earns in a year after vacancy and operating costs, and before the mortgage. Property tax, insurance, maintenance, management and utilities all come out; mortgage interest, depreciation and capital spending do not, which is what makes it comparable across buildings financed differently.
Newly Built Home PTT Exemption
A BC Property Transfer Tax exemption for a newly built home worth $1,100,000 or less, phasing out in a straight line to $1,150,000.
O
Official Community Plan
The long-range land-use bylaw a BC local government adopts to say what it wants built where. Zoning bylaws and rezoning decisions have to be consistent with it, which is why it is the document to read before assuming a lot can change use. Part 14, Division 4 of the Local Government Act.
OSFI Mortgage Stress Test (B-20)
OSFI Guideline B-20 requires federally-regulated lenders to qualify mortgage borrowers at the greater of (a) the contract rate plus 2 percentage points or (b) the 5.25% minimum qualifying rate, a floor the federal bank regulator sets and reviews each year (it is not a Bank of Canada rate).
P
Possession Date
The day you actually get the keys, which is set in the contract and is usually the business day after completion. That gap exists so the lawyers can confirm the title transfer registered and the money moved before anyone hands over a key.
Power of Sale
Power of sale lets a lender sell a defaulted home without a court order. It does not exist in BC, where foreclosure runs through the Supreme Court instead.
Presale Condo Assignment Tax Treatment
What you owe when you sell a presale contract before the building completes. Since May 7, 2022 the 5% goods and services tax applies to the assignment fee, and the Canada Revenue Agency treats the profit as business income, fully taxable, rather than a capital gain.
Property Disclosure Statement
A standard form on which the seller states what they know about the property, to the best of their own knowledge. No BC statute requires one, but it is standard practice on a residential listing.
Property Transfer Tax
A provincial tax payable to the Province of British Columbia on the registered fair market value of any residential property title transfer, calculated using marginal-rate brackets.
R
Real Property Report (RPR)
A surveyor drawing that shows where the legal boundaries actually run and where the buildings, fences and decks sit against them. It used to be a standard requirement on a detached purchase in BC and is increasingly replaced by lender title insurance, which is cheaper and answers a different question.
RTA Bill 14 (2024): Personal-Use Eviction Reform
A personal-use eviction in BC takes three months of notice and gives the tenant 21 days to dispute it, whoever is moving in. The two cases ran on different clocks until June 18, 2025, when the landlord's own use was cut from 4 months to match the purchaser's. A notice served before that date still runs on the old 4-month, 30-day terms. Whoever moves in has to stay at least 12 months, the notice has to be generated through the provincial web portal, and it cannot be used at all in a non-strata building of five or more units.
S
Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act
BC legislation limiting short-term rentals to the home the operator actually lives in, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling on the same lot. It took effect May 1, 2024 in most municipalities and reaches stays under 90 nights.
Strata Bylaws
The rules a BC strata writes for itself under the Strata Property Act. They cover common property, alterations, behaviour of owners and tenants, enforcement and fines, and changing them takes a three-quarters vote of owners plus registration at the Land Title Office.
Subject to Sale of Buyer's Property
A condition in a BC offer that makes the purchase depend on the buyer selling their existing home first. It is usually paired with a time clause, which lets the seller keep marketing and then serve 48 or 72 hours notice to remove the condition or let the deal go.
T
30-Year Amortization Eligibility
Insured mortgages can be amortized over 30 years instead of 25, but only for first-time buyers and for anyone buying newly built housing. The change took effect December 15, 2024, and it raises what a buyer qualifies for by stretching the payment out.
Title Insurance
A one-time-premium policy bought at closing that covers the owner, the lender, or both against loss from a title problem that pre-dates it. Title fraud, encroachments, survey errors and unresolved work orders are the usual claims.
Total Debt Service Ratio (TDS)
Gross debt service widened to every debt you carry: car payments, credit cards, lines of credit and student loans on top of the housing costs. Lenders generally want the total under 44%. Credit-card and line-of-credit minimums usually go in at 3% of the balance, whether or not that is what you actually pay each month.
Transit-Oriented Development Areas (Bill 47)
Areas around transit where the province requires municipalities to permit a minimum density, under Bill 47, whose regulation was made December 7, 2023. Within 200 metres of a SkyTrain station that floor is a floor-area ratio of 5.0 and 20 storeys, stepping down through bands out to 800 metres.
V
Last reviewed by Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR®. Licence CC BY 4.0. How we verify.