Adjustment Date

The adjustment date is the date used to prorate ongoing-cost items between buyer and seller — property tax (paid annually in BC, with the full year prepaid by the seller in some cases or unpaid in others), strata fees (paid monthly, with the seller having paid the month covering closing), oil-tank fills (residual heating-oil credit on rural properties), prepaid utility deposits, and similar items. The buyer's lawyer captures these on the Statement of Adjustments, the closing-day document that nets everything to a single number the buyer wires (or the seller receives). Adjustment date is typically the same as the completion date or possession date.

The trap most BC buyers fall into: not asking the lawyer to walk them through the Statement of Adjustments line by line BEFORE wiring closing funds. Property tax adjustment alone can swing $1,000-$5,000 depending on which side of the BC tax calendar (annual notice issued mid-year, due July 2 in most BC municipalities) closing falls. The Home Owner Grant (see /glossary/bc-home-owner-grant) is also adjustment-relevant: if the seller claimed the grant, the adjustment may credit the buyer; if not, you may need to confirm whether you can claim it (you must be the registered owner on December 31 to claim against current-year tax). On strata properties, special levies in effect on adjustment date are typically allocated to the seller (paid in full at closing or netted out) but check the contract — boilerplate varies. On rural properties, oil-tank credits are commonly forgotten by buyers; ask for an oil-level reading on possession day.