Home Buyer Rescission Period

The three days are business days, counted from the day after the seller signs acceptance. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays do not count, and the right ends at 11:59 pm on the last of the three. Holidays here means the list in section 29 of the Interpretation Act, not the statutory holidays an employer gives. That list includes Easter Monday and December 26. A Monday taken in lieu of a holiday that fell on a weekend is an ordinary business day.

Worked example: acceptance is signed on Friday, July 31, 2026. Saturday and Sunday drop out, and Monday, August 3 is British Columbia Day. The three business days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so the last day to rescind is Thursday, August 6. On a $900,000 purchase the fee would be $2,250.

To rescind, the buyer serves written notice on the seller. The notice names the property, the buyer and each seller, is signed by the buyer, and gives the date. Sent by registered mail, fax, or email with a read receipt requested, to the address in the contract, it counts as served when it is sent. The fee comes out of the deposit and goes to the seller, and the rest of the deposit goes back to the buyer.

Some purchases have no rescission period: property on leased land, a leasehold interest, a sale at auction, and a sale under a court order or court supervision, which covers most foreclosures. A presale sold under a disclosure statement has its own seven-day right under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act instead. The right cannot be waived, it applies even to an offer with no subjects, and it runs separately from any subject-removal date.

Sources: Property Law Act s. 42 and the Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation, B.C. Reg. 175/2022, ss. 1 to 7, both on BC Laws. If the last day passes with no notice served, the purchase goes ahead on the contract's other terms.