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Property Disclosure Statement

Also known as: PDS · BCREA Property Disclosure Statement · PDS form

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.

The Property Disclosure Statement is a BCREA standard form completed by the seller (not the listing agent) that discloses known facts about the property: water damage, mold history, oil tank presence, structural repairs, neighbour disputes, pet history, unauthorized renovations, and so on. The standard is "to the best of the seller's knowledge"; caveat emptor still governs patent (visible) defects.

The PDS is NOT statutorily required in BC. A "Property No Disclosure Statement" form exists for sellers who decline. Either way, declining a Property Disclosure Statement does not make the problem go away: section 59 of the Real Estate Services Rules puts the disclosure duty on the listing licensee regardless.

A defect that renders the property dangerous, uninhabitable, unfit for purpose, or non-compliant with bylaws/permits MUST be disclosed regardless. Providing a Property Disclosure Statement is the norm because it standardizes the buyer's diligence and documents what the seller did or did not know at the time of sale.

Material Latent Defect — A serious defect an ordinary inspection would not reveal.
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.
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.
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.

@misc{bronsonjob-bc_pds,
  author       = {Job, Bronson},
  title        = {{BC Property Disclosure Statement}},
  howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
  year         = {1993},
  url          = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.pds},
  urldate      = {2026-09-05},
  note         = {Fact ID: bc.pds, version 1.}
}

APA — Press, journalism

Job, B. (1993). BC Property Disclosure Statement. *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-09-05, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.pds

Plain link — Slack, email, Twitter

BC Property Disclosure Statement — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-09-05). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.pds

Fact id: bc.pds · v1 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/bc.pds.json

License: This definition is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "Property Disclosure Statement", BC Real Estate Glossary by Bronson Job, https://www.bronsonjob.com/glossary/property-disclosure-statement.

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

Related terms

See also