What does a seller have to disclose when selling a BC property?

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A seller must disclose in writing, before the contract, any hidden defect they know of that makes the home unsafe or unlivable, is costly to fix, is under a council notice or lacks permits; visible ones are the buyer's to find. A few kinds of property carry notices of their own: land with an industrial past, an owner-built house, a strata lot. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. Hidden defects: Sellers must disclose all known material latent defects to a buyer before a contract of purchase and sale is signed, in writing and in a document separate from the contract (BCFSA). A material latent defect is one a reasonable inspection wouldn't find that makes the property dangerous or potentially dangerous to live in, unfit to live in, or unfit for a purpose the buyer made known to the agent; would cost a great deal to fix; is the subject of a notice from the local government saying it must or should be fixed; or is a lack of the building and other permits the property needs (Real Estate Services Rules s. 59 (1)). Defects you can see: A patent defect, one a reasonable inspection finds, such as broken windows or damaged floors, is for the buyer and their inspector to find (BCFSA). The seller's agent: A licensed agent selling for a client must disclose any material latent defect the agent knows of to everyone else in the deal, promptly and before any agreement is signed, unless the seller has already disclosed it in writing. If the seller tells the agent to keep it back, the agent must stop acting for them in that sale (Real Estate Services Rules s. 59 (2) to (4)). The Property Disclosure Statement: Most sellers make their written disclosure on a Property Disclosure Statement (BCFSA): the seller's own answers about the property, as far as they know, not an inspection or a warranty (our reading). Where the contract names it, its answers become part of the contract (our reading; ask your lawyer). If a seller won't give one, ask why, and ask your questions in writing. Stigmas: Something that doesn't affect the land or the building, such as a death on the property, a haunting, an address number thought unlucky or a criminal living nearby, needn't be disclosed unless the buyer asks. Asked, the seller may decline to answer or answer truthfully; a false or misleading answer can give the buyer a legal claim (BCFSA). Land with an industrial past: A seller who knows, or reasonably should know, that the land was used for one of the commercial or industrial uses in Schedule 2 of the Contaminated Sites Regulation, such as a gas station, a dry cleaner or a scrap yard, must give a prospective buyer a site disclosure statement (Environmental Management Act s. 40 (6)). A buyer who doesn't get one keeps their remedies at common law and under the regulations (Property Law Act s. 40). See contaminated sites. An owner-built house: An owner builder, and any later owner selling within the period the Act sets, must give a prospective buyer a disclosure notice in BC Housing's form saying whether the home has home warranty insurance (Homeowner Protection Act s. 21 (2)). See official records for how to look one up. A strata lot: Within a week of a request from an owner or a buyer, the strata corporation must give an Information Certificate (Form B): the strata fees, money the owner owes, special levies approved, any expected budget overrun, the contingency reserve, unfiled bylaw changes, court and tribunal proceedings, outstanding notices and work orders, parking and storage, and a summary of the insurance, with the rules, the budget and the latest depreciation report attached (Strata Property Act s. 59). Three days to change your mind: A buyer of a house, townhouse, apartment, strata lot, manufactured home fixed to land or co-op home can cancel the contract by written notice to the seller within 3 business days after the acceptance is signed, paying the seller 0.25% of the price out of the deposit; the right can't be waived. It doesn't cover a home on leased land or a leasehold, a sale at auction or under a court order, or a sale whose title has already transferred (Property Law Act s. 42; Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation, B.C. Reg. 175/2022, ss. 2 to 7). Vacant land isn't on the regulation's list, so a bare lot has no such period (our reading): put the conditions you need in the offer. What no record shows: Police calls to an address and whether a home was a grow-op or drug lab aren't published in BC. Ask the seller in writing, and read the council's property file and the title for a notice on it (see official records). What it means for a buyer: Disclosure covers what the seller knows, not what they never found out. An inspection, the council's file, the title search and, on rural land, the well and septic records do the rest; a report gives the PID and the zone to start them.

What does a seller have to disclose when selling a BC property?

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