Real Estate Law Blog

On April 25^th, the Province enacted a flipping tax on residential property (the “Flipping Tax”), as previously mentioned in the 2024 Budget (summarized in our blog post here). The Flipping Tax, will to apply to dispositions of residential properties (including mixed use properties) in B.C. beginning on January 1, 2025.

The Province states that the purpose of the ...

On February 22, 2024, British Columbia’s 2024 Budget was introduced. Included in the Budget are the following measures relating to real estate taxes:

[1] New Home Flipping Tax: The home flipping tax will apply to income from the sale of certain residential property sold on or after January 1, 2025 that was owned for less than 2 years. The tax rate will be 20% for properties ...

In an effort to slow a then-frothy residential real estate market, the Province adopted amendments to the Property Law Act on April 25, 2022 to establish a new homebuyer rescission regime in B.C. These amendments provide buyers of residential real estate with a mandatory “cooling-off period” following execution of a purchase agreement, giving them more time to ...

On April 7, 2022, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced the 2022 Federal Budget (the “Budget”). Included in the Budget are the following real estate related measures:

1. Two-Year Ban on Foreign Homebuyers. The Budget contemplates new rules to prohibit foreign commercial enterprises and individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents from ...

On February 20, 2018, the Hon. Carole James, Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier, introduced the 2018 British Columbia Provincial Budget. Included in the Budget was the NDP’s 30-point plan for housing affordability in British Columbia.

Included in this 30-point plan are the following measures:

1. New Speculation Tax.  In Fall of 2018, the Province will introduce a new ...

On October 26, 2017, Bill 16, the Tenancy Statutes Amendment Act, 2017 (“Bill-16”), passed first reading, which will be of particular interest to residential landlords and developers. Among other things, Bill-16 enacts amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act (British Columbia) (the “Act”) that reduce or prevent landlords from including “vacate ...

On March 15, 2017, the BC Government issued Order In Council 152/17 (the “OIC”), which creates a retroactive exemption from the 15 percent Foreign Entity Tax (the "Tax") for foreign nationals applying for permanent residency under BC’s Provincial Nominee Program, and provides refunds for certain purchasers who have previously paid or are required to pay the Tax ...

On February 16, 2017, Bill M-205 (Property Law and Land Title Amendment Act, 2017) passed first reading which, amongst other things, proposes to make amendments to the Property Law Act (British Columbia). Notably, Bill M-205 would restrict ownership of land within the Agricultural Land Reserve (the “ALR”) by foreign nationals or foreign corporations to a maximum of ...

The BC 2016/17 Budget, released on February 16, 2016, implemented changes to the Property Transfer Tax Act and to the Land Title Act in the form of increased tax rates, citizenship disclosure requirements and a new PTT exemption.  The Budget did not change the current PTT treatment of unregistered beneficial conveyances, but it did create a new disclosure requirement ...

A recent decision of the BC Supreme Court demonstrates the difficulty of obtaining an order under Section 35 of the Property Law Act. The case will be of particular interest to developers who intend to rely on the Section as part of their development plans. Section 35 grants the Court authority to cancel or modify certain types of charges including easements, statutory rights ...