Real Estate Law Blog

B.C. Supreme Court allows claim against government for damages for improperly cancelled project

Most development in B.C. requires approval by government, whether through permitting, rezoning, subdivision approval, or licencing. That process often appears opaque to applicants. Denials, which can effectively terminate a project, can be given with little or no ...

The federal government has announced they are removing the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) on all new qualifying rental housing constructions to help with the rising cost of living. This is effective September 14, 2023, subject to the passage of the related legislation.

The removal will be by way of an enhanced GST/HST Rental Rebate, available on new ...

When are parties permitted to allocate the fair market value for real property for the purpose of remitting property transfer tax? Here is a refresher on the principles of fair market value (FMV) in real property transactions following a recent BC Supreme Court case in which the parties were entitled to allocate FMV to a property at less than the assessed value.

1184369 B.C ...

The City of Vancouver imposes an annual Empty Homes Tax (“EHT”) on vacant Vancouver houses and residential lands to encourage owners to tenant the houses and encourage construction of new housing on empty lots. The Province imposes its own Speculation and Vacancy Tax (“SVT”) and the Federal Government imposes a similar Underused Housing Tax.

In April 2023, the ...

In December 2022, Vancouver City Council quietly enacted Bylaw No. 13575 (the “Amendment”), being an amendment to the City of Vancouver’s Parking Bylaw 6059 (the “Parking Bylaw”). Pursuant to the Amendment, accessible parking stalls in strata-titled developments must now be:

• held in common ownership; and
• not assigned to any strata lot.

Consequently, owner ...

This update is further to our first blog post from December 23, 2022 on the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (the “Act”).

Based on significant industry feedback from across the country with respect to the unintended consequences of the nationwide prohibition on the purchase of residential property by non-Canadians that came ...

Underused Housing Tax Filing Obligations

The filing deadline for the first year of the Federal Underused Housing Tax (“UHT”)^[1] is fast approaching. Any owner of residential property in Canada who is not explicitly defined as an “excluded owner” must file a return by April 30, 2023 for each residential property of the owner. The UHT is a 1% tax on the value of vacant or ...

Introduction

Earlier this year, the federal government introduced the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (the “Act”)^[1], which comes into force on January 1, 2023. The stated purpose of the Act is to address Canada’s housing affordability crisis.

The Prohibition

The Act will prohibit non-Canadians from purchasing ...

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 ...

In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") has expanded the scope for constructive taking (also called de facto expropriation) claims. They have removed the requirement to show that a government has acquired a beneficial interest in the relevant land whose development rights they impair. This requirement has been replaced with the much broader category of ...