Pre-Occupancy Checklist for a New Home in BC

1. Step 1

   The day the completion notice arrives

   The seller tells you the home is ready and gives you the date you must complete by. Most of the dates below count from that notice.

   • Send the notice to your lawyer or notary the same day. They prepare the transfer, work out the final amount you owe and register the home in your name.
   • Tell your lender the completion date, and send anything it still needs to release the mortgage.
   • Work out the money you need on completion day. Our page on what you pay on completion day covers GST, the first-time buyers' GST rebate and property transfer tax.
   • Ask the seller when your walk-through is booked. Your purchase contract says when it happens and how the list of items to fix is handled.
   • Book movers, and book time off work for completion day and the day after.
2. Step 2

   Two weeks before completion

   This is the paperwork that is easy to forget until the day you need it.

   • Buy home insurance that starts on completion day, and ask your lender what proof of insurance it needs before it sends the money.
   • Open your BC Hydro account. BC Hydro asks you to contact it well before your move-in date so the power is on when you arrive. A new account adds a $13.50 plus GST charge to your first bill, and some accounts need a deposit.
   • Book internet installation for your first week, and natural gas service if the home has gas.
   • Ask the seller for the strata bylaws and rules, the interim budget, and how many keys, fobs and garage remotes you will get.
   • Ask for the home warranty certificate, so you know the name of the warranty provider, your policy number and the date your cover starts.
3. Step 3

   Walk-through day

   You walk through the finished home with someone from the seller's team and write down everything that needs fixing. Plan for more than an hour, and bring someone with fresh eyes.

   • Bring your phone for photos, a roll of blue painter's tape to mark each spot, a phone charger to test outlets, your contract and the list of finishes you chose.
   • Open and close every door, window, drawer and cupboard. Check that each one closes fully and locks.
   • Run every tap and shower, flush every toilet, and look under each sink for drips.
   • Switch on every light, fan and appliance. Turn the heat on, and the cooling if the home has it, even in the wrong season.
   • Look along floors, walls, counters and tile for chips, scratches, gaps and paint marks.
   • Check that the appliances, finishes and upgrades in your contract are the ones in the home.
   • Walk the outside too: your entry, patio, parking space, storage and the shared areas, which you own together with your neighbours.
   • Get the list signed by both sides, keep a copy, and ask when each item will be fixed and who to call about it.

   

   More on doing this well, and on who fixes what afterwards: the walkthrough and the warranty.

4. Step 4

   Completion day

   Most of the work today is your lawyer's. Yours is to collect what you are owed.

   • Your lawyer or notary sends the money and registers the transfer. They tell you when the keys can be released.
   • Collect every key, fob, garage remote and mailbox key, and count them against the number you were told.
   • Collect the papers: the warranty certificate, the care guide for the home, appliance manuals and warranties, and the strata documents.
   • Keep the statement of adjustments from your lawyer. It shows what you paid and how costs such as strata fees and property tax were split with the seller.
5. Step 5

   Move-in day

   Do these before the furniture arrives, while every floor and wall is still easy to see.

   • Photograph every room, and every item from your walk-through list. Dated photos make a warranty claim easier later.
   • Find the main water shut-off, the electrical panel, and the gas shut-off if the home has gas.
   • Test every smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm.
   • Run each tap for a minute and check under the sinks again.
   • Change the code on any keypad lock and garage opener. Many people had access to the home while it was being finished.
   • Cover the floors and door frames where the movers will carry furniture.

   

6. Step 6

   In the first 10 days

   One of these has a legal deadline. The rest stop mail and bills going to your old address.

   • Update your address with ICBC. ICBC requires the address of your new home within 10 days of moving, and asks you to keep your vehicle licence, registration and insurance up to date.
   • Set up mail forwarding, and change your address with your bank, your employer and the Canada Revenue Agency.
   • Read the strata bylaws and rules, so you know the rules on parking, pets, noise and garbage before you need them.
7. Step 7

   In the first year

   These dates are months away, so put them in your calendar now.

   • If you claimed the Newly Built Home Exemption from property transfer tax, the Province of BC requires you to move in within 92 days of the date the home was registered and to keep it as your main home for the rest of the first year.
   • Apply for the home owner grant. The Province of BC says you must apply each year, that applying online is fastest, and that you should apply before your property tax due date to avoid late penalties. You can still apply up to December 31 of that tax year.
   • Write down each problem as you find it, with photos and the date, and send written notice to the warranty provider and to the company that built the home.
   • Follow the care guide. The warranty does not pay for damage caused by poor upkeep, so keep a note of what you did and when.
   • Go to the first strata meeting. The owners elect the first strata council there, and the seller must hand over the strata's records, including the warranties, manuals and care steps for the shared parts of the building.

Sources: ICBC, Moving within BC; BC Hydro, Move or cancel your service and New BC Hydro customers; Province of BC, Home owner grant, Apply for your home owner grant and Newly Built Home Exemption; Homeowner Protection Act Regulation, sections 11, 14 and 16. All read November 6, 2026. Full list at the end of the page.

Source: Homeowner Protection Act Regulation (B.C. Reg. 29/99), sections 14 and 16, BC Laws, current to November 3, 2026, read November 6, 2026. The interim budget covers the first 12 months under section 13 of the Strata Property Act.

Source: Homeowner Protection Act Regulation (B.C. Reg. 29/99), Schedule 3, sections 1, 2, 3 and 5, BC Laws, current to November 3, 2026, read November 6, 2026. Read your own warranty certificate for the exact terms. More detail: the 2-5-10 new home warranty, explained.

Where these rules come from

• Homeowner Protection Act Regulation (B.C. Reg. 29/99), sections 11, 14 and 16 and Schedule 3, BC Laws. Current to November 3, 2026, read November 6, 2026.
• Moving within BC, ICBC. Read November 6, 2026.
• Move or cancel your service, BC Hydro. Page dated May 28, 2024, read November 6, 2026.
• New BC Hydro customers, BC Hydro. Page dated May 28, 2024, read November 6, 2026.
• Home owner grant, Province of British Columbia. Last updated September 22, 2026, read November 6, 2026.
• Apply for your home owner grant, Province of British Columbia. Last updated August 31, 2026, read November 6, 2026.
• Newly Built Home Exemption, Province of British Columbia. Last updated January 6, 2026, read November 6, 2026.
• Strata Property Act, Part 3: Duties of the company that created the strata (sections 5 to 24), BC Laws. Sections 5, 13, 14, 16 and 20, current to November 3, 2026, read November 6, 2026.
• Strata owner and tenant insurance, Government of British Columbia. Published July 23, 2025, accessed October 8, 2026.