BC's 7-Day Rescission Period on Pre-Sale Multiplexes

You found the home. Two generations of your family, one brand-new multiplex, close to the people you love. You sign the pre-sale paperwork, and then that night you wake up at 3am wondering: can I still get out of this if I need to?

Good news. In British Columbia, you can — for a short window. But there are two different cancel-your-purchase rules in this province, and people mix them up all the time. One applies when you buy a brand-new pre-sale home from the team that built it. The other applies mostly when you buy an older home that someone already owns. They work differently, they last different amounts of time, and one of them costs money to use.

This is the plain-English version of both, written for a buyer, not a lawyer. Let's sort out which one is yours.

One line before we start: this is general information, not legal advice. The exact terms that bind you live in your own contract and your disclosure statement. Confirm the details with a real estate lawyer or your notary before you rely on anything here.

Two rules, and why buyers confuse them

BC has two separate rights to cancel a home purchase after you sign. They sound similar, so here they are side by side:

• The 7-day right under REDMA (the Real Estate Development Marketing Act). This is the one for pre-sale homes — the brand-new duplex, triplex, or fourplex unit you buy from the company building it, often before it's finished. Seven days. No fee.
• The Home Buyer Rescission Period (HBRP), sometimes called the cooling-off period. This started on January 3, 2023. It gives buyers three business days to back out of certain purchases — and it costs a fee of 0.25% of the price to use.

Here's the key thing, and it's the part everyone gets wrong: if your purchase is covered by the REDMA 7-day right, the 3-day cooling-off rule does not also apply to you. You get one or the other, not both stacked on top of each other. The government wrote it that way on purpose so there's no double coverage.

So the real question is simple. Are you buying pre-sale from the team that built it, or are you buying a home someone already owns? Your answer decides which rule is yours.

The REDMA 7-day right: your rule as a pre-sale multiplex buyer

If you're shopping on MultiLiving, this is almost certainly the one that applies to you. When a company markets and sells a new home before it's built — a pre-sale — that sale falls under REDMA. According to BCFSA, the provincial regulator that oversees pre-sales, the buyer gets seven days to cancel the contract, and the seller has to give you a disclosure statement first.

How the seven days are counted

This is the detail that trips people up. The seven days do not simply start the moment you sign. Under Section 21 of REDMA, the clock starts on the later of two dates:

• the day you signed the purchase agreement, or
• the day the team that built it received your written receipt confirming you got the disclosure statement.

Whichever of those two happens second is day zero. So if you sign the contract on a Monday but you don't get and sign for the disclosure statement until Wednesday, your seven days run from Wednesday, not Monday. This matters, because the disclosure statement is the document that tells you what you're actually buying — and you deserve time to read it after you have it in hand.

What counts as "seven days" here

The REDMA count is plain calendar days — it includes weekends. That's different from the cooling-off rule further down, which skips weekends and holidays. Don't assume the two counts work the same way. They don't.

Do you get your deposit back?

Yes. If you cancel properly inside the seven days, REDMA says the team that built it — or the lawyer holding your money in trust — must promptly return your deposit. In full. There's no penalty and no fee for using the REDMA 7-day right. That's the whole point of it: a real, no-cost window to change your mind.

What you actually have to do

You can't just call and say you're out. You have to serve written notice of rescission on the seller inside the window. Keep it simple and clear: state that you are cancelling the purchase agreement, name the unit, and date it. Send it in a way you can prove — email with a read receipt, or through your lawyer or notary. Then keep a copy. If it's late or it's only a phone call, you may lose the right, so treat the deadline seriously.

The Home Buyer Rescission Period: the resale rule

Now the other one. The Home Buyer Rescission Period is newer and works differently. The BC government rolled it out on January 3, 2023 to give buyers a short breathing space after an offer on a home is accepted — mainly aimed at the fast, competitive resale market where people sometimes wrote offers with no time to think.

How long you get, and how it's counted

The window is three business days. Per the Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation, the count starts the day after your offer is accepted, and it skips Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory holidays. BCFSA gives this example: if your offer is accepted on a Monday afternoon, your three business days run out at 11:59pm on Thursday. Add a long weekend in the middle and the deadline moves further out, because holidays don't count.

The fee — this one isn't free

Using the cooling-off period costs money. The fee is 0.25% of the purchase price. The BCFSA consumer guide uses a clean example: on a $400,000 home, 0.25% works out to $1,000 ($400,000 × 0.0025). On a pricier Vancouver purchase the number climbs — 0.25% of $1.5 million is $3,750. So it's a real cost, not a formality.

What happens to your deposit under this rule

If you already paid a deposit and then cancel under the cooling-off period, BCFSA explains the mechanics: the rescission fee is paid to the seller out of your deposit, and whatever is left over comes back to you. So you don't lose the whole deposit — you lose the 0.25% fee, and the rest is returned.

So which one applies to you? The exemptions that decide it

This is where the two rules connect. The cooling-off period doesn't apply to everything. The BCFSA guide lists the property types it leaves out:

• homes on leased land, or a leasehold interest in a home
• homes sold at auction
• homes sold under a court order or the supervision of a court
• and — the one that matters most to you — any purchase where Section 21 of REDMA applies, meaning pre-sale homes that already carry the 7-day right

Read that last point again, because it's the whole knot untied. A pre-sale multiplex is not left uncovered — it's covered by the REDMA 7-day right instead. So the cooling-off period steps aside precisely because you already have a longer, fee-free window. You're not missing out. You're getting the better of the two.

In our view, that's the fair outcome. Seven free days to read a disclosure statement beats three paid days on the clock. If you're buying brand new pre-sale, the rule you have is the one you'd want anyway.

A quick way to tell them apart

• Buying a brand-new pre-sale unit from the company building it? REDMA 7-day right. Seven calendar days. No fee. Deposit fully returned.
• Buying a home someone already owns (a resale)? Cooling-off period. Three business days. 0.25% fee. Deposit back minus the fee.

What to actually do inside your window

A cancel window is only useful if you use the days well. Whether you have seven or three, here's how buyers spend that time productively:

• Read the disclosure statement properly. For a pre-sale, this is the document that tells you what's being sold, who's building it, and the terms. If anything in it surprises you, that's exactly what the window is for.
• Get your own eyes on the contract. Have a real estate lawyer or notary read it before your days run out — not after. They catch things a buyer can't.
• Confirm your financing is real. A cooling-off window is a good moment to make sure your mortgage pre-approval actually holds for this specific purchase, especially if two generations of one family are pooling money.
• Talk it through with the people buying with you. If parents and adult children are buying together, everyone should feel settled before the window closes.
• Diarize the exact deadline. Write down the last date and time you can cancel, and how you'd serve notice. Don't leave it to memory.

And if you decide the home is right? Do nothing. Let the window pass. The purchase simply moves forward. The window is there to protect you, not to pressure you into using it.

What this comes down to

• BC has two separate cancel-your-purchase rules, and you get one, not both. Pre-sale buyers get the REDMA 7-day right; most resale buyers get the 3-day cooling-off period.
• The REDMA 7-day right runs from the later of your signing date or the date you signed for the disclosure statement — and it's seven calendar days, weekends included.
• The REDMA right is free and returns your full deposit if you cancel in time and in writing.
• The cooling-off period is three business days, skips weekends and holidays, and costs 0.25% of the price, taken from your deposit.
• Pre-sale homes are exempt from the cooling-off period exactly because they already carry the longer, fee-free REDMA right — so pre-sale buyers come out ahead, not behind.
• Serve any cancellation in writing, inside the window, and keep proof.

Frequently asked questions

Which rescission rule applies when I buy a pre-sale multiplex in BC?

The REDMA 7-day right applies. Buying a brand-new pre-sale home from the company building it falls under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, which gives you seven days to cancel with no fee and a full deposit refund. The 3-day cooling-off period does not also apply.

How many days is the REDMA rescission period?

Seven days. Under Section 21 of REDMA, you have seven calendar days — weekends included — to cancel a pre-sale purchase. The count starts on the later of the day you signed the contract or the day the seller received your signed receipt for the disclosure statement.

When exactly do the seven days start?

They start on the later of two dates: the day you signed the purchase agreement, or the day the team that built it received your written receipt confirming you got the disclosure statement. If those fall on different days, the second one is your day zero. The later date always wins.

Do I get my full deposit back if I cancel under REDMA?

Yes. If you cancel properly inside the seven days, REDMA requires the seller or the lawyer holding your money in trust to promptly return your entire deposit. There is no penalty and no fee for using the REDMA 7-day right. That's what makes it a genuine window to reconsider.

What is the BC Home Buyer Rescission Period?

It's a separate rule, in force since January 3, 2023, that lets buyers cancel certain home purchases within three business days of an accepted offer. It's often called the cooling-off period. Using it costs a fee of 0.25% of the purchase price, unlike the free REDMA right.

How much is the cooling-off period fee?

The fee is 0.25% of the purchase price. BCFSA's example: on a $400,000 home the fee is $1,000. On a $1.5 million purchase it would be $3,750. The fee is paid to the seller out of your deposit, and any balance left over is returned to you.

Do the three business days include weekends?

No. The three business days skip Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory holidays. The count starts the day after your offer is accepted. So an offer accepted Monday afternoon gives you until 11:59pm Thursday — and a long weekend in the middle pushes the deadline out further.

Can I use both rules on the same purchase?

No. You get one or the other. If your purchase is a pre-sale covered by REDMA's Section 21, the cooling-off period does not also apply — pre-sales are specifically exempt from it. The province designed it this way so there's no overlapping double coverage.

Why are pre-sales exempt from the cooling-off period?

Because they already have a stronger protection. BCFSA's list of cooling-off exemptions includes any sale where Section 21 of REDMA applies. Since pre-sale buyers already get seven free days instead of three paid ones, the cooling-off rule steps aside. You come out ahead.

How do I actually cancel within the window?

Serve written notice on the seller before the deadline. State clearly that you are cancelling the purchase agreement, name the unit, and date it. Send it in a way you can prove — through your lawyer, notary, or a traceable email. Keep a copy. A phone call alone may not count.

What if I never received the disclosure statement?

For a pre-sale, the seller must give you the disclosure statement before you enter the agreement, and your seven days can't fully start counting until you've signed for it. If you think you never got it or never signed a receipt, talk to a real estate lawyer right away — your rights may be different than you assume.

Does the cooling-off period apply to homes on leased land?

No. BCFSA lists homes on leased land and leasehold interests as exempt from the cooling-off period, along with homes sold at auction and homes sold under a court order. If your purchase falls in one of those groups, the 3-day rule doesn't apply — check your specific situation with a professional.

Is a pre-sale multiplex a resale purchase or a new one?

It's a new purchase. A pre-sale means you're buying a brand-new home from the company building it, usually before it's finished — so it falls under REDMA, not the resale cooling-off rule. That's why the 7-day right is the one you'll typically be working with as a MultiLiving buyer.

Should I plan to use the rescission window, or just leave it there?

Treat it as a safety net, not a plan. Most buyers use the days to read the disclosure statement, get a lawyer's eyes on the contract, and confirm financing — then let the window pass and move forward. It's there to protect you if something's wrong, not to make you second-guess a good decision.

Where can I confirm the exact rules for my own contract?

Start with the primary sources: REDMA on BC Laws, the BCFSA pre-sales page, and the BCFSA Home Buyer Rescission Period guide. Then have a real estate lawyer or notary review your specific contract and disclosure statement. The details in your paperwork govern.

Buying pre-sale? Let's make sure you're comfortable before the clock starts

The rescission window is your friend, but it's short — and it works best when you already understand what you're signing. That's where we come in. At MultiLiving we help families find and compare brand-new multiplex homes across Greater Vancouver, and we make sure you walk into a pre-sale knowing what your disclosure statement should say and what your seven days really mean.

Browse current homes on our properties page, or get in touch and tell us what your family is looking for. We'll help you buy with confidence — before, during, and after the window closes. This article is general information only, so please confirm the specifics with a real estate lawyer or notary for your own purchase.