What Is the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA) in British Columbia?
This answer covers the law of British Columbia.
The Real Estate Development Marketing Act, known as REDMA, is the British Columbia law that regulates how developers market new units such as presale condos. It applies to a developer who markets a development unit in the province. Some persons, land and transactions are exempt, so how it applies depends on the project. A developer must not market a unit unless it has prepared and filed a disclosure statement.
That statement must plainly disclose all material facts and not contain a misrepresentation. Before you sign, the developer must give you the statement, allow a reasonable opportunity to read it, and obtain your written acknowledgment of receipt. Filing with BCFSA is not an endorsement, because the superintendent has no duty to assess the statement's merits.
After signing, you can generally cancel by written notice within 7 days after the later of the agreement date and your written acknowledgment. You may also sue for damages over a misrepresentation in the statement. If the marketing seems misleading, keep copies of everything you received and consider a complaint to BCFSA, which does not enforce your contract rights. A lawyer can review your documents.
Key takeaways
- A developer must prepare and file a disclosure statement before marketing a development unit, and it must disclose all material facts without misrepresentation.
- Before you sign, the developer must give you the statement, allow a reasonable chance to read it and obtain your written acknowledgment of receipt.
- You can generally rescind within 7 days after the later of the agreement date and your written acknowledgment, or at any time if you were entitled to a statement and never received one.
- Filing with BCFSA is not an endorsement, and BCFSA does not enforce your contract rights, though it can investigate complaints about developers.