Does the Federal Foreign Buyer Ban Apply to Your BC Home Purchase?

If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you may wonder whether a federal law stops you from buying a home in British Columbia. It can, but there are many exceptions, and several carry conditions.

This article explains who is caught, which exceptions are common, the penalties, the separate BC tax rules that can apply to foreign buyers, and what to check before you sign an offer.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

What the ban says

Section 4(1) of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act bars a non-Canadian from purchasing, directly or indirectly, any residential property. The Act came into force on January 1, 2023.

Non-Canadian includes a corporation incorporated otherwise than under the laws of Canada or a province, certain Canadian corporations controlled by a non-Canadian, and prescribed persons or entities. The Department of Finance announced in February 2024 that the ban, which was set to expire on January 1, 2025, would be extended to January 1, 2027. That date is close, so it is worth confirming the current end date before you buy.

Exceptions that often matter

The diplomat category covers foreign nationals accepted by the Chief of Protocol in a diplomatic, consular, official or special representative role. The safe-haven category covers people with temporary status under a public-policy exemption to give safe haven to people fleeing conflict. Refugee claimants are covered where their claim was found eligible and referred to the Refugee Protection Division.

Whether your own status falls within the definition of non-Canadian or within an exception depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Other exceptions: location and type of deal

Property outside any census agglomeration or census metropolitan area is excluded from residential property, so the ban does not reach it. Vacant land is not listed as its own exception. Whether a BC address is covered depends on its location.

• Renting a dwelling unit to a tenant to occupy.
• A transfer under a trust created before the Act came into force.
• A transfer from a secured creditor exercising a security interest.
• Acquisition of residential property for the purposes of development.

Penalties if the ban is broken

A non-Canadian who contravenes section 4, or anyone who counsels, induces, aids or abets a prohibited purchase knowing it is prohibited, is guilty of an offence liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $10,000.

After a conviction under section 4 (the prohibited purchase itself), the superior court of the province where the property is located, which in BC is the Supreme Court of British Columbia, may on application of the Minister order the residential property to be sold in the prescribed manner, on terms it considers appropriate.

BC and federal tax rules that can apply as well

Separate from the federal ban, BC's additional property transfer tax is 20% of the fair market value of the buyer's proportionate share of the residential portion of a property in a specified area. It applies to foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees.

The specified areas are the Capital Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, Metro Vancouver Regional District, Regional District of Central Okanagan and Regional District of Nanaimo. Property on Tsawwassen First Nation treaty lands is not subject to it. For this tax, a foreign national is an individual who is a foreign national under the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

• If title is shared with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, only the foreign buyer's share is taxed.
• A confirmed BC Provincial Nominee who registers the transfer as an individual and will use the property as a principal residence is exempt, but the exemption can be claimed only once and family members who are foreign nationals do not get it.
• Mutual fund trusts, real estate investment trusts and specified investment flow-through trusts are not subject to the additional tax.
• Some transfers that are exempt from ordinary property transfer tax, such as a transfer to a surviving joint tenant, still attract the additional tax when a foreign entity or taxable trustee is the transferee.

Separately, at the federal level rather than under BC law, the Underused Housing Tax no longer requires a return or payment for 2025 and later calendar years, but the requirement to file a return and pay still applies to the 2022, 2023 and 2024 calendar years. For those years, Canadian citizens and permanent residents are excluded owners who need not file, except when they hold title as a partner or trustee.

What to do next

• Write down your exact status, including permit dates and tax filing history.
• Count your days in Canada if you rely on the student exception.
• Confirm the property's location against census areas.
• Check the current end date of the ban.
• Ask whether the BC additional property transfer tax of 20% also applies.
• Have a lawyer review the purchase contract before you remove conditions.

If you have already signed a contract and are unsure whether an exception fits, speak to a lawyer promptly, because the answer can affect your conditions and deadlines.

Frequently asked questions