Limitation Act Deadlines for Real Estate Claims in BC

If you are a buyer, seller or owner with a property dispute, the time limit for suing can decide whether a claim is even possible. Waiting too long can end a claim whatever its merits.

This article explains the main BC rules in plain terms: the basic 2-year period, the 15-year outer limit, how discovery works, and the exceptions. Your own facts matter, so confirm your dates with a lawyer.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

The two limits: 2 years and 15 years

Under the Limitation Act, a court proceeding must not be commenced more than 2 years after the day on which the claim is discovered. This is the basic limitation period.

There is also an outer limit. Even if the 2-year period has not run, a proceeding must not be commenced more than 15 years after the day on which the act or omission on which the claim is based took place, which is the ultimate limitation period.

When a claim is discovered

A claim is discovered on the first day the person knew or reasonably ought to have known all of the following:

• that injury, loss or damage occurred;
• that it was caused or contributed to by an act or omission;
• that the act or omission was that of the defendant; and
• that a court proceeding would be an appropriate means to seek a remedy.

For a hidden defect in a home, the 15-year period runs from the act or omission, not from when the buyer found the defect. That means a buyer who finds a problem late may have little time left on the outer limit.

What can change the clock

• Wilful concealment: if the defendant wilfully conceals the loss, its cause, or misleads the claimant about whether a court proceeding is appropriate, the act or omission is treated as occurring on the discovery day. This can extend the 15-year period, for example where a seller hid a defect.
• Acknowledgment: if a person acknowledges liability before a limitation period expires, the claim is treated as not discovered before the day of the acknowledgment. The acknowledgment generally must be in writing, signed, and made to the claimant or their agent.
• Minors and disability: for a minor, the claim is discovered on the later of the day the minor turns 19 and the ordinary discovery date, and for a person under a disability the periods do not run while the disability continues.
• Related claims: if a proceeding is started within the basic period, a related claim can be raised by counterclaim, third-party proceedings or set-off even if its own period has expired.

Claims the general rules do not cover

The Act does not apply to a claim for which a limitation period has been set under another enactment, except as that enactment provides, so check for a specific period first. It also does not apply to a claim for possession of land by a person dispossessed in circumstances amounting to trespass, or to a proceeding where the only relief sought is a declaration.

Adverse possession is limited too. Except as specifically provided, no right or title in or to land may be acquired by adverse possession. Rights acquired before July 1, 1975 are not interfered with.

What to do next

• Write down when you first noticed the problem and what you knew then.
• Note the date of the act or omission, such as the sale, repair or construction.
• Keep all documents, inspection reports and messages.
• Check whether a different statute sets its own period.
• Do not rely on a verbal promise to fix a problem; written acknowledgments are treated differently.
• See a lawyer early, because time limits are strict.

Frequently asked questions