Just Bought a Home in BC? Your Post-Completion Checklist

Completion day is the end of the purchase, but not the end of your paperwork. Several BC programs depend on you taking action after the keys are handed over, and some carry deadlines or penalties if you miss them.

This checklist covers what to do in the first weeks and months after you buy, and why each item matters.

In the first week: confirm title and file your documents

Your transfer and any mortgage are submitted for registration at the Land Title Office on completion day. Your lawyer then confirms the registration and reports to you and your lender. Keep that report with your contract of purchase and sale, the statement of adjustments, the property disclosure statement and any inspection report. These are the documents you will need if something goes wrong with the home, if you claim a tax exemption, or when you eventually sell.

Check the property transfer tax position too. If you claimed the first-time home buyer or new housing exemption, it comes with conditions after registration, including living in the home. Put those dates in your calendar.

Claim the home owner grant

The home owner grant reduces the annual property tax on your principal residence, but it is not automatic. You must apply for it each year. To claim it in the year you buy, the Province says the previous owner must not have claimed it on the property, you must not have received it for another property that year, and you must be living in the home as your principal residence when you apply.

Under section 8 of the Home Owner Grant Act, the application for a tax year must generally be filed on or before the last day of that year. Section 9 allows a late application up to the end of the following year if you were entitled to the grant on December 31 of the year claimed. The grant is reduced for homes assessed above a threshold, which the Province set at $2.075 million for 2026.

Make your vacancy tax declarations

If your home is in an area where the speculation and vacancy tax applies (the Province publishes a map), each owner must declare every year, even when the home is your principal residence and no tax is owing. Under the Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act, the declaration for a calendar year is due by March 31 of the following year, and you need the declaration letter the Province mails to you. Under section 18, the tax rate for an owner who fails to declare is 3% for that year.

If you bought in the City of Vancouver, there is a separate municipal Empty Homes Tax with its own annual property status declaration, due early in the year. Check the City's current deadline when your notice arrives.

Insurance, utilities and the property tax bill

• Insurance. Your lender will usually have asked for proof of insurance before funding. Confirm the policy is in your name, at the right address and for the right amount. If you bought a strata unit, read what the strata corporation's policy covers and arrange your own policy for what it does not, including your contents and any improvements.
• Utilities and accounts. Transfer hydro, gas, water and internet into your name, and update your address with your bank, CRA and ICBC.
• Property tax. The statement of adjustments split this year's tax between you and the seller, but the annual bill now comes to you. Confirm the municipality has your mailing address, especially if the tax is not paid through your mortgage.

Watch your title

Title fraud is uncommon, but a forged transfer or mortgage can be costly to unwind. The Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) offers BC Property Connect, a service that lets a registered owner connect a property to an account and receive an alert when a change is submitted against its title, such as a change of ownership, a mortgage, a lien, a judgment or a certificate of pending litigation. The LTSA says you need a verified BC Services Card account, and that properties owned by a corporation, held in trust, owned by an estate or held under a lease are not eligible.

Update your will and estate plan

Buying a home is one of the clearest signals that your will needs attention. How you hold title matters: joint tenants pass the home to the survivor outside the estate, while tenants in common each leave their share under their own will. A new mortgage, a new partner or a child on the way all change what your estate plan needs to do. Our articles on when to update your will in BC and the estate planning documents every BC adult should have are a good next step.

If your plans change and you think about selling within the first two years, read up on BC's home flipping tax before you list.

Settled into your new home? Let us help with what comes next

Our real estate lawyers can answer questions about your purchase file, title and property transfer tax conditions, and help you review how title is held as part of your estate plan.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.