Closing on a home in BC means moving through subject removal, a title search, Property Transfer Tax, and a Statement of Adjustments before you get your keys. Most residential purchases close within 30 to 60 days of an accepted offer, and BC law requires a lawyer or notary public to handle the actual property transfer.
What Happens Between an Accepted Offer and Closing Day?
Once your offer is accepted, you're in what's commonly called the subject period — the window to satisfy the conditions written into your Contract of Purchase and Sale, most often financing approval, a satisfactory home inspection, and review of strata documents if you're buying a condo or townhouse. Only once every subject is removed (formally waived in writing) does the contract become firm and binding on both sides.
From there, your notary or lawyer takes over the legal side of the transaction: ordering a title search at the Land Title Office to confirm the seller actually owns the property and to check for existing mortgages, liens, or easements registered against it; reviewing the Property Disclosure Statement; and preparing the transfer documents required under BC's Land Title Act.
What Are Completion, Adjustment, and Possession Day — And Why Are They Different Dates?
First-time buyers are often surprised these are three separate dates, sometimes on the same day and sometimes not:
- Completion day is when the legal transfer of ownership is registered at the Land Title Office and your funds are released to the seller. This is the actual moment you become the legal owner.
- Adjustment day is the date used to calculate who owes what — property taxes, strata fees, utilities, and other costs are prorated between buyer and seller as of this date, whether or not it's the same day as completion.
- Possession day is when you actually get the keys and can move in — typically completion day or the day after, depending on what your contract specifies.
How Much Is Property Transfer Tax in BC?
Property Transfer Tax (PTT) is a one-time provincial tax paid on almost every property purchase, calculated on the property's fair market value:
- 1% on the first $200,000
- 2% on the portion between $200,000 and $2,000,000
- 3% on the portion above $2,000,000
- An additional 2% on the residential portion above $3,000,000
On a typical $800,000 purchase, for example, PTT works out to $14,000 — $2,000 on the first $200,000, plus $12,000 on the remaining $600,000.
Do First-Time Buyers Get a Break on PTT?
Yes — this is one of the more meaningful savings available if you qualify. Under the First-Time Home Buyers' Program, a property with a fair market value of $500,000 or less is fully exempt from PTT. Between $500,001 and $835,000, you receive an $8,000 reduction, which then tapers down to zero by $860,000 — properties above that value receive no exemption. To qualify, you generally need to have lived in BC for at least a year before registering the property (or filed at least two BC income tax returns in the last six years), and you must never have owned a principal residence anywhere in the world or previously received this exemption.
What About Newly Built Homes?
There's a separate, higher-threshold exemption for newly built homes: a full PTT exemption up to a fair market value of $1,100,000, with a partial exemption phasing out by $1,150,000. This applies regardless of whether you're a first-time buyer, though the two exemptions can't be combined beyond what the newly built home exemption already provides.
What Does a Notary or Lawyer Actually Do to Close Your Purchase?
BC law requires that the transfer of real property be handled by a lawyer or a notary public — you cannot register a property transfer yourself. Both are authorized to complete a standard residential purchase: ordering title searches, preparing and registering the transfer at the Land Title Office, receiving and disbursing mortgage funds through their trust account, and preparing your Statement of Adjustments. For a straightforward, single-title residential purchase with no unusual title issues, either can generally get you to completion.
Where the file typically needs a lawyer rather than a notary is when something outside a routine transfer comes up — a dispute with the seller, a title defect that needs to be resolved or litigated, a complex trust or corporate ownership structure, or a purchase that's tied into a separation, estate, or other legal proceeding a notary isn't licensed to advise on.
What Is a Statement of Adjustments?
This is the document that shows exactly what you're paying on completion day — the purchase price, less your deposit, plus or minus prorated property taxes, strata fees, and other adjustments calculated as of adjustment day, plus Property Transfer Tax and your notary or lawyer's fees and disbursements. Reviewing this line by line before completion, and asking about anything that doesn't match your expectations, is one of the simplest ways to avoid a surprise on closing day.
What Other Costs and Taxes Should You Know About?
Beyond PTT, first-time buyers in Surrey, Delta, and the rest of Metro Vancouver should be aware of two other taxes tied to property ownership, even though most owner-occupiers won't actually owe them:
- Additional Property Transfer Tax: a 20% tax on top of standard PTT, but it only applies to foreign nationals, foreign corporations, and certain taxable trustees purchasing residential property in Metro Vancouver and a handful of other regions — it does not apply to Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
- Speculation and Vacancy Tax: both Surrey and Delta are designated taxable areas under this annual provincial tax. If you'll be living in the home as your principal residence, you'll almost certainly qualify for the exemption — but the declaration itself is mandatory every year regardless, and missing it can trigger the tax by default.
If you're not yet a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, it's also worth knowing that the federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act — currently extended to January 1, 2027 — restricts most non-Canadians from purchasing residential property outright, with specific exceptions. If your immigration status is part of the picture, that's worth raising with your legal counsel alongside your purchase.
When You Actually Need a Lawyer for Your Closing
We'll be straightforward rather than oversell it. A clean, single-family or condo purchase with a standard mortgage and no title complications is exactly the kind of file a notary public handles well and often more affordably. Where paying for a lawyer specifically earns its keep is when your purchase isn't entirely routine — you're buying with a partner and want a cohabitation or ownership agreement drafted alongside the purchase, the property has a title issue that needs resolving before you can safely close, you're relying on funds tied up in an estate, or a dispute arises with the seller over the Property Disclosure Statement or subject conditions after the fact. If in doubt, a short conversation before you remove subjects is far cheaper than untangling a problem after completion.
Closing Cost and Timeline Summary
Beyond Property Transfer Tax, expect legal or notary fees and disbursements (title search, registration fees, and administrative costs), adjustments for prepaid property tax or strata fees, and — if you're financing — your lender's own requirements around title insurance and mortgage registration. Exact legal fees vary by firm and file complexity, so ask for a fee estimate in writing before you remove subjects. Timeline-wise, most straightforward residential purchases in the Lower Mainland complete within 30 to 60 days of an accepted offer, though your specific completion date is whatever you and the seller agreed to in your contract.
Our real estate lawyers and notaries in Surrey, BC handle purchase and sale files across the Lower Mainland, from routine condo closings to purchases involving trusts, estates, or title complications. If your purchase touches on estate planning — buying with inherited funds, or wanting your new property properly reflected in your will — we handle that alongside the transaction. Book a free consultation before you remove subjects if anything about your file feels out of the ordinary.