The Home Buyer Rescission Period: Pros and Cons Revealed!

Published on 29 August 2022, 07:22:56 AM

This past January British Columbia introduced a brand new policy dubbed the Home Buyer Rescission Period (HBRP) which gives homebuyers the right to rescind their offers for up to three business days after their offer has been accepted, provided they pay a cancellation fee equal to 0.25% of their offer amount. The policy is the first of its kind and was meant to give prospective buyers additional protection as Canadians flocked to purchase real estate when the market was hot and high-pressure.

That said, nearly 6 months later real estate experts and buyers and sellers alike have found the HBRP has possibly done more harm than good. Vancouver realtors say their clients have hardly taken advantage of the HBRP and haven’t needed to since the market has cooled down. Some say the policy has only confused buyers, leading them to believe they can write an offer and worry about inspections and appraisals after-the-fact, when that isn’t at all the case.

Lastly, there’s also a concern certain investors might even be abusing the HBRP, using the 3-day period to search for a buyer to purchase the property once they’ve flipped it and simply pay the penalty if they’re unable to find one. Many say the 0.25% cancellation penalty is far too low to prevent this kind of behavior and is an insignificant amount altogether.