The BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) is updating many of their Standard Forms on November 12 to better reflect current practices and requirements.

One critical change REALTORS® should note is the update to the Contract of Purchase and Sale - Residential that will now include GST in the purchase price, if it's applicable.

Updated forms include:

• Buyer Acknowledgement of Advice, Rights, and Benefits

• Contract of Purchase and Sale for Business Assets Including Real Property

• Contract of Purchase and Sale of a Leasehold Interest in First Nations Reserve Lands (Third Party Approval Not Required)

• Contract of Purchase and Sale of a Leasehold Interest in First Nations Reserve Lands (Third Party Approval Required)

• Contract of Purchase and Sale of a Manufactured Home on a Rental Site

• Contract of Purchase and Sale – Residential

• Offer to Lease (Commercial)

• Offer to Lease Addendum / Amendment

• Privacy Notice and Consent Form

These new forms will be available on WEBForms on November 12.

What’s changing?

Here’s a quick overview of what’s changing:

Buyer Acknowledgement of Advice, Rights, and Benefits

The Buyer’s Acknowledgement of Information – Recommended Conditions form will be renamed to Buyer Acknowledgement of Advice, Rights, and Benefits to better reflect its contents.

It'll also include new language addressing risks associated with making unconditional offers before securing financing, along with better documentation of agent-to-buyer disclosures.

Contract of Purchase and Sale for Business Assets Including Real Property

The Contract of Purchase and Sale for Business Assets form will be renamed to Contract of Purchase and Sale for Business Assets Including Real Property. It'll include a provision requiring real property trading services to use the form.

Additionally, "Section 28: GST" will be updated to include references to the Provincial Sales Tax Act, with the section now titled "Section 28: GST and PST."

Contract of Purchase and Sale of a Leasehold Interest in First Nations Reserve Lands

Updates to the Contract of Purchase and Sale of a Leasehold Interest in First Nations Reserve Lands will include the addition of a GST disclosure, removal of GST from customary costs shared by the buyer and seller, and the inclusion of default language specifying GST is included in the purchase price.

The form will also reflect a broader definition of member boards to include associations. There are two versions of this contract: one for cases where third-party approval is required and another where it's not.

Contract of Purchase and Sale of a Manufactured Home on a Rental Site

The updated form will include a GST disclosure, removal of GST from customary costs, and default language for including GST in the purchase price.

It'll also include a revised definition of member boards and a reformatted presentation of sections related to offers and acceptance.

Contract of Purchase and Sale – Residential

This form will be updated with the same revised definition of member boards, with the addition of a strengthened notice regarding the buyer’s rescission rights.

“Section 1: Purchase Price” will also be updated to include “GST” if applicable. A corresponding change (including the new “GST disclosure”) will be made to the information page. 

Adding that GST is included in the “Purchase Price”, if applicable, by default is a big change that Realtors must draw to the attention of buyers and sellers. Realtors should advise buyers and sellers to obtain professional tax and accounting advice regarding how this will affect their out-of-pocket cost and net proceeds. Realtors should also advise clients that this default position can be negotiated between the parties along with other terms and conditions in the CPS. Expanding GST disclosures on the information page helps increase consumer understanding of the implications of GST and that additional professional advice may be required to determine GST applicability, which might result in added costs.

It'll also be reformatted, with clearer language and new initial boxes for the rescission notice section.

Offer to Lease (Commercial)

The Offer to Lease form will be renamed to Offer to Lease (Commercial) to better reflect its intended commercial use. It'll also specify GST as an additional cost where applicable.

Offer to Lease Addendum/Amendment

The Offer to Lease Addendum will be renamed to Offer to Lease Addendum/Amendment to reflect its dual use for both amendments and addenda.

Privacy Notice and Consent

This form will be updated to include "brokerage" in the list of entities where information may be disclosed and will also broaden the definition of member boards to include associations.

Help resources

• BCREA Standard Forms Pre-Launch Package (includes detailed information on all changes)

• New Standard Forms launch resources page

• All BCREA Standard Forms resources

• Standard Forms toolkit

• Professional Development courses