"A new B.C. policy lets you rent to own a home with zero down": is it true? What the government has actually said, and how to avoid the pitfalls of private rent-to-own contracts

1. First, a few terms

Rent-to-own. Also called lease-to-own or a lease option. It means: you rent the home and live in it first, and the contract sets out how you can buy that home in a few years on the agreed terms.

These contracts usually come in two parts. New Brunswick's Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB, the government agency there that oversees financial services and consumer protection) explains that rent-to-own usually involves two agreements: a lease, and an "option to purchase" agreement.

• The lease: much like an ordinary rental, it sets the rent and how long the lease lasts.
• The option to purchase agreement: it gives the tenant the right to buy later; if the tenant decides to buy within the agreed time, the landlord must sell to them.
• The price: sometimes it is set when the contract is signed; sometimes it is set at market value when the tenant decides to buy.
• Extra rent: in some contracts, the tenant agrees to pay more each month than ordinary rent, and the extra part is used to lower the final price. Once the price comes down, the tenant may be able to get a mortgage from a bank.

This is the explanation of a New Brunswick agency. It describes what these contracts usually look like; it is not the law in B.C. Private contracts in B.C. are written differently from one to the next, so go by the contract in front of you.

The money you pay first when you sign. Some contracts ask you to pay a sum when you sign. It goes by all sorts of names, such as an option fee, a deposit or an application fee. The name does not matter. What matters is whether the contract says clearly if this money is refundable, who holds it, and in what situations you can get it back.

Rent credit. The part of each monthly payment that the contract says "will count toward the purchase price later". Anything not written into the contract does not count.

Down payment. The money you put in yourself when you buy a home. The price minus the down payment is what you borrow from the bank as a mortgage.

Mortgage loan insurance. If your down payment is less than 20% of the price, you usually need this insurance. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) makes it very clear: this insurance protects the lender; if you cannot pay your mortgage, it pays the bank. It does not protect you.

"Zero down". This is not a government term; it has never appeared in the official texts. When you see an ad saying "zero down", first ask clearly: does it mean you do not have to pay a large sum all at once on the day you move in, or that you will not need a down payment when you actually buy and the title is transferred? These are two different things, and they are very far apart.

2. What the government actually announced: item by item, by date

Every item below has been checked against the official text. Under "What the original says", we translate the original wording as closely as we can, and we do not add meaning on the government's behalf.

Are the two the same plan? The official texts do not say. The June announcement is about converting vacant condos into "affordable homes"; the August statement is about the Province "working with the federal government" to help people rent to own. Quite a few articles online describe the two as one plan. CanDo Studio only goes by the official texts: as of today, the government has not said a single word linking the two, and has not said which homes rent-to-own would use.

What happens after the election? The rent-to-own direction was put forward by the provincial government before the election. Whether the new provincial government after the election will carry it on, how, and when it will announce anything, is for the new government to say. CanDo Studio does not guess on the government's behalf.

So the accurate way to put it today is: the B.C. government has said it is working with the federal government on a rent-to-own plan, with details to come "in the coming months"; separately, Canada and B.C. announced a partnership to convert more than 2,200 vacant condos into affordable homes. The details of neither have been published, and there is no official way to apply. It is wrong to describe this as "B.C. has opened zero-down home buying".

3. What has not been announced yet: wait for the government on all of these

As of November 3, the government has not announced any of the following. If someone describes them in convincing detail, first ask: "Please give me the link to the official web page."

• Who can apply. Do you need to be a permanent resident (PR) or a citizen? How long do you need to have lived in B.C.? Is there a limit on household income and assets? Do you need to be a "first-time buyer"?
• What counts as a "first-time buyer". If you or your spouse have owned a home in another country, does that count? If you sold a home a few years ago, does that count? The government has not said. Do not apply the rules of other programs. For example, the FHSA and B.C.'s property transfer tax first-time home buyers' exemption each define "first-time home buyer" differently (Guide No. 3, Housing, explains this: there is no single definition of "first-time home buyer" that applies to all benefits).
• Where. The June announcement only says "priority growth areas"; it does not list the cities, and it does not say whether Victoria is included. Whether you live in Victoria, Vancouver or Surrey, you cannot conclude on your own that you qualify.
• How many homes. More than 2,200 is the target for the condo conversion partnership, and the announcement's wording is converting them "into affordable homes". Whether any of them will be used for rent-to-own, and how many, it does not say.
• How the money works. How much you pay when you move in, how much each month, how much counts toward the price, how the final price is set, how many years you rent: none of this is stated.
• What if you want out. If you no longer want to buy partway through, cannot get a mortgage at the end, or move away, what happens to the money you have paid: none of this is stated.
• Who runs it, where to apply, when it starts. There is no application web page and no start date.

Claims that you will not have to pay rent. Some people online say "rent-to-own means no rent" or talk about a "rent waiver"; the government has not announced any rent-free terms.

Related: for the conditions for the FHSA, see section 2 of Guide No. 15, Saving tax & investing; for the different definitions of "first-time home buyer" and how to work out the minimum down payment, see Guide No. 3, Housing.

4. Common claims online, checked against the official texts

If you have already paid someone who said they could "get you a spot" and you think you have been scammed: report it to your local police as soon as possible, then report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) as well. Online: reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca; by phone: 1-888-495-8501, Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time, closed on holidays. Since 2026, B.C. uses the same time all year and no longer changes its clocks, so in B.C. time there are two periods: from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March, it is 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; the rest of the year, it is 7 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. For how to report and what to have ready, see section 8 of Guide No. 31, Card fraud and scam transfers.

5. Three things that are easy to mix up

1. CMHC's former rent-to-own funding: it has been discontinued, and it was never for individuals

CMHC is the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a federal government organization. Under its Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, there used to be a dedicated rent-to-own stream (Rent-to-Own Stream for Housing Providers):

• Who it was for: housing providers, developers and investors, to give them money to try out new rent-to-own approaches. It was not for individual tenants.
• Condition: a project had to show how it would help a tenant become a homeowner within 5 years before it could be considered for funding.
• Now: the page says "The dedicated Rent-to-Own stream has been discontinued" and that CMHC will no longer accept new applications for this stream. The page's publication date is April 12, 2024.

So when you see old news saying "the federal government funds rent-to-own", it is about this funding that has already ended; it cannot be used as proof that a new B.C. plan for 2026 is already open.

2. The AHI first-time buyer program at Heather Lands in Vancouver: you buy the home, and the government covers 40% up front

On September 19, 2024, the B.C. government and three First Nations, the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (MST for short), announced the Attainable Housing Initiative (AHI). Note: it is not the same thing as the "affordable homes" in the June announcement in section 2. AHI is only on one site, Heather Lands in Vancouver, with about 2,600 homes. The key points on the provincial government's project page:

• How you buy: the buyer buys 60% of the market value (paying their own down payment and getting a mortgage from their own bank); the other 40% is covered up front by the provincial government.
• Deposit: the buyer only pays 5% of "the 60% portion" as a presale deposit.
• Title: the homes are 99-year strata leasehold on MST First Nations land, not ordinary freehold.
• How the 40% is paid back: if you sell within 25 years, or stop living in the home yourself (for example, turning it into a vacation home, or renting it out short term or long term), you pay the provincial government 40% of the market value at that time, so if the price has gone up, 40% of the increase is included too; if you keep living in it and never sell, at 25 years you pay back the original 40%, plus interest compounded at 1.5% a year.
• Income and asset limits (2024 standards): for studio and one-bedroom homes, household income below $131,950 a year and household net assets below $150,000; for two bedrooms or more, household income below $191,910 a year and net assets below $250,000. You also need to be pre-approved for a mortgage first.
• Status and other conditions: buyers must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents (PRs); at least one buyer must have lived in B.C. continuously for 24 months; buyers must be 18 or older; at closing, you cannot own an interest in any other property anywhere in the world. People on a work permit or study permit do not meet the "citizen or PR" requirement.
• Progress: the provincial project page says the formal process to register and confirm eligibility is "expected to open early in 2026"; when we checked on November 3, 2026, the page still said this and did not say whether it had opened. Whether it has opened now, and how far sales have gone, CanDo Studio did not check this time.

It is a first-time buyer program at one specific site, where you "buy first and the government covers part"; it is not "rent for a few years and then buy". It is a different thing from rent-to-own.

3. Rent-to-own from private companies or landlords: nothing to do with government plans

Rent-to-own offered by private companies, developers or landlords may be called "rent and buy", "rent first, buy later", "lease option" or "rent to own". These have nothing to do with government plans, and the terms depend entirely on the contract. An ad saying "in line with the government's new policy" or "government-backed" does not mean the government has approved that company or that contract. Sections 6 and 7 cover how to read these contracts.

6. Private rent-to-own contracts: moving in does not make the home yours

Moving in and getting the keys does not make the home yours. Under the structure described in section 1, rent-to-own first gives you two things: the right to live there (the lease), and the right to buy later (the option). Until the home is actually bought and the title transferred, it is still registered in the seller's name. Paying an option fee, or having tens of thousands of dollars of credits recorded in the contract, does not mean you already own the home.

"You may buy" and "you must buy" are different. Some contracts say "at the end of the term you may choose to buy"; others say "at the end of the term you must buy". If it says "must buy" and you cannot buy when the time comes, you may be in breach of contract, and the consequences may be more serious than "choosing not to buy". Before you sign, ask your own lawyer to explain clearly which kind your contract is.

A lawyer or notary can check whose name the home is registered in and whether there are other debts on it. Whether the seller has a mortgage, whether there are other charges or debts on the home, whether the seller could sell the home to someone else: all of these affect whether you can buy it smoothly later. Before you sign, ask a lawyer or notary to do a title search for you, and also ask clearly whether your option to purchase can, or should, be registered on title to protect you. (For how to check a lawyer's or notary's licence, see section 10.)

7. The risks, one by one

1. If the purchase falls through, the extra money you paid may be gone

FCNB, the New Brunswick agency described in section 1, warns: if at the end of the lease you still cannot afford to buy, or you decide not to buy for another reason, then depending on what the contract says, the extra part you paid each month to lower the price may be lost. So find out in advance: if you do not buy, is the extra money refunded?

The same goes for the option fee or deposit you pay when you sign: whether it is refunded, who holds it, and how long a refund takes all depend on the contract. If the contract does not say, do not assume you can get it back.

2. If prices fall, you still have to buy at the agreed price

FCNB also warns: if the home loses value during the years you rent it, you still have to pay the price you agreed with the landlord if you want to buy (this is about contracts where the price was set when you signed; see section 1 for the two ways the price can be set). Also, when the time comes, the bank will do its own valuation of the home, and that value may be lower than the contract price. The bank may not lend you the difference, and you may have to make it up in cash. Before you sign, ask the lender: what happens if the valuation is lower than the contract price?

3. A few years later, the bank may not be willing to lend to you

The last step of rent-to-own is usually still borrowing a mortgage from a bank or another lender. Whether you can borrow a few years from now depends on your income, debts and credit at that time. FCAC sets out what lenders usually look at:

• Credit report. Before you apply for a mortgage, the lender will look at your credit report. If your credit is poor, you may be turned down outright, or you may need someone to co-sign with you.
• Housing costs compared with income. Your monthly mortgage payment, property taxes and heating costs, plus half of any strata fee, should generally not be more than 39% of your household's gross income. For example: if your household's gross income is $100,000 a year, these together should generally not be more than $39,000 a year, or about $3,250 a month.
• Total debt compared with income. The housing costs above, plus the other payments you make each month such as credit cards, car loans, lines of credit, student loans and child or spousal support, should generally not be more than 44% of your gross income.
• Stress test. Federally regulated banks require you to pass a stress test: they check whether you could still afford the payments at the higher of "the rate you negotiated plus 2 percentage points" and "5.25%". This applies whether or not you have mortgage insurance.
• Where the down payment comes from. FCAC says that the minimum down payment normally has to come from your own funds; if you are self-employed or have a poor credit history, the lender may require a larger down payment. Whether a bank accepts the rent credits recorded in your contract, and how much of them, is something to ask the lender directly; do not just take the seller's word for it.

FCNB's advice is: before you sign, go to a lender and find out whether you could get a mortgage now and how much, and see whether that would be enough to pay the price of that home later.

The same FCAC page also suggests using its Mortgage Qualifier Tool to see if you can qualify for a mortgage, based on your income and expenses. You can try it yourself before you go to a bank (the link is at the end of this section).

4. Repairs, property taxes and strata fees: who pays

FCNB says to ask: are you responsible for day-to-day repairs? Do you pay the property taxes? If the roof needs replacing or there is a major repair, who pays for it? These should be written into the contract. For a condo, also ask clearly who pays the strata fees and any special levies charged on top.

5. If there is a dispute, the Residential Tenancy Branch may say "this is not ours to handle"

The B.C. Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) handles disputes in ordinary tenancies. But the B.C. government's page on types of tenancies says the RTB may decline jurisdiction in several situations, one of which is when the subject of the dispute is a commercial tenancy, a property interest (that is, a right to the home itself, such as ownership) or rent-to-own.

• Whether it falls under the RTB can be decided by applying to the RTB first, and letting an RTB arbitrator decide. A contract titled "lease" does not necessarily fall under the RTB. For the RTB's phone numbers, how to apply online and the filing fee, see section 7 of Guide No. 44, Home repairs: who to call.
• For housing disputes the RTB does not handle, the same page lists where you can go: the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), for money disputes up to $5,000; Small Claims Court, for $5,001 to $35,000; and the Supreme Court of British Columbia, with no limit on the amount. The CRT's website is listed at the end of this section; for how to apply and what it costs, see section 14 of Guide No. 45, Online shopping problems and returns.
• The same page also suggests that if a tenancy is not covered by tenancy law, you can get independent legal advice; if you do not have a lawyer, you can use the Lawyer Referral Service of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch.

So do not assume that the protections of an ordinary tenancy, such as the limit on deposits, the limit on rent increases and the rules for ending a tenancy, will all apply to rent-to-own in the same way.

6. At tax time: payments under rent-to-own are not "rent"

B.C. has a renter's tax credit for low- and moderate-income renters, of up to $400 a year, claimed on Form BC479 when you file your taxes. The provincial government's page says that "rent" does not include amounts paid under a rent-to-own plan.

• One of the conditions: during the year, the time you lived in an eligible rental unit and paid rent must add up to at least 6 "one-month periods" (a period shorter than a full month does not count).
• So if you lived in a rent-to-own home for the whole year, the payments you made under rent-to-own that year cannot be used to claim this credit.
• If in the same year you also rented normally for some months and paid ordinary rent, those months count as usual. Counting only the months of ordinary renting (not the rent-to-own months), if they add up to 6 "one-month periods" and you meet the other conditions, you may still be able to claim.
• 2026 tax year: if your "adjusted income" (your own net income plus the net income of your spouse or common-law partner, with some adjustments) is $66,189 or less, you can get the full $400; it is reduced by 2 cents for every $1 above that, and reaches zero at $86,189.

These are tax rules. They are a separate matter from whether the landlord waives rent, or whether the contract credits your payments toward the price.

Related: for how to check your credit reports for free and how to fix errors, see sections 2 and 8 of Guide No. 34, Protecting your credit.

8. A hypothetical example to work through the numbers

All the numbers below are hypothetical. They only show how to do the math; they are not the terms of any B.C. plan, and not a price quote for any development.

Suppose the contract says: you will buy the home for $700,000 after five years; you pay $3,000 a month, of which the contract says $800 is credited toward the purchase; there is no option fee at signing.

What this shows:

• Over five years you paid $180,000, but only $48,000 went toward the price. The other $132,000 was spent, just like rent.
• $48,000 looks like enough to cover the $45,000 minimum down payment, but whether the bank accepts these credits as a down payment is a question for the bank. FCAC says that the minimum down payment normally has to come from your own funds.
• With a down payment of less than 20% of the price (here $48,000 is only about 6.9%), you usually need mortgage loan insurance. FCAC says the premium is 0.6% to 4.5% of the loan amount, and the larger your down payment, the lower the premium; the premium can be added to your mortgage, and if it is, you pay interest on it.
• You also need to set aside money for a lawyer or notary, a home inspection, home insurance and moving.
• If at that time the bank values the home at only $650,000, which is $50,000 below the contract price, the bank may not lend based on the contract price, and you may have to make up the difference in cash. For how this works in your case, ask the lender.

Now suppose: in the third year you lose your job and have to move out. The contract says "if you leave early, the credits are forfeited":

• You have already paid $3,000 × 36 months = $108,000;
• The credits recorded, $800 × 36 months = $28,800, are all forfeited, and you get none of it back.

That is why, before you sign, you should build the "worst case" into your budget: what you gain if everything goes smoothly matters, but what you are left with if the purchase falls through matters even more.

Work out the other option too. Keep renting normally, and put the extra $800 a month that you would have paid into an account in your own name. Over five years that is also $48,000, and the money stays in your hands the whole time; it is not forfeited if you move, lose your job or change cities. What you are comparing is not which ad shows a smaller down payment figure, but how much you spend in total, who holds the money, and how likely you are to actually end up buying.

Related: for the FHSA and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan, which you can use to save for a down payment, see section 2 of Guide No. 15, Saving tax & investing.

9. Before you sign: ask these questions and get the answers into the contract

Do not rely on verbal promises. For every item below, ask the other side to put it in the contract or in a written reply. You can read the English questions out as they are.

Two bottom lines:

• Have the contract reviewed by your own lawyer or notary, not the one the seller recommends, and do not treat the seller's explanation as independent advice. See section 10 for how to check their licence.
• If someone pushes you to sign on the spot or says "the spots will be gone soon", do not sign yet. FCNB's advice, in short: do not make decisions under pressure; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

10. Who can review the contract and the mortgage for you: check their licence first

Lawyer. You can go to a lawyer to review a contract, do a title search, handle the transfer of title, or go to court if there is a dispute. The Law Society of British Columbia has a "Lawyer Directory": enter only the lawyer's last name (you can enter the full last name, or just part of it) to see whether the lawyer is licensed to practise in B.C., their contact details, and whether they have any discipline record or practice restrictions. The Law Society itself does not recommend lawyers to you.

Notary public. In B.C., notaries are different from lawyers. The Society of Notaries Public of BC says that the services notaries can provide include contracts and agreements, the purchase and sale of real estate, and residential and commercial real estate transfers; but notaries only handle "non-contentious matters", and they do not take on lawsuits or go to court. So you can ask a notary to review a contract before you sign and to handle the transfer for you; but if you are already in a dispute with the seller and need to go to court, you need a lawyer. The Society also says that not every notary offers all of these services, so first ask whether they handle contracts like rent-to-own and registration on title. To check whether a notary is licensed and has any discipline record: go to the Society's "Verify Notary License" page, where you can search by name, licence number, address, city or postal code.

If you do not have a lawyer and do not know whom to ask. The RTB's page on types of tenancies suggests that if you do not have a lawyer, you can use the Lawyer Referral Service of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch. (CanDo Studio could not open this service's web page this time; go by its official website for fees and how to use it.)

Mortgage broker. If you want to find a mortgage through a mortgage broker, first check that they are licensed. In B.C., mortgage brokers are regulated by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). (The whole BCFSA website refused access to CanDo Studio this time, so the name and web address of the mortgage broker search page below, and how to use it, could not be checked; they are based on search results. Go by the BCFSA website.) You can also go straight to the bank or credit union where you have an account and ask about a mortgage.

Home inspector. Section 8 mentions setting aside money for a home inspection. Consumer Protection BC says that anyone doing home inspections in B.C. must be licensed by law, and to be licensed they must meet the required training standards, carry insurance and pass a criminal record check. Before you hire a home inspector, go to its page for checking licences and enforcement actions and click "Check the licence of an individual" to see whether they are licensed and whether they have ever been penalized. Consumer Protection BC also says that when you hire a home inspector, they must give you a contract with specific information about the services they will provide, such as exactly what the inspection covers and whether they will look for mould and asbestos. Before you choose, get at least three written estimates from different home inspectors, and choose based on "qualifications and reputation, not just cost". If you are not happy with the service, the first step is to try to sort it out directly with the inspector; to make a complaint, you can submit one online to Consumer Protection BC, which will assess it and tell you the next steps (the link to the complaint page is at the end of this section).

When you call, you could start like this:

To a lawyer or notary:

To a lender:

11. If you want to get ready now, you can start with these steps

Step 1: Watch for official news, and only trust official web pages. Once the details of the plan are announced, they are most likely to appear in these places: the "Housing and Tenancy" theme on BC Gov News, the BC Housing website, and the Build Canada Homes news page. When you see news, write down the official name of the plan, the date it was published and the web address. Screenshots, videos and group chat messages that others forward to you: check them against the official web page before you believe them.

Step 2: If you have questions, call BC Housing. BC Housing's head office general information line is 1-866-465-6873, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (B.C. local time, except holidays). You could ask:

Write down the date of the answer you get and the name of the person you spoke to; if you can get a written answer, ask for one.

Step 3: Once the details are published, check yourself against them one by one. Your status, how long you have lived in B.C., household income and assets, how "first-time buyer" is defined, how many people are in your household, and any limits on the price and type of home. In particular, ask: does a home in another country count; does your spouse's home count; how long must you live in it yourself; can you rent it out or sell it. Do not draw conclusions about yourself before then.

Step 4: Ask for a full schedule of fees and a sample contract. How much you pay at signing, how much each month, how much counts toward the price, at what price you buy after a few years, and how much you get back if you leave early: get all of it in writing. Give it to your own lawyer or notary, and then take it to a lender to see how much cash and how much income you would need to actually buy the home in the end. (For how to check the licence of a lawyer, notary or mortgage broker, see section 10.)

Step 5: Get yourself ready first; none of this has to wait for the plan.

• Check your credit report once for free, and fix any errors early (see sections 2 and 8 of Guide No. 34, Protecting your credit).
• Find out whether you can open an FHSA; once you open one, your yearly room only starts counting from the year you open it (see section 2 of Guide No. 15, Saving tax & investing).
• Use FCAC's down payment table to work out the minimum down payment for the price range you want to buy in (see Guide No. 3, Housing).
• Go to a bank or credit union and ask roughly how much you could borrow now (before you go, you can first try the FCAC Mortgage Qualifier Tool mentioned in section 7).

Step 6: Compare it with the other option. Keep renting normally and put the difference in an account you control. Compare the total cost, who holds the money and how likely you are to end up buying; do not just compare whose advertised down payment figure is smaller.

Related: for BC Housing's subsidized rental housing and rent assistance, and the costs to work out before you buy, see Guide No. 3, Housing.

12. When it is worth keeping an eye on, and when to slow down

Worth keeping an eye on, and looking at closely once the details are out: your income is steady, and right now the main thing holding you back is not having saved enough for a down payment; you have a real chance of passing a bank's mortgage approval within a few years; and you plan to stay in the same place for a long time.

Work out the risks of pulling out first, and do not rush to sign: you already struggle to pay the rent now; your job, your status or where you live is not yet stable; or you could only afford to buy if prices keep going up. In these situations, the biggest risk is not getting back the money you have paid if the purchase falls through.

13. Checklist before you act

• If you see "a new B.C. policy: buy a home with zero down", look for a link to an official web page first; if you cannot find one, do not believe it.
• Remember: as of November 3, 2026, neither the details of the government's rent-to-own plan nor a way to apply has been published.
• To ask about progress, call BC Housing at 1-866-465-6873, and write down the date and the answer.
• If anyone wants money first to "get you a spot", do not pay; if you have already paid and think you have been scammed, report it to the police and then to the CAFC (see section 4).
• For a private rent-to-own contract: the money you pay at signing, the monthly credits, the price, leaving early, repairs and property taxes all need to be in black and white.
• Have your own lawyer or notary review the contract (check their licence first: the Lawyer Directory and the notary licence check page are linked in section 10); if it comes to a lawsuit, go to a lawyer.
• Before you sign, ask the bank how much you could borrow now, and whether it accepts the credits in the contract as a down payment.
• Remember: payments under rent-to-own cannot be used to claim the B.C. renter's tax credit.
• Remember: if there is a dispute, the Residential Tenancy Branch may decline to handle rent-to-own disputes; if it does, you can go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal or the courts.
• Build the "worst case" into your budget: if you move out partway through, or cannot get a mortgage at the end, how much will you have left?

Related guides

• → No. 3 · Housing
  How to apply for a BC Housing subsidized apartment and the Housing Registry, and RAP and SAFER rent assistance; before you buy, how to work out the minimum down payment, why there is no single definition of "first-time home buyer", and the separate conditions for the FHSA, the HBP and B.C.'s property transfer tax first-time home buyers' exemption.
• → No. 15 · Saving tax & investing
  The tax rules of five accounts: the TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP and RDSP; FHSA room only starts once you open your first FHSA, and the HBP lets you withdraw from your own RRSP to buy a home and repay it under the rules (section 2).
• → No. 34 · Protecting your credit
  Checking your two credit reports, from Equifax and TransUnion, for free (section 2); how to fix errors on your report (section 8); free credit freezes in B.C. from August 2027.

Main official links in this guide

These are all the official pages used in this guide; the end of each section also lists the ones for that section. The pages of the Prime Minister's Office, the B.C. government (BC Gov News, the renter's tax credit, the types of tenancies page and the Heather Lands project page), BC Housing, Build Canada Homes, CMHC, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), Elections BC, the Law Society of British Columbia, the Society of Notaries Public of BC, Consumer Protection BC and New Brunswick's FCNB were all opened and read on November 3, 2026. There are a few things we could not check: the whole BCFSA website refused access this time, so the name and web address of its mortgage broker search page, and how to use it, are based on search results (go by the BCFSA website); the web page of the Lawyer Referral Service of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch would not open, so this guide does not list its address; and we did not check this time whether Heather Lands registration has opened. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reporting page, FCAC's Mortgage Qualifier Tool and Consumer Protection BC's complaint page were also read on November 4, 2026; the CRT's address is taken from the link on the B.C. government's types of tenancies page.