Start Here | Overview
Selling Multiplex Units in BC
Every guide on this site covers how to get a multiplex built. This one covers what happens when you sell the units. One number decides most of it: five. At five strata lots the Real Estate Development Marketing Act starts applying to your project, and almost everything about how you can market, take deposits, and close changes.
Key takeaways
- REDMA starts at five units. Section 1 defines a development property as five or more strata lots. A fourplex sits outside the Act. A fiveplex sits inside it.
- SSMUH zoning straddles that line. BC's small-scale housing rules routinely permit four to six units on one lot, so the same zoning change can put you on either side.
- Below five units, three protections vanish at once: the filed disclosure statement, the seven-day rescission right in section 21(2), and the deposit trust requirement in section 18(1).
- Filing is cheap when it applies. A development of nine or fewer units pays a $900 filing fee, set 1 January 2019.
- The 18-month early marketing pilot excludes you. It opened 25 February 2025 for developments of 100 or more units. Multiplexes work to the standard 12-month window.
- Warranty does not scale with size. The 2-5-10 coverage in Homeowner Protection Act section 22(2) attaches to every sold unit.
Where your building falls
REDMA counts strata lots, not bedrooms or floors. This is the whole decision tree for a residential multiplex sold as strata.
| Building form | Strata lots | REDMA | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duplex / half duplex | 2 strata lots | Does not apply | Below the five-lot floor. Sold as ordinary resale property with a standard contract of purchase and sale. |
| Triplex | 3 strata lots | Does not apply | Below the floor. No disclosure statement, no filed rescission right, no statutory deposit trust. |
| Fourplex | 4 strata lots | Does not apply | The most common SSMUH form, and the last one outside REDMA. This is where buyers most often assume protections that are absent. |
| Fiveplex | 5 strata lots | Applies | The threshold is met exactly. A disclosure statement must be filed before marketing begins. |
| Sixplex | 6 strata lots | Applies | Inside REDMA. Full disclosure, deposit trust, and seven-day rescission obligations apply. |
Thresholds from the definition of "development property" in REDMA s.1, read 6 September 2026.
Why the fourplex is the hard case
The fourplex is the most common form SSMUH zoning produces, and it is the largest building that stays outside REDMA. That combination creates the gap this hub exists to close. A buyer signing on a four-unit build has usually read about presale protections in the context of condo towers, where every one of them applies. On a fourplex none of them do.
The developer is not doing anything wrong by omitting them. The Act genuinely does not reach a four-lot strata. The risk is that both sides proceed on an assumption nobody checked: the buyer assumes a trust account exists, and the seller assumes the buyer knows it does not. Where the deposit sits is then governed by whatever the purchase agreement says, which on a small private deal is sometimes silent.
The fix is contractual. A four-unit sale can require deposits in a lawyer's trust account and can grant a cancellation right, because both parties agreed to it. Those clauses have to be written in. Statute will not supply them.
The order the work actually happens in
Selling units is not a step at the end of a build. Several of the decisions that govern it are made before a shovel moves, and a few of them cannot be reversed later without cost.
The unit count is settled at design. That single number decides whether REDMA applies, which in turn decides whether you file a disclosure statement, where deposits must sit, and whether your buyers get a statutory cancellation right. A developer who reaches the marketing stage before checking the count has already made the decision without knowing it.
Stratification is settled during permitting. Separate titles require a strata plan deposited under the Strata Property Act, and the approving officer reviews it against subdivision requirements for access and servicing. A building designed without stratification in mind can reach completion as a single title, at which point selling unit by unit means going back through an approval process on a finished structure.
Marketing timing is governed by BCFSA Policy Statements 5 and 6, which allow a 12-month window to sell ahead of local government approvals and a financing commitment. That window is a deadline as much as a permission. Sell early in it and you carry the obligation to deliver within it.
Tax position is settled at the moment you decide between selling and renting. Selling new units is a taxable supply and GST applies per unit. Leasing them instead can trigger the self-supply rule, which treats the builder as having sold the unit to themselves at fair market value. Both routes have a tax cost, and switching between them late in a project is where developers get surprised.
Who this hub is for
The homeowner developer
You are building three or four units on your own lot and plan to sell some to fund the rest. Read the five-unit threshold page and the warranty page first. The owner-builder occupancy rule catches people in this position most often.
The small builder
You build four to six units at a time and sell them all. The threshold decides your process, so start there, then read the disclosure statement and early marketing pages before you set a launch date.
The presale buyer
You are buying one unit off a plan. The deposits page tells you what question to ask about your money, and the warranty page tells you what coverage the finished unit carries.
The full guide
THE LEGAL FRAME
The Five-Unit REDMA Threshold
REDMA applies at five strata lots. A fourplex falls outside it and a sixplex falls inside. What changes at that line.
Filing a Disclosure Statement
What goes in a REDMA disclosure statement, what it costs to file, when to amend it, and the seven-day rescission right it triggers.
SELLING THE UNITS
Deposits and Trust Accounts
Where deposit money must sit under REDMA section 18, and what protects a buyer's deposit on a four-unit build where that section does not apply.
Selling Before the Building Exists
Policy Statements 5 and 6 give a twelve-month early marketing window. The eighteen-month pilot starts at 100 units, so no multiplex qualifies.
AFTER THE SALE
Warranty When You Sell
The 2-5-10 coverage every sold unit carries, and the owner-builder rules that block a sale for the first year.
GST and Tax on Unit Sales
Why selling units is a taxable supply, how the rebate works per unit, and how a mid-project switch to renting triggers self-supply.
Strata the Units or Sell the Building
Stratifying to sell unit by unit against selling the finished building whole, compared on cost, timing, and who can buy it.
What a filed disclosure statement changes in practice
The disclosure statement is the document that carries the whole REDMA regime. It sets out who the developer is, what is being built, what the buyer is purchasing, what encumbrances sit on title, and what the construction schedule is. It is filed with BCFSA before marketing begins, and it has to be amended when a material fact changes.
Its practical effect on a small project is that it forces the developer to write down commitments that would otherwise stay verbal. A completion date in a filed document behaves differently from a completion date mentioned at a site visit. When it moves, an amendment is filed, the buyer is given the amendment, and the record shows what changed and when.
The seven-day rescission right in section 21(2) is tied to that document. The clock starts on the later of the date the purchase agreement was made and the date the developer obtained written acknowledgement that the buyer had an opportunity to read the disclosure statement. A developer who never obtains that acknowledgement has not started the buyer's clock, which leaves the rescission right open rather than closing it.
For a four-unit build none of this machinery exists. The commitments live entirely in the purchase agreement, and the discipline of writing them clearly falls on the parties and their lawyers rather than on a filing requirement.
Common mistakes
- Assuming small means exempt from everything. REDMA has a five-unit floor, but the Homeowner Protection Act does not. The 2-5-10 warranty attaches to a duplex half exactly as it attaches to a sixplex unit.
- Taking deposits into an operating account on a four-unit build. Lawful where section 18 does not apply, and a common reason a buyer's lawyer stops a deal. Use a trust account by contract even when statute does not require one.
- Selling as an owner-builder inside the first year. BC Housing requires an owner-builder to occupy the home for a year after the occupancy permit and prohibits selling or renting during it, absent a hardship permission from the registrar.
- Deciding to rent after marketing units for sale. The switch can trigger the self-supply rule and a GST liability calculated on fair market value, on a project whose budget assumed sale proceeds.
- Leaving stratification until after completion. A strata plan is a form of subdivision and gets reviewed as one. Designing for it late costs more than designing for it early.
- Counting only the first phase. A Form P declaration covering six units across two phases of three is a six-unit development, and REDMA applies to it.
Related reading
- Strata ownership for BC multiplexes covers how the strata corporation runs once the units are sold.
- Pre-sale multiplex deposits in BC goes deeper on deposit mechanics.
- The GST rebate on a new BC multiplex covers the rebate maths per unit.
- The REDMA gap fourplex buyers miss is the short version of this hub's core argument.
- The strata legal guide covers stratification during design.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a disclosure statement to sell fourplex units in BC? +
No. REDMA defines a development property as five or more strata lots in section 1, so a four-unit strata falls outside the Act. You can sell the four units without filing a disclosure statement with BCFSA. Your buyers also lose the seven-day rescission right in section 21(2) and the deposit trust requirement in section 18, which is why many fourplex buyers assume protections they do not have.
What is the five-unit REDMA threshold? +
The five-unit threshold is the line in REDMA section 1 where the Act starts applying. A development property means five or more strata lots, five or more subdivision lots, or five or more leasehold units. Build four units and you are outside REDMA entirely. Build five and the full disclosure, deposit trust, and rescission regime attaches to every sale.
How long does a BC presale buyer have to cancel? +
A presale buyer covered by REDMA has seven days to rescind. Section 21(2) runs that clock from the later of the date the purchase agreement was made and the date the developer obtained written acknowledgement that the buyer had a chance to read the disclosure statement. The buyer serves written notice on the developer. On a four-unit build no statutory rescission right exists at all.
Where must presale deposits be held in BC? +
REDMA section 18(1) requires a developer who receives a deposit to promptly place it with a brokerage, lawyer, notary public, or prescribed person, who holds it as trustee in a trust account at a BC savings institution. The developer cannot spend it on construction. That protection attaches only at five or more units, so a fourplex deposit is protected by contract terms alone.
What does it cost to file a REDMA disclosure statement? +
Filing fees have been set since 1 January 2019 and scale by unit count. A development of nine or fewer units pays $900, ten to 49 units pays $1,800, 50 to 99 units pays $3,600, and 100 or more pays $5,400. Amending a filed disclosure statement costs $600. Every multiplex that crosses the five-unit line sits in the $900 band.
Can I market multiplex units before I have a building permit? +
Yes, within limits. BCFSA Policy Statements 5 and 6 let a developer market for up to 12 months before obtaining local government approvals and a satisfactory financing commitment. From 25 February 2025 a pilot extends that window to 18 months, but only for developments of 100 or more units. No multiplex reaches 100 units, so every multiplex works to the standard 12-month window.
What warranty must a sold multiplex unit carry? +
Section 22(2) of the Homeowner Protection Act sets mandatory coverage at two years on defects in materials and labour, five years on the building envelope, and ten years on structural defects. This is the 2-5-10 warranty. It attaches to each sold unit regardless of how many units the building holds, so a duplex half carries the same coverage as a sixplex unit.
Can an owner-builder sell the units they built? +
Not immediately. BC Housing requires an owner-builder to occupy the home for at least one year after the occupancy permit, and prohibits selling, offering to sell, or renting during that year. Section 20.1(2) of the Homeowner Protection Act lets the registrar permit an earlier sale on undue hardship. An owner-builder who sells stays personally liable for construction defects for ten years.
Do I have to strata the building to sell units separately? +
Yes. Separate legal title for each unit requires a strata plan deposited under the Strata Property Act. Without stratification you own one parcel and can only sell the whole building to one buyer. Stratifying converts one title into one title per unit, which is what lets four buyers each get a mortgage on their own home.
Is GST charged when I sell a newly built multiplex unit? +
Yes. A newly constructed residential unit sold by a builder is a taxable supply, so GST applies to each unit sale. The buyer may claim the GST New Housing Rebate where the unit is their primary residence and the price falls within the rebate thresholds. The rebate is assessed per unit, so four units mean four separate rebate determinations.
What happens if I rent the units instead of selling them? +
Switching from selling to renting can trigger the self-supply rule. A builder who leases a new residential unit rather than selling it is generally treated as having sold the unit to themselves at fair market value and must remit GST on that amount. The decision to rent instead of sell is a tax event, so model it before the first tenant signs.
Does a fourplex buyer have any protection at all? +
Their protection comes from the contract rather than from REDMA. A four-unit sale can still specify that deposits sit in a lawyer or brokerage trust account, set out completion obligations, and grant a contractual cancellation right. Those terms bind because both sides agreed to them. A buyer on a four-unit build should read the deposit clause closely, because nothing in statute supplies one.
Sources and references
Every figure on this page traces to one of the sources above. Statutory thresholds read 6 September 2026. Filing fees have been in force since 1 January 2019; the early marketing pilot opened 25 February 2025.
See What Your Lot Can Build and Sell
Enter any BC address to see how many units the zoning allows, which side of the five-unit REDMA line that puts you on, and what the return looks like.