— Guides · Presale
Assigning a presale contract in B.C.: what it actually costs
A step-by-step walkthrough of developer consent, why almost none of these ever reach MLS, and two full fee calculations on the same Burnaby one-bedroom: one where the market moved your way, and one where you are assigning below your contract price just to get out.
Short answer: a presale assignment is the sale of your contract to buy a presale unit, not the sale of the home itself, which does not legally exist yet.
- Developer consentYou almost always need it in writing, and the developer can refuse for any reason or none at all.
- Assignment feeTypically 1–3% of the original purchase price, plus an administration fee and GST.
- Rarely on MLSMost contracts ban advertising the unit publicly while the developer still has inventory to sell.
- Treated as business incomeThe Canada Revenue Agency’s general position is that assignment profit is business income, not a capital gain.
- Reported to the provinceEvery assignment goes to the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register, and that information reaches the CRA.
- Timing changes the taxB.C.’s home flipping tax applies to assignments, at 20% inside 365 days, tapering to zero at 730.
On the worked example below, a $65,100 gain became $25,123 once fees were paid, before any tax. If your unit is now worth less than you agreed to pay, skip to the loss scenario: your deposit is the only buffer you have, and past a 20% drop assigning stops returning money and starts requiring it.
— 01 · The mechanics
What is a presale assignment? You are selling a contract, not a condo
When you buy a presale you sign a Contract of Purchase and Sale with the developer and pay deposits in stages, typically 20% of the price across three or four instalments. You own a set of contractual rights. You do not own real estate, you have no title, and there is nothing to register at the Land Title Office until the building completes.
An assignment transfers those rights to someone else. Three parties are involved:
- The assignor: you, the original buyer, stepping out.
- The assignee: the new buyer, stepping in and completing directly with the developer.
- The developer: who must consent, and whose original contract survives unchanged.
The assignee reimburses the deposits you have already paid, then pays you a premium on top, the “lift.” At completion the assignee pays the developer the outstanding balance under your original contract, plus GST and Property Transfer Tax on the full amount they paid.
The clause almost nobody reads: you stay on the hook
Most B.C. presale contracts state that the assignor remains liable to the developer if the assignee fails to complete. You can assign the contract, collect your lift, and still be pursued years later if the new buyer walks at completion. Have your lawyer look specifically for a release of the original purchaser, and know that developers rarely grant one.
Ask a lawyerWhether your contract releases you on assignment, and what you remain liable for if it does not, is a legal question. Have a real estate lawyer read your assignment clause before you rely on anything in this section. I am a licensed real estate advisor, not a lawyer.
— 02 · The process
How to assign a presale contract: ten steps, in the order they have to happen
The sequence matters. Marketing before you have read the assignment clause is the single most common way people breach their contract and lose the right to assign at all.
-
01
Read your assignment clause and your Disclosure Statement
Before anything else. You are looking for four things: whether assignment is permitted at all, what the fee is, whether there is a marketing prohibition, and whether there is a blackout period (many contracts forbid assignment until the developer has sold a stated percentage of the building, or until a fixed number of days before completion).
You + your lawyer · before you speak to anyone -
02
Confirm you are current on deposits
A missed or late deposit instalment puts you in breach, and a developer will not consent to an assignment from a buyer who is offside. Request a statement of account in writing.
You · developer’s conveyance department -
03
Request the developer’s assignment package
Every developer I have worked with has a standard package: an application form, their consent-fee schedule, their conditions, and the identity and source-of-funds disclosure required for provincial reporting. Ask for it in writing and ask what their current turnaround is. Two to six weeks is normal; some go longer near a completion window.
You or your realtor · developer -
04
Get the developer’s conditions in writing before you market
This is the step people skip. Ask explicitly: may the unit be advertised publicly, may it be listed on MLS, may the project name and address be used, and what price disclosure is permitted. Get the answer by email. That email is what protects you.
You or your realtor · developer · critical -
05
Price it, then find an assignee within the permitted channels
Price against what the developer is currently selling remaining inventory for, not against what you paid. If the developer still has unsold units at a price near yours, a buyer has no reason to take on assignment complexity. They will buy new, from the developer, with a clean contract. Where public marketing is prohibited, the deal moves through realtor-to-realtor networks and brokerage inventory lists.
Your realtor -
06
Sign the assignment agreement, subject to developer consent
Use the standard assignment form your brokerage and lawyer work with, and make the whole agreement conditional on the developer granting written consent. Spell out who pays the developer’s fee, who pays GST on the premium, and what happens to the assignee’s money if consent is refused.
You + assignee + both lawyers -
07
Submit for consent, and pay the fee
The developer reviews the assignee the way they would review any purchaser: identity, residency, financing capacity. Most require the assignment fee paid up front, and most will not begin review until it clears.
Developer · 2–6 weeks typical -
08
Provincial reporting: the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register
Since January 2019, developers must collect and report assignment details to the province: the identity of both parties, the price, and the amount paid. That information is shared with the Canada Revenue Agency. There is no quiet flip: this transaction will be visible to them.
Developer files · you and the assignee supply ID -
09
Funds change hands
On the assignment closing date the assignee pays your deposit reimbursement plus the premium, normally through the lawyers or brokerage trust. The developer holds the original deposits until completion; they do not come back to you directly.
Both lawyers · brokerage trust -
10
The assignee completes with the developer
Months or years later, the assignee closes the purchase, pays the balance, GST and Property Transfer Tax, and takes title. If they cannot complete, look back at step one: you may still be liable.
Assignee · developer
Ask a lawyerSteps 01, 06 and 10 all turn on the wording of your own contract. I can run the process and deal with the developer, but interpreting what your contract permits, and drafting the assignment agreement, is work for a real estate lawyer.
— 03 · Visibility
What your contract lets you advertise, and why assignments trade privately
This is the question I get most, and the honest answer is that the contract decides, not the market. Nearly every Metro Vancouver presale contract I have handled restricts public advertising while the developer still has inventory to sell, because your unit competes directly with theirs. Here is how the clauses tend to fall.
| Contract language | What it means | On MLS? |
|---|---|---|
| Express advertising prohibition “shall not advertise, market, or offer the unit for sale to the public” |
The most common form during the active sales period. Listing publicly is a breach, and a breach can cost you the right to assign, or the contract itself. | Effectively never |
| Prohibition with a sunset lifts once the developer is sold out, or within a set window of completion |
Workable, but late. By the time it lifts you are usually close enough to completion that a straight resale after closing may serve you better. | Sometimes, late |
| Marketing permitted with written consent | Genuine possibility. Get the consent in writing and ask exactly what may be disclosed; some developers allow the listing but not the project name or address. | Yes, with consent |
| Contract silent on marketing | Rare in Metro Vancouver. Silence is not permission. The assignment clause itself may still require consent for the transfer even if advertising is unaddressed. Ask anyway. | Ask first |
Where assignments do reach MLS, the listing is often deliberately vague: no project name, no unit number, sometimes no photographs, because the developer’s consent extends only that far. A thin listing is not a red flag; it is usually a compliance artifact.
So where do assignments actually trade?
Off-market, through the channels that do not constitute public advertising: realtor-to-realtor referral, brokerage-internal inventory lists, presale-specialist databases, and private buyer lists built by agents who sold the building originally. That last one matters most: the agents who worked a project’s launch usually still hold the deepest list of buyers who wanted in and missed.
If you are past understanding the mechanics and actually want to buy an assignment or get yours in front of buyers, that is a different job from this guide. I keep the off-market inventory gathered in one place on the condo assignments hub.
Ask a lawyerWhether listing your unit would breach your contract is a legal question with real consequences, including the possible loss of your right to assign. Get your lawyer’s read on the clause, and the developer’s permission in writing, before anything is advertised anywhere.
— 04 · The numbers
Presale assignment fees: a worked example, every line item
Representative Metro Vancouver deal, structured the way these actually come together. Figures are illustrative but the rates and mechanics are real.
Burnaby, Brentwood area
Contract signed 2023, completion 2027
20% deposits paid: $149,980
Agreed 2026, three years in
Before a single cost
How the money moves
The assignee pays you $215,080: $149,980 to reimburse your deposits, plus the $65,100 premium. They then owe the developer the remaining $599,920 at completion. Your deposits stay with the developer throughout; they are reimbursed to you by the assignee, not returned by the builder.
| Line item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Gross lift | $815,000 less $749,900 | $65,100.00 |
| Developer assignment fee | 1.5% of original price ($749,900) | −$11,248.50 |
| Developer administration & document fee | Flat | −$750.00 |
| GST on developer fees | 5% of $11,998.50 | −$599.93 |
| Real estate commission | 7% on first $100,000 + 2.5% on balance of $815,000 | −$24,875.00 |
| GST on commission | 5% | −$1,243.75 |
| Legal fees (assignor) | Incl. GST | −$1,260.00 |
| Transaction costs | −$39,977.18 | |
| Net before tax | What reaches you at closing. Tax is separate and personal to you, see section 05 | $25,122.82 |
Commission is negotiable and is often reduced or restructured on assignments; some brokerages charge on the lift rather than the full price, which on this deal would cut it dramatically. Developer fees vary widely: I have seen flat fees from $3,000 to percentage fees at 3% of the original price, and a few developers take a cut of the lift itself.
$65,100 became $25,123, before any tax
Fees alone consumed 61% of the gain. Measured against the $149,980 you had tied up, what is left is a 16.8% return over three years, or roughly 5.3% a year before tax. That is the return on a position you could not exit freely and could not have valued reliably at any point along the way. Tax comes off that figure, and how much depends entirely on your own circumstances. This is the calculation to run before you buy a presale intending to assign it, not after.
Ask an accountantEverything in this table is fees and commission, which I can verify. It is not tax. What you ultimately keep depends on your own tax position, and that needs a qualified accountant who has seen your circumstances.
— 05 · Timing
The B.C. home flipping tax: the same deal at ten months, and why timing is the whole game
British Columbia’s home flipping tax took effect on 1 January 2025 and applies to assignments of purchase agreements, not only to homes with title. Dispose of the contract inside 365 days and the rate is 20% of the profit. Between 366 and 730 days it tapers to zero. It is the one tax on this page driven purely by timing, which is why it belongs in your planning rather than your accountant’s alone.
| Assigned at 10 months | Assigned at 3 years | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross lift | $65,100.00 | $65,100.00 |
| Transaction costs | −$39,977.18 | −$39,977.18 |
| Net after fees | $25,122.82 | $25,122.82 |
| B.C. home flipping tax at 20% | −$5,024.56 | $0.00 |
| Before income tax | $20,098.26 | $25,122.82 |
Two cautions on that 20%. The base it applies to is defined by the legislation and is not simply the figure above, and exemptions exist for life events including separation, death, disability, job relocation and involuntary disposition. If one may apply to you, get it confirmed by a professional in advance rather than assumed. Income tax is charged separately and is not shown here, for the reason set out below.
And the federal rule underneath it
Separately, Canada’s residential property flipping rule deems a disposition within 365 days to be business income, and it was extended to cover assignments of purchase and sale agreements. On a longer hold, the Canada Revenue Agency’s general position is still that assignment profit is business income rather than a capital gain, on the basis that a contract bought with the intention of reselling is an adventure in the nature of trade. Whether that is how your own transaction is characterised is a question for your accountant, and it is worth asking before you sign anything rather than at filing time.
Why there is no tax figure on this page
I am a licensed real estate advisor, not an accountant, and the tax on an assignment depends on facts I cannot see: your other income for the year, whether you hold personally or through a corporation, your residency, your intention when you signed, and whether any exemption applies. Two people can do the identical deal on this page and keep very different amounts. So every table here stops at the last figure I can actually verify, which is what you receive after fees. Take that number to an accountant before you commit to anything, and take it early enough that the answer can still change your decision.
Ask an accountantThis section is general information about which taxes exist and when they apply. The base the flipping tax is charged on, whether an exemption covers you, and what income tax you would pay all turn on facts specific to you. Take them to a qualified accountant, and do it before you commit.
— 06 · When the number is negative
Assigning at a loss: getting out of an underwater presale contract
Every example above assumes the market moved your way. Plenty of contracts signed at the top are now worth less than the price on the paper, and the buyer’s question is no longer “what do I make” but “what does it cost me to get out.” The mechanics change in one way people consistently misunderstand, so let me run the same unit backwards.
Signed at the peak
20%, already with the developer
Undercutting the builder’s remaining stock at ~$690,000
Before any costs
The part that surprises people: you do not get your deposit back
The assignee is not buying your deposit. They are buying the finished home for $675,000, total. They will owe the developer the $599,920 still outstanding on your contract, so the most they will hand you at assignment closing is the difference: $75,080. Your $149,980 does not come back. Roughly half of it stays behind as the price drop, in cash, before you have paid a single fee.
Which leads to the threshold every presale holder in a soft market should know: your deposit percentage is your buffer, and it is the only buffer you have. At 20% down, a 20% drop from your contract price returns you exactly nothing. On this unit that is an assignment price of $599,920, precisely the balance still owing. Below that line the arithmetic inverts: you are not receiving a reduced deposit back, you are writing a cheque to the assignee for the difference, and paying the fees on top of it.
The example above is a 10% drop. That is the shallow end of what is currently trading. Here is the same contract at the depths I am seeing on assignment files now.
| Below contract | Assignment price | Assignee pays you | Fees & commission | Cash you must bring | Total loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $675,000 | $75,080 | $36,302 | none, you net $38,778 back | −$111,202 |
| 20% | $600,000 | $80 | $34,333 | $34,253 | −$184,233 |
| 30% | $525,000 | −$74,920 | $32,365 | $107,285 | −$257,265 |
Read the “cash you must bring” column before anything else. At a 10% discount the assignment still puts money back in your pocket. At 20% the deposit is entirely gone and you need roughly $34,000 in fresh cash to close. At 30% you need over $107,000 on top of a deposit already lost, and the total loss exceeds the deposit by 71%. That is the part that catches people: past the 20% line, assigning is not a way of recovering money. It is a payment you make to end an obligation, and you need the liquidity to make it. Note too that the fees barely move: the developer’s assignment fee is calculated on your original $749,900 contract, not on what you sell for, so it is $11,248.50 whether you gain $65,000 or lose $225,000.
| Line item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Deposits you have paid in | 20% of $749,900 | −$149,980.00 |
| Received from assignee | $675,000 less the $599,920 they owe the developer | +$75,080.00 |
| Price shortfall absorbed | −$74,900.00 | |
| Developer assignment fee | 1.5% of original price, charged whether you gain or lose | −$11,248.50 |
| Developer administration & document fee | Flat | −$750.00 |
| GST on developer fees | 5% | −$599.93 |
| Real estate commission | 7% on first $100,000 + 2.5% on balance of $675,000 | −$21,375.00 |
| GST on commission | 5% | −$1,068.75 |
| Legal fees | Incl. GST | −$1,260.00 |
| GST on the premium | No premium, so none payable | $0.00 |
| B.C. home flipping tax | No profit, so none payable | $0.00 |
| Cash actually returned to you | $75,080 less $36,302.18 of costs | $38,777.82 |
| Total loss | 74% of the deposit, and the contract is closed | −$111,202.18 |
Two of these are negotiable and both are worth fighting for. Commission on a loss assignment is frequently restructured: a flat fee here instead of the standard scale saves most of $21,375, and any agent who will not discuss that on a distressed file is the wrong agent. Developers also reduce or waive assignment fees more often than people expect in a soft market, because a completing assignee is worth more to them than a defaulting original buyer. Nobody gets either concession without asking.
Can you at least deduct the loss?
Possibly, and the irony is bitter. If the Canada Revenue Agency characterises your contract as an adventure in the nature of trade, meaning you bought intending to sell, the loss is generally a business loss. If you bought intending to live in the unit, it may instead be characterised as a personal-use property loss, and losses on personal-use property are not deductible at all. The buyer who was speculating may get relief. The buyer who wanted a home may get none.
I am deliberately not putting a number on either outcome, because what it would be worth to you depends on your own tax position and I have no way of knowing it. What matters here is that the characterisation is not automatic and not yours to declare after the fact: it turns on your documented intention at the time you signed. Get an accountant’s view on which side you fall before you close, not at filing time.
“I will just walk away and lose the deposit”: what that actually exposes you to
Forfeiting the deposit is not a cap on your liability. Most British Columbia presale contracts also let the developer resell the unit and pursue you for the shortfall, plus carrying costs, remarketing costs and legal fees. You do not control the resale price or the timing. And the deposit itself is harder to claw back than people assume: in Tang v. Zhang the Court of Appeal held that a true deposit is forfeited on breach without the seller having to prove any loss at all, even where they resold at a higher price. Default replaces a number you can calculate with one the developer and a court determine later.
This is not theoretical: what the courts have actually done
British Columbia developers have taken buyers who walked to court and won, and the reported awards run well past the deposit. Three decisions worth knowing before you decide anything:
| Case | What happened | What the buyer paid |
|---|---|---|
| Rhythm Living Ltd. v. Pereira 2026 BCSC 555 |
Buyers refused to close on a $799,000 new home in Sidney, arguing that unfinished extras and a moisture problem found two days before completion made the unit unlivable. The court held the unit was livable, and that the extras were a term of the contract rather than a condition allowing them to terminate. | $75,000 deposit forfeited, plus more than $143,000 in damages for the developer’s loss on resale |
| West Pender Place Reliance Properties, Vancouver, reported 2013 |
A buyer contracted in 2008 to pay $2.71 million for a Coal Harbour presale and put down a $271,000 deposit. After the crash he declined to complete, arguing the disclosure statement had not been properly delivered. The developer resold at about $2.05 million and sued for the gap. | Deposit gone, plus roughly $500,000 in damages, plus the developer’s property taxes and maintenance for the six months it took to resell. About $750,000 in total. |
| Tang v. Zhang 2013 BCCA 52 |
The Court of Appeal considered whether a defaulting buyer could recover a $100,000 deposit in a case where the seller resold at a higher price and so lost nothing at all. | Deposit forfeited anyway. A true deposit is forfeited on breach without the seller proving any damage. |
Sources: Miller Thomson and Clark Wilson on Rhythm Living; CBC News on the West Pender Place judgment; CanLII for Tang v. Zhang. Every case turns on its own facts and on the contract in front of that particular court, so none of these decides yours.
This is also live right now, not just history. The Globe and Mail found roughly two dozen separate lawsuits by B.C. developers against presale buyers who failed to complete, across projects including Zenterra’s King & Crescent and The Commons, Dawson + Sawyer’s Fleetwood Village 2, Marcon’s Hue, Mosaic’s Towns at Lynn and Westbank’s The Butterfly, with amounts claimed running from about $70,000 to $166,000. Those are claims rather than decided judgments, so treat them as a signal of behaviour rather than of outcome: developers are now routinely pursuing the shortfall instead of keeping the deposit and moving on.
Assign or default? The answer changes with the depth of the drop
I want to be straight about this, because the intuitive answer is wrong in one direction and the reflexive advice is wrong in the other. Run it honestly and the two options cross over.
At a shallow discount, assigning clearly wins. On the 10% case, assigning costs you $111,202 while forfeiting the deposit costs $149,980. You are roughly $39,000 better off assigning, and the developer probably has no further claim because their loss is smaller than the deposit they are holding.
As the drop deepens, that reverses. Once the developer’s loss exceeds the deposit they hold, the comparison stops being “my loss versus my deposit” and becomes “my transaction costs versus theirs”, and yours are higher, because you are paying a full commission and the developer’s assignment fee on top of the same price drop. On these assumptions the crossover sits somewhere around 15% below contract. At 20% and 30% down, the raw arithmetic of defaulting is modestly cheaper than assigning.
That is not a recommendation to default, and here is why the cheaper-looking number is often the worse decision:
- You lose control of the price. The developer chooses when to resell and at what. If they clear it for less than you could have assigned it for, your shortfall grows accordingly.
- Their costs are uncapped and are added to your bill: carrying costs, interest, remarketing, legal fees, potentially for years.
- It may become litigation, with a judgment against you and the collection consequences that follow. Assigning ends in a closing; defaulting can end in court.
- The exposure stays open. Assigning gives you a number, a date and finality. Default gives you an unresolved liability of unknown size.
The honest summary: assigning is clearly the better economics at moderate discounts, and at deep discounts it is a purchase of certainty rather than a saving. Whether that certainty is worth paying for is a legal and personal question, not a spreadsheet one, and it depends entirely on your contract’s wording and the developer’s appetite to pursue. Anyone who tells you the answer without reading your contract is guessing.
There is also a hard practical constraint underneath all of it: past a 20% drop, assigning requires cash you may not have. If you cannot fund the $34,000 or $107,000 to close the assignment, the choice is made for you regardless of which column looks better.
| Option | What it costs | What you are left with |
|---|---|---|
| Assign at a loss | −$111,202: known, capped, payable now. Rises to −$257,265 at a 30% discount. | Contract closed on a date you can plan around. Residual risk only if the assignee fails to complete and you were never released. |
| Complete and hold | Roughly $47,920 of extra cash at completion to cover the appraisal gap, plus GST, Property Transfer Tax and closing costs | You own the unit and crystallise no loss, but you need the cash and the mortgage qualification, and you carry it until the market recovers. |
| Walk away | $149,980 deposit gone, plus any damages claim once the developer’s loss exceeds that deposit | Cheaper than assigning on paper at deep discounts, but the amount is set by the developer’s resale and possibly a court, not by you. |
The appraisal gap on the completion option: a lender advancing 80% against a $690,000 appraisal funds $552,000, while $599,920 is owed; the $47,920 difference comes from you in cash, on top of GST and closing costs. Confirm it with a mortgage broker against your own lender before counting on completing. The default comparison above assumes the developer resells at the same price you would have assigned at and incurs roughly $25,000 of their own costs; change either assumption and the crossover moves. It is a directional finding, not a threshold to plan around.
Before you accept any of the three, ask the developer
Soft markets make developers more flexible than their paperwork suggests, and the conversation costs nothing. Things I have seen granted, and things worth requesting in writing:
- A reduced or waived assignment fee where the assignment is at or below the original price.
- An extension of the completion date, buying time for financing or for the market.
- A transfer to a different unit, or into a later phase of the same project, at current pricing.
- Permission to market publicly, which a developer who has sold out has far less reason to refuse.
- A release of the original purchaser on completion of the assignment, so the assignee’s risk stops being yours.
None of these are standard. All of them have happened. The buyers who get them are the ones who asked early, in writing, before they were in default.
Ask a lawyer and an accountantTwo different professionals, and you need both before choosing between these options. Whether defaulting exposes you to a damages claim beyond your deposit is a question for a real estate lawyer, and it depends on your contract’s wording. Whether a loss is deductible, and on what basis, is a question for an accountant. Nothing here substitutes for either.
— 07 · The other side
What the assignee pays to buy an assignment, and why they may walk
If you are selling, you need to understand the buyer’s arithmetic, because it determines whether your price is achievable at all.
| Line item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit reimbursement to assignor | Paid at assignment closing | $149,980.00 |
| Premium to assignor | Paid at assignment closing | $65,100.00 |
| GST on the premium | 5% of $65,100, not charged on the deposit portion | $3,255.00 |
| Balance to developer | At completion | $599,920.00 |
| GST on the new home | 5% of $749,900. The older new housing rebate ends at $450,000, and this 2023 contract predates the first-time buyers rebate cutoff, so neither applies here | $37,495.00 |
| Property Transfer Tax | 1% on first $200,000 + 2% on $615,000 of the full $815,000 | $14,300.00 |
| Legal fees | Incl. GST | $1,575.00 |
| Total cost of the home | $871,625.00 |
Property Transfer Tax on an assignment is charged on the total consideration, the original price plus the premium. It is not charged on what the original buyer paid. An eligible assignee buying as a principal residence may qualify for the newly built home exemption, which would remove the $14,300 entirely; confirm eligibility with a lawyer before pricing it into a deal.
The GST line moves on the original contract date
The first-time home buyers’ GST rebate can return up to $50,000 on a new home, but only where the agreement with the builder was entered into on or after 20 March 2025. An assignee does not sign a new agreement, they step into the original one, so a contract signed in 2023 or 2024 carries its date with it and the rebate is unavailable no matter how well the buyer qualifies. On the example above that is the whole $37,495. I have written up what it does to assignment pricing on both sides in the contract date trap.
Three reasons assignee financing falls apart
- The appraisal gap. Lenders appraise at completion, which may be years after the assignment. If the appraisal lands at or below the original contract price, the assignee finances against that number and must cover the premium in cash. Many buyers do not realise this until it is too late.
- No rate hold. The developer’s preferred-lender arrangements and any rate hold attached to the original contract generally do not transfer.
- Eligibility. The federal prohibition on residential purchases by non-Canadians, and the additional 20% property transfer tax on foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver, both narrow the assignee pool. Confirm status early. A developer will reject a consent application on this ground.
Ask the right specialistThree separate eligibility questions sit in this section and I cannot assess any of them for you: the Property Transfer Tax exemptions and residency rules are for a lawyer, the GST treatment and any rebate is for an accountant, and mortgage qualification and the appraisal gap are for a mortgage broker.
— 08 · Common questions
Presale assignment FAQ: what people ask me first
Can a developer refuse my assignment for no reason?
Yes, in most cases. Standard B.C. presale contracts give the developer discretion to withhold consent, and many are drafted so that discretion is absolute. A few contracts require consent not be unreasonably withheld. Check your specific wording, because the difference is significant.
How much is a typical assignment fee in B.C.?
Most commonly 1–3% of the original purchase price, plus an administration fee of a few hundred dollars, plus GST. On a $749,900 contract at 1.5% that is $11,248.50 before the administrative charge. Some developers use flat fees instead, and a minority take a percentage of the lift.
Can I list my presale assignment on MLS?
Usually not while the developer still has unsold inventory. Most Metro Vancouver presale contracts expressly prohibit advertising the unit publicly, and listing in breach of that clause can cost you the right to assign. Some contracts permit it with written consent or after the developer sells out. Read the clause and get any permission by email before your unit appears anywhere.
Do I pay GST on an assignment?
GST applies to the assignment premium at 5%, but not to the portion that reimburses your deposit. Who remits it depends on how the agreement is drafted; if the contract is silent, the assignor can end up absorbing it. Make it explicit.
Is assignment profit a capital gain?
Generally not. The Canada Revenue Agency’s usual position is that assignment profit is business income rather than a capital gain, and the federal flipping rule deems it so on holds under 365 days. How your own transaction is characterised, and what it costs you, depends on your circumstances. That is an accountant’s question, and worth asking before you sign.
Does the B.C. home flipping tax apply to assignments?
Yes. The tax, effective 1 January 2025, applies to income from assigning a purchase agreement as well as from selling a home. The rate is 20% on a disposition within 365 days, tapering to zero at 730 days. The base it applies to is defined by the legislation, and several life-event exemptions exist, so confirm your position with a professional.
How long does developer consent take?
Two to six weeks is typical once the fee is paid and the assignee’s documents are complete. Build that into your assignment agreement’s condition dates. Deals collapse on timelines more often than on price.
What if my presale is now worth less than I agreed to pay?
You can still assign, but you absorb the difference out of your deposit in cash at assignment closing. The assignee only pays you the gap between the assignment price and what remains owing to the developer. Your deposit percentage is your buffer: at 20% down, a 20% drop returns you nothing, and a larger drop means paying the assignee to take the contract. The developer’s assignment fee is still charged on a loss.
Can I just walk away from a presale and lose my deposit?
Losing the deposit is rarely the end of it. Most British Columbia presale contracts also allow the developer to resell the unit and pursue the defaulting buyer for the shortfall plus carrying, remarketing and legal costs, so forfeiture is not a cap on liability. B.C. courts have enforced this: in Rhythm Living Ltd. v. Pereira, 2026 BCSC 555, buyers who refused to close lost a $75,000 deposit and were ordered to pay more than $143,000 on top, and in Tang v. Zhang, 2013 BCCA 52, a deposit was forfeited even though the seller resold at a higher price and lost nothing. At a shallow price drop, assigning is clearly cheaper than defaulting. At a deep one the raw arithmetic can favour defaulting, but it replaces a known, closeable cost with an amount the developer’s resale and possibly a court will decide later. Get legal advice before defaulting, while assigning is still available to you.
Can I deduct a loss on a presale assignment?
It depends on why you bought. If the contract was an adventure in the nature of trade, the loss is generally treated as a business loss. If you bought intending to live in the unit, it may be a personal-use property loss, which is not deductible at all. The characterisation turns on your documented intention when you signed, so get an accountant’s opinion rather than assuming either outcome.
Am I released from the contract once the assignment closes?
Usually not. Most contracts keep the original buyer liable if the assignee fails to complete. Ask your lawyer to seek a release, and price the risk if you do not get one.
These are general answersEverything above answers a common question in general terms. None of it answers a question about your contract or your tax position, both of which need a professional who has actually read your file. Where an answer here conflicts with your contract or your accountant, they are right and this page is wrong.
— Talk it through
Send me your contract before you market anything
I have worked 20 presale launches with six developers since 2014, and I have read a lot of assignment clauses. Send me yours and I will tell you what it permits, what the developer is likely to charge, and whether assigning actually beats holding to completion in your case.
If you are underwater on a contract and completion is coming, that conversation is worth having early rather than late. There are usually more options at twelve months out than at thirty days.
Verified August 2026. Tax rates, thresholds and exemption limits change, sometimes mid-year. The figures on this page are illustrative and are set out so you can re-run them with your own numbers. They are not a quote.
This guide is general information about how presale assignments work in British Columbia. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice, and no part of it should be relied on in place of advice about your own situation. Every developer’s contract is different, and yours governs.
The calculations here deliberately stop at net proceeds after fees. They do not compute anyone’s tax, because income tax on an assignment depends on personal circumstances that vary enormously between individuals and corporations. Nothing here should be read as a projection of what you would keep. Speak to a real estate lawyer before signing an assignment agreement and to a qualified accountant about any tax consequence.
Jacky Ng, Licensed Real Estate Advisor, RE/MAX Crest Realty · Vancity Experts · ja***@************ts.com · +1 (7**********16