A recent BC Court decision in Dwane v. Bastion Coast Homes, 2009 BCSC 726 has determined that a Purchaser can back out of a Condo Purchase Contract if they have not been given proper disclosure of changes to the Condo plans including design changes to their unit without having been provided notice of such changes prior to signing the Purchase Contract. The judge determined that a plaintiff has a statutory right of rescission under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, S.B.C. 2004, c. 41 (the “REDM Act”) in respect of a contract to purchase strata property if the purchaser has not been given notice of amendments to the condo project and his unit prior to the purchaser signing the contract. The judge concludes:

“If a disclosure statement has already been amended by the time a purchaser signs a contract, the purchaser should know that fact and know what the amendments are, for the simple reason that the purchaser is entitled to know what it is that he or she is purchasing. To require developers to provide copies of existing amendments along with the disclosure statement is not to impose an onerous burden on them, and is consistent with the legislative objective of consumer protection”.

The judged ruled that the Real Estate Development Act provides a right of rescission to a purchaser if existing amendments were not delivered to him, along with the disclosure statement, when he entered into the agreement.

To determine whether any purchaser is entilted to statutory rescind a condo purchaser contract a detailed review of the fact circumstances would need to be made in relation to the “REDM Act” to determine whether there are grounds for a statutory recission of the contract. The full decision can be viewed here – http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/09/07/2009BCSC0726.htm