Fixtures and Chattels: What Stays With the House When You Buy in BC

When you buy a home in BC, your contract decides which light fixtures, appliances, window coverings and backyard items come with it, and anything it leaves unclear can turn into a possession-day dispute. Here is what the standard contract includes by default, the usual grey areas, how to word inclusions and exclusions, and what to do if something is missing when you get the keys.

The short version

Fixtures, chattels and the standard contract

The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) has described a fixture as an item so incorporated into real property that it may be regarded as legally part of it. A chattel is personal property that moves with you, such as furniture.

If your offer is written on the standard Contract of Purchase and Sale, the form published by BCREA and the Canadian Bar Association (BC Branch), its included items section has read much the same for years:

• Included by default. The price includes any buildings, improvements, fixtures, appurtenances and attachments, and all blinds, awnings, screen doors and windows, curtain rods, tracks and valances, fixed mirrors, fixed carpeting, and electric, plumbing, heating and air conditioning fixtures, as viewed by the buyer at the date of inspection.
• Including. A line for anything else that stays, such as the appliances.
• But excluding. A line for anything the seller is taking that would otherwise stay, such as a dining room chandelier.

Two more clauses matter. The property and all included items must be in substantially the same condition at the possession date as when the buyer viewed them, and they stay at the seller's risk until 12:01 am on the completion date. BCREA's Legally Speaking notes that possession is usually one to three days after completion, so by the time you walk in, the sale has usually closed.

How disputes are decided

When an item isn't named, the CRT applies a long-standing test, as clarified by the BC Court of Appeal, which starts with two presumptions:

• Resting by its own weight. An item that isn't attached, other than by its own weight, is presumed to be a chattel.
• Attached even slightly. An item attached even slightly is presumed to be a fixture.
• The details. Either presumption can be overturned by looking at how firmly and permanently the item is attached and, in some cases, the purpose of attaching it.

Small details decide cases. In a 1996 BC Supreme Court case described in Legally Speaking, a garage door opener's electrical unit, a display shelf screwed to a wall and a cooktop built into a counter were fixtures, but a built-in convection oven and the canister of a central vacuum were chattels. In Butterman v. Kilburn (2020), the CRT found that shelves, pegs and hooks, most of them hung on nails, were not fixtures. In Smith v. McGillis (2024), it found that a backyard shed sitting on a platform on the ground wasn't included. The shed was in the listing photos and at the viewing, but the contract excludes representations that aren't written into it.

The usual grey areas

• Light fixtures. Electric fixtures are on the default list, so a chandelier or pendant wired into the ceiling generally stays unless it is excluded.
• Window coverings. Blinds, curtain rods, tracks and valances are included, but curtains and drapes aren't on the list. If you want the drapes, or a seller plans to take custom shades, put it in writing.
• Appliances. The default list doesn't name them, and built-in ones have gone both ways, so name every appliance that stays, such as the fridge, stove, dishwasher, microwave, washer and dryer.
• Wall-mounted TVs. In a 2010 Provincial Court case the CRT relied on, items simply hanging on hooks or screws were chattels, while items that had to be unscrewed were fixtures. By that logic, a TV that simply hangs on its mount may go while the mount stays, so say what happens to each; in the 2020 case, the addendum had the seller remove the TV mounts and patch, prime and repaint the holes.
• Hot tubs. One set into a deck or hard-wired is likely attached, while a plug-in one sitting on a pad may rest by its own weight. Either way, name it, along with its cover and steps.
• EV chargers. A charger hard-wired into the home's electrical system is attached, while a plug-in unit is easy to unplug and take. Name the charger if you want it. In a condo or townhouse, the charger at your stall may also involve the strata, which I cover in Parking Stalls and Storage Lockers.
• Sheds. As the 2024 case shows, a shed resting on the ground may not be included even when it appears in the listing photos, so name it.
• Plants and garden items. Potted plants and planters rest by their own weight, so they are presumed to be chattels the seller can take. If a seller plans to dig up a favourite shrub, or a buyer is counting on the planters, say so in the contract.

How to word inclusions and exclusions

Legally Speaking has long advised completing the included items section with a list, so that nobody has to argue later about whether something was a fixture or a chattel. A few habits help:

• Be specific. Describe each item and where it is. General words don't settle much: in one case Legally Speaking describes, adding "all chattels and non fixtures" to the exclusions, without a list, contributed to the dispute.
• Cover working order if it matters. For a promise that the appliances work, ask for a term like the appliance warranty in BCFSA's sample clauses: the seller warrants that the major appliances are included and will be in good working order on the possession date, subject to reasonable wear and tear.
• Deal with removals. If the seller is taking a mounted TV, shelving or a light fixture, say what replaces it and who repairs the wall or ceiling.
• Keep it in the contract. A listing description or a photo isn't enough, as the 2024 shed case shows.

For example: "Including: refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, washer and dryer, the living room drapes and the garden shed. But excluding: the dining room chandelier, which the seller will replace with a working ceiling light before possession."

For sellers

• Decide before you list. Tell your REALTOR® what you plan to take, so the listing and every offer reflect it.
• Swap it out early. The default list covers fixtures as the buyer viewed them, so the simplest way to keep a favourite light fixture is to replace it before photos and showings.
• Repair what you remove. In the 2020 case, nail holes patched without sanding or painting left the walls short of substantially the same condition, and the CRT awarded the buyer $600 for repainting.
• Leave what was sold. Included items stay, in the condition the buyer viewed them. Leave their remotes and manuals too.

If something is missing on possession day

Walk through the home as soon as you get the keys and compare it with your contract, as I describe in my moving day checklist. If an included item is missing or damaged:

• Record it. Take photos and note what is missing or changed.
• Call right away. Tell your REALTOR® and your lawyer or notary the same day, and ask, through the REALTORS®, for the item back or a payment toward a replacement.
• Know the next step. If you can't agree, the CRT resolves most small claims up to $5,000, and the Provincial Court hears small claims up to $35,000. A lawyer can tell you how strong your claim is.

Because the sale has usually completed by then, prevention works better. BCFSA's sample clauses include one that gives the buyer access to the home a set number of times before completion, on 24 hours' notice, so you can check the included items before the money changes hands.

Questions buyers and sellers often ask me

Are appliances included when you buy a house in BC?

Not automatically. The standard contract's default list doesn't name them, so list each one that stays, such as the fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer and dryer, on the including line.

Can the seller take the light fixtures?

Generally not, unless they are excluded. Electric fixtures are on the standard contract's default list, so a seller who wants to keep one should exclude it in writing or replace it before showings.

Do curtains and blinds stay with the house?

Blinds, curtain rods, tracks and valances are included by default, but curtains and drapes aren't on the list. Name them in the contract if you want them.

Is a shed included when you buy a house?

Not necessarily. In 2024, the CRT found that a shed resting on a platform on the ground was not included, even though it appeared in the listing photos, so name it in the contract.

What can I do if the seller took something that was supposed to stay?

Call your REALTOR® and your lawyer or notary the same day, and ask for the item or its value. If you can't agree, the Civil Resolution Tribunal resolves most small claims up to $5,000, and the Provincial Court hears small claims up to $35,000.

Making an offer soon? Read how subject clauses work and what the Property Disclosure Statement covers, and if you are selling, see the BC selling process from listing to completion.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It draws on the standard Contract of Purchase and Sale, BCFSA's sample clauses, BCREA's Legally Speaking, the Province and decisions of the Civil Resolution Tribunal, current at the time of writing, so ask a lawyer or notary about your own contract. For an example of how the tribunal decides these disputes, see Smith v. McGillis, 2024 BCCRT 443.