Moving Day in BC: A Checklist for Buyers and Sellers

The weeks around completion fill up with small jobs: booking movers, moving utilities, changing your address and getting the keys. Here is a BC checklist for buyers and sellers, including the 10-day address rules for ICBC and Health Insurance BC.

The short version

Before moving day

• Movers. Book them for the possession date in your contract, since completion and possession aren't necessarily the same day. Get written estimates and ask what is included and how damage is covered.
• Strata moves. Moving into or out of a condo or townhouse? Check the bylaws and rules for elevator or loading area bookings, move-in or move-out fees and deposits, and book early. A strata's move fee has to be reasonable and set out in a bylaw or in a rule the owners have ratified.
• Home insurance. Buyers, arrange your policy to start on the completion date. Under the standard contract, the home is at your risk from 12:01 am that day, and CMHC notes that property insurance must be in place on the day you close.
• Mail forwarding. Canada Post's Mail Forwarding is a paid service, for 4 or 12 months when you move. Buy it ahead of time: an online order can start as early as five days after you buy it, and you need to verify your identity, online or with government-issued photo ID at a post office.

Moving costs, hookups and strata move-in fees belong in your budget, as I explain in Closing Costs in BC.

Utilities

• Electricity. BC Hydro takes requests to start, move or cancel service online and asks you to get in touch well before your move-in date. A small charge for new accounts and moves appears on your first bill, and some accounts need a security deposit. In New Westminster, the City runs its own electrical utility, with online forms to start or end service.
• Natural gas. If the home has gas, open, close or move your FortisBC account online.
• Water, sewer and garbage. These are usually local government services, and how they are billed varies. If the home has a water meter, a final reading lets the seller pay for the water used up to the sale. In Surrey, for example, the lawyer, notary or conveyancing agent requests a special meter reading at least two weeks ahead, and the final bill goes to them.
• Internet and phone. Move or cancel your current services, and book the installation at the new home for your first day or two.

Change your address

Two of these come with a 10-day deadline, so start with them.

• ICBC. You are required to update ICBC with your new address within 10 days of moving. Your Autoplan policy must also show your current address, or you might not be covered for a claim, so update it through an Autoplan broker.
• Health Insurance BC. The Medicare Protection Act requires you to update your address within 10 days. If you have a BC driver's licence or BC Services Card, Address Change BC lets you update Health Insurance BC and ICBC together online. A photo BC Services Card gets an updated address sticker.
• The CRA. Update your address in your CRA account, by phone or with Form RC325. The CRA won't share your change of address with other departments, so contact each one yourself.
• Elections BC. A new address on your driver's licence or BC Services Card should reach the provincial voters list automatically, but Elections BC says there can be delays, so update your registration online or by phone. Local governments use the list too.
• Elections Canada. Use its Online Voter Registration Service. If you checked both Elections Canada boxes on your tax return, it may also get your new address from the CRA.
• Everyone else. Your bank, employer, insurers, schools and subscriptions. Mail forwarding doesn't cover parcels, so give senders your new address.

Possession day

You get possession on the date and at the time set out in your contract, with the home vacant unless the contract says a tenancy continues, and the keys usually come to you through your REALTOR®. I walk through the dates in From Offer to Keys. When you arrive:

• Check the condition. Under the standard contract, the home must be in substantially the same condition on the possession date as when you viewed it. Walk through every room, run the taps, try the appliances and the heat, and check that the seller's belongings are gone.
• Check the included items. Make sure everything your contract includes, such as appliances or window coverings, is still there.
• Photograph the meters. A photo of the electricity, gas and water meters on day one helps if a bill looks wrong later.
• Raise problems right away. If something is missing or damaged, call me and your lawyer or notary the same day.

Your first week

• Locks and codes. Change or rekey the locks, and reset garage door openers, alarm codes and any keypad locks.
• Smoke alarms. The Province recommends smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level, tested at least once a month and replaced every 10 years or as the manufacturer recommends.
• Carbon monoxide alarms. Health Canada notes that carbon monoxide can only be detected with an alarm. If the home has a fuel-burning appliance, such as a gas furnace, fireplace or hot water tank, make sure there is a working carbon monoxide alarm.
• Shut-offs. Find the main water shut-off and the electrical panel before you need them.
• Strata contacts. In a strata, sort out fobs, parking and storage with the strata manager or council, and confirm how notices will reach you.

Claim the Home Owner Grant

If the home is your principal residence, you must apply for the Home Owner Grant every year; it isn't automatic. If you buy in 2026, you may still qualify for the 2026 grant if the previous owner didn't claim it on the property, you didn't receive it in 2026 for another home, and you live in the home as your principal residence when you apply, since only one grant can be claimed for a property each year. Your lawyer or notary can show you how the property taxes were adjusted on your statement of adjustments. I cover the amounts and how to apply in the Home Owner Grant and property tax deferment.

For sellers: moving out

• Keep your insurance. Under the standard contract, the home stays at your risk until 12:01 am on the completion date, and BCREA's Legally Speaking suggests keeping your policy until after the possession date. Check the dates with your insurer.
• Leave it empty. Unless a tenancy continues, the buyer gets vacant possession, so remove your belongings and garbage and anything not included in the sale.
• Leave what was sold. The included items stay, and the home should be in substantially the same condition as when the buyer viewed it.
• Hand over access. Keys, fobs, garage door openers, codes, manuals and warranties, usually through your REALTOR®.
• Final readings and accounts. Ask your lawyer or notary whether the City needs a final water meter reading, and close or move your electricity and gas accounts for the day you hand over possession.
• Strata move-out. Book the elevator or loading area, and pay any move-out fee set out in your strata's bylaws or ratified rules.

Questions buyers and sellers often ask me

How soon do I have to change my address with ICBC after I move?

Within 10 days. Your Autoplan policy must also show your current address, or you might not be covered for a claim.

Can I update ICBC and Health Insurance BC at the same time?

Yes. If you have a BC driver's licence or BC Services Card, Address Change BC lets you update both online, but your Autoplan policy is updated through a broker. Health Insurance BC also has a 10-day deadline, under the Medicare Protection Act.

When should my home insurance start?

For buyers, on the completion date, because under the standard contract the home is at your risk from 12:01 am that day. Sellers should keep their coverage until after the possession date.

Do I need a final meter reading when I sell?

If the home has a water meter, ask your lawyer or notary whether the City needs one; in Surrey, they request a special reading at least two weeks ahead. Close or move your electricity and gas accounts too.

Can I claim the Home Owner Grant in the year I buy?

Yes, if the previous owner didn't claim it on the property that year, you didn't receive it that year for another home, and you live there as your principal residence when you apply.

Buying and selling at once? Read Buying and Selling at the Same Time and the BC selling process from listing to completion.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines and steps come from ICBC, Health Insurance BC, the CRA, Canada Post, Elections BC, Elections Canada, the utilities and the City of Surrey, current at the time of writing, and your contract sets your own dates. For ICBC's rules, see moving and your licence.