Living in one unit and renting or selling the others

Two ways to hold the building when you stay

The first way is to keep the building on one title. The owner lives in one unit and is the landlord of the others under the Residential Tenancy Act. Nothing is sold, and there is no strata corporation. The building can later be sold only as a whole, unless it is stratified.

The second way is to deposit a strata plan, keep the owner's own unit as one strata lot, and sell or rent the others. Each lot gets its own title under section 249 of the Strata Property Act. Under section 247, each residential strata lot carries one vote, so an owner who keeps 2 of 4 lots holds 2 of the 4 votes. Section 16 sets the first annual general meeting by the number of lots sold: the 6-week window starts when 50% plus one of the lots have been sold, or 9 months after the first sale if that comes first. Until then, the owner developer acts as the council.

The order matters. Under section 241, a strata plan for a building no one has occupied needs only a land surveyor's endorsement. If the owner moves into one unit and rents the others before the plan is deposited, the building has been occupied, and section 242 sends the plan to city council for a decision that cannot be appealed. An owner who may ever want to sell units should consider depositing the strata plan before anyone moves in, then renting the strata lots they keep. Section 141 prevents a strata from restricting rentals of those lots.

The principal residence exemption in a building with several units

The principal residence exemption lets an individual avoid tax on the gain when they sell the home they ordinarily live in, for the years they designate it. The CRA's Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C2 (modified 30 January 2024) lists the kinds of property that can qualify, including "an apartment or unit in a duplex, apartment building or condominium". The folio also says land of up to one-half hectare under and around the home is not usually questioned as part of the residence. One-half hectare is 5,000 square metres.

The harder question is the rental part. For a new multiplex where some units are built as rentals from the start, those units were never part of your home, and how the gain on the land is split between your unit and the rented units is a question to settle with an accountant. For an existing home where part is converted, paragraph 2.57 of the folio says that when a principal residence is partly converted to an income-producing use, the owner is treated as having sold that part at its share of fair market value and bought it back at the same amount. The share is usually worked out by area. Paragraph 2.58 says this applies where the change is substantial and permanent, with a structural change, and gives as an example the conversion of part of a house into a self-contained unit for rental income: "a duplex, triplex, etc."

Paragraph 2.59 sets out when the CRA does not apply that rule: the income use is ancillary to the main use as a home, there is no structural change, and no capital cost allowance, the tax deduction for wear on a building, is claimed. Paragraph 2.60 gives renting one or more rooms in the home as an example that meets those conditions. A self-contained rental unit is the paragraph 2.58 case.

Since 19 March 2019, paragraph 2.60.1 says an owner can elect under subsection 45(2) of the Income Tax Act that the deemed sale on a partial change in use does not happen. The election is a signed letter filed with the tax return for the year the change happened. The folio says capital cost allowance should not be claimed on the property for years the election covers, and a claim ends the election from the first day of that year. Have an accountant review this before the first tenant moves in, and bring the floor plans and the date each unit was first rented.

Flipping rules: the federal 365-day rule and BC's 730-day tax

Two separate flipping rules can reach a multiplex unit sold soon after it is acquired. The federal rule is in subsection 12(12) of the Income Tax Act. The CRA folio says residential property sold on or after 1 January 2023 that was owned for less than 365 consecutive days is a flipped property, other than inventory. Profit on it is business income, fully taxed, and the principal residence exemption does not apply. A loss on it is treated as zero. Exceptions cover life events such as a death, a household change, a relationship breakdown, a threat to safety, serious illness, an eligible move for work or school, loss of a job, insolvency, and the destruction or expropriation of the home.

The provincial rule is the BC home flipping tax. It took effect on 1 January 2025 and applies to a property with a housing unit, a property zoned for residential use, or a right to buy either, sold within 730 days of acquisition. The rate is 20% of net taxable income for a sale within 365 days, and it falls over the next 365 days until it no longer applies at 730 days (as of the gov.bc.ca page updated 8 June 2026). An owner who held the property at least 365 consecutive days and lived there as a primary residence may deduct up to $20,000 from taxable income.

For a landowner building a multiplex, the provincial exemptions matter most. The province's page on builders and building activity (updated 8 May 2026) says a property is exempt if a housing unit is demolished and a new one is built, or if a housing unit is added, such as a basement suite or a second unit on the lot. The work must follow the local government's bylaws or the BC Building Code. These exemptions apply only if the owner files a BC home flipping tax return, which is due within 90 days of the sale.

One question the province's pages do not answer is how the 730 days are counted when a lot owned for years is stratified and a new strata lot is sold. The page on portions of property (updated 8 May 2026) does not cover subdivision or stratification. Ask the ministry at ITBTaxQuestions@gov.bc.ca before you sell, and keep the answer in writing.

GST when the owner lives in one of the units

CRA guide RC4052 includes an exception to the self-supply rule for individuals. A builder who is an individual, who uses the housing, alone or with a related person, more than 50% as a place of residence, and who claimed no input tax credits on it, may not be treated as having made a self-supply. In a fourplex where the owner lives in one of four equal units and rents the other three, ask your accountant how that more-than-50% test applies to your building before you rely on it.

Selling a unit is a different case. RC4052 says that when a builder of new housing sells it, the sale will generally be taxable, so GST at 5% applies and the buyer may claim a rebate. The first-time home buyers' GST/HST rebate in CRA memorandum 19-3-10 (dated October 2026) is 100% of the GST up to $50,000 on a new home valued up to $1,000,000, reduced between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 and gone at $1,500,000. The memorandum covers a residential condominium unit, so a strata unit in a multiplex can qualify.

The same rebate can apply to an owner who builds their own home. Paragraph 57 of the memorandum says construction must begin on or after 20 March 2025 and before 2031 and reach substantial completion before 2036. The owner must be 18 or older, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, must not have owned and lived in a primary residence in the current year or the four years before, and must be the first to live in the home. Paragraph 12 says a building with only two residential units generally counts as a single unit residential complex. For a building of three or more units, check with the CRA how the rebate applies to the unit you live in.

Short-term rentals and the unit next door

An owner who lives in the building has more short-term rental options than one who lives elsewhere. In municipalities of 10,000 people or more, the provincial principal residence requirement allows short-term rentals of the host's own home plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property (gov.bc.ca page updated 21 September 2026). The page says any accommodation separate from the home where the host lives, sleeps and eats counts as a secondary unit. It does not name multiplexes, so confirm with the province before listing a second unit in a multiplex for stays under 90 days, and register each unit you list.

City rules apply on top of the provincial rule, and a strata adds a third layer. Section 7.1 of the Strata Property Regulation lets a strata fine up to $1,000 for each breach of a bylaw that limits vacation or temporary accommodation (as of 23 October 2026). If the owner keeps enough strata lots to pass a 3/4 vote, the owner also has a large say in whether such a bylaw exists. Write the plan for your own unit and the unit next door into the bylaws filed with the strata plan, so every buyer reads it before they sign.