Category: Non-Residents

I own a quarter-share in Whistler, do I pay Underused Housing Tax (UHT)? Yes! The quarter-share property has one freehold title, which is divided into four shares termed sub-leases. The non-resident owner of each quarter-share must use the property for 28 days to avoid paying a penalty.

Now this is where it gets interesting. Should one of the owners buy out one or more of the other three sub-lease owners in the same title or deed, the UHT requirement for that person stays at 28 days. For example, 101 A, B, C, and D, the owner of Unit 101 A and B is now the same non-resident. But, only 28 days of usage is required, not 2 x 28.

Yes! Phase 2 properties can be identified by the hotel name attached to the building, for example, the Westin. These are business income properties and for non-residents, the 28 days of use still applies to avoid the 1% UHT penalty.

The benefit of a phase 2 over a phase 1 is that you can use your phase 2 for up to 56 days and then rent out the rest of the year. Whereas the owner of a phase 1 property is up to 35 days of legal usage, and then must rent it out the rest of the year, if they are renting it out at all. Now that’s 3 weeks of legal use difference.

Yes!! There is no foreign buyer ban in Whistler, British Columbia. Non-residents are welcome to buy Whistler real estate.

The Government of Canada announced that the foreign buyer ban would extend to January 2027, and after that who knows! I’m Marion Anderson, and I help people buy real estate and Whistler.

No. The LLC arrangement for business ownership is not offered in Canada. In Canada a holding company, or Holdco is a firm that exercises control over any asset class. A Holdco earns money by collecting dividends.

For Canadian mortgages in a company name the company has to be registered in British Columbia. This is a holding company and everyone who is a shareholder personally guarantees the mortgage.