Is a Verbal Agreement or Text Message Binding When Buying or Selling a Home in BC?
“• In BC, a contract to buy or sell land generally has to be in writing and signed by the person you are trying to hold to it (Law and Equity Act, section 59). A handshake, a phone call or a “sounds good” text does not meet that test on its own.
• In April 2025, the BC Supreme Court decided *Ross v. Garvey*. The judge found that the parties had agreed on the terms, but would not enforce the deal because the sellers never signed and a thumbs-up emoji was not a signature.
• Electronic signatures are fine. The problem in that case was that no one on the seller’s side ever signed anything, by hand or electronically.
• There are narrow exceptions, including a deposit being paid and accepted, but they are not something to plan around.
• The simple protection for both sides: nothing is agreed until the Contract of Purchase and Sale is signed by everyone, in ink or through a proper e-signature platform.”
The short answer: no signature, no enforceable deal on a BC home
WHAT THE LAW ACTUALLY SAYS
I get this question more than you might expect, usually after a quick back-and-forth by text with a private seller, a neighbour or a family member. Someone says "deal," someone replies "great," and now both people wonder where they stand.
BC's Law and Equity Act, section 59(3), says a contract respecting land cannot be enforced unless one of three things is true. First, there is a writing, signed by the person being held to the contract (or their agent), that shows the contract was made and reasonably describes what it covers. Second, that person did something, or went along with something the other side did, that shows a consistent contract was made. Third, the other side relied on the deal so heavily that enforcing it is the only fair result.
The default rule is a signed writing. The other two routes are exceptions, and a court decides whether you qualify after the fact.
WHAT HAPPENED IN ROSS V. GARVEY
The case is Ross v. Garvey, 2025 BCSC 705, decided by Justice Brongers on April 15, 2025. It involved a property in Saanich that was being sold privately. The buyer made a signed offer, the sellers rejected it, and one of them then emailed back a marked-up version he called a counteroffer. Neither seller signed it.
The buyer accepted that counteroffer by email, then sent a text confirming he had done so. One seller replied to the text with a thumbs-up emoji. The sellers later sold to someone else, and the first buyer sued.
The judge found that a contract had been formed. But the buyer still lost. The court held that the signature box was blank, that sending an email from a Gmail account was not a signature, and that a thumbs-up emoji was not one either. A signature, the judge wrote, has to be some kind of formal inscription, made by hand or electronically, that reflects the identity of the person who made it.
CAN AN E-SIGNATURE, EMAIL, OR TEXT COUNT?
Yes, an electronic signature can count. The same decision reviewed BC's Electronic Transactions Act and confirmed that offers and acceptances can be made electronically, and that an electronic signature can satisfy a signature requirement. That is why signing a Contract of Purchase and Sale through a signing platform works, and it is how most North Shore deals are done today.
What did not work was a casual reply with no signature attached. A Saskatchewan court reached the opposite result on a thumbs-up emoji in a grain contract, so this area of law is not fully settled across the country. In BC, though, the most recent word on land is that the emoji does not do the job.
WHAT ABOUT A VERBAL PROMISE
A verbal agreement is the weakest of all. With nothing in writing, the person trying to enforce it has to fit within one of the exceptions in section 59(3), such as the other side doing something that shows a contract was made. The Act specifically says that a deposit paid and accepted counts as one of those acts. That is a reason for caution on both sides: money changing hands can make a loose agreement look a lot more real than either person intended.
Courts can and do sort these situations out, but it is slow, costly and unpredictable. And in the meantime, a lawsuit like this one often comes with a certificate of pending litigation on the property's title, which can stop the owner from selling it to anyone else.
ONE RELATED POINT: OFFERS CAN BE PULLED UNTIL THEY ARE ACCEPTED
BCREA's Legally Speaking series explains that an offer, or a counteroffer, can be revoked at any time until it is accepted. Once someone accepts it, it becomes a contract that cannot simply be revoked. BCREA also recommends that anyone revoking an offer do it in writing and ask for confirmation, since a verbal revocation invites misunderstandings. If you are further along and wondering whether you can walk away, my post on backing out after removing subjects covers that stage.
| How the deal was made | Meets the signed-writing rule? | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal agreement or handshake | No | Only enforceable if an exception in section 59(3) applies, such as an accepted deposit. Unpredictable and costly. |
| Email or text saying "I accept," unsigned | No | In Ross v. Garvey, sending an email from a personal account was not a signature. |
| Thumbs-up emoji | No, in BC | The BC Supreme Court (2025) held an emoji is not a signature. A Saskatchewan court saw a grain contract differently. |
| Electronic signature on the contract | Yes | BC's Electronic Transactions Act allows an electronic signature to satisfy a signature requirement. |
| Handwritten signature on the Contract of Purchase and Sale | Yes | The clearest route. The contract should reasonably describe the property and show the agreement was made. |
Sources: Law and Equity Act, RSBC 1996 c 253, s. 59 (BC Laws); Ross v. Garvey, 2025 BCSC 705. General information only, not legal advice.
What This Means for You
If you are a buyer, do not treat a text, an email or an emoji as the moment a house is yours. Until the Contract of Purchase and Sale has been signed by the seller, the seller can generally still walk away. Keep your offer, your counteroffers and your acceptance in the signed form, and keep your deposit instructions in the contract rather than in a message thread.
If you are a seller, the same rule protects you. A casual "yes, that works" to a buyer is not a sale. But please do not rely on that as a way to keep your options open. Even where a court would not enforce a deal, you can end up in a legal dispute, and a certificate of pending litigation can sit on your title while it plays out. If you are not ready to commit, say that clearly and in writing.
This comes up most with private sales, where there is often no agent or lawyer reading the paper trail. If you are selling to someone you know, my post on why I would still bring in representation for a private sale explains how a short, structured process avoids this kind of confusion. Many common contract questions are also answered on my North Shore real estate FAQ page.
I am a realtor, not a lawyer, and one court decision does not settle every situation. If you are already in a dispute about whether you have a deal, speak to a real estate lawyer before you do anything else.
Considering a Move?
If you are thinking about buying or selling on the North Shore, get in touch with me here and we can talk it through at your pace.
Related Reading
Can One Realtor Represent Both the Buyer and the Seller in BC?
Who's Responsible If a Home Is Damaged Before Closing in BC?
604.317.4464
Matt@RossettiRealty.ca
About Matt Council
Matt Council is a North Vancouver Realtor and West Van specialist with a background in finance, focused on a data-driven, pressure-free approach to buying and selling on the North Shore.