The short version: a Representation Agreement lets someone named as a "representative" make personal care and, in limited ways, routine financial decisions for an adult who can't make those decisions themselves. But it's genuinely easy to confuse with a Power of Attorney — and for real estate specifically, a standard Representation Agreement generally does not authorize selling a home. That almost always still requires a separate enduring Power of Attorney.
Section 7 vs. Section 9: the real difference
BC's Representation Agreement Act allows two different kinds of agreements, named for the sections of the Act that create them:
- Section 7 (RA7): can be made by an adult even with somewhat limited capacity, as long as they can still express their wishes and understand the basic nature of what they're signing. It can cover personal care, most healthcare decisions (though not end-of-life decisions), legal matters, and routine financial matters — but specifically excludes real property.
- Section 9 (RA9): requires the adult to have full capacity at the time of signing, and generally provides broader authority over health and personal care, including end-of-life decisions.
Neither type is generally the right tool for authorizing a real estate sale — that's a meaningful limitation worth understanding before assuming an existing Representation Agreement covers everything.
Why real estate needs a separate document
Because a standard Representation Agreement doesn't extend to real property, selling a home on someone's behalf almost always requires a properly prepared enduring Power of Attorney instead — see our Power of Attorney & Real Estate guide for what that actually requires. Many families set up both documents together as part of a complete plan: the Representation Agreement handling health and day-to-day decisions, the enduring POA specifically handling financial and property matters.
Mark Jontz sees this mix-up regularly: a family assumes an existing Representation Agreement covers everything, only to discover partway through planning a sale that real property was never actually included. Confirming exactly which documents exist — and what each one actually authorizes — is one of the first things worth sorting out, ideally before a property is listed.
If there's no Power of Attorney, only a Representation Agreement
If someone has become incapable and only has a Representation Agreement in place — with no enduring POA covering real property — selling their home generally requires applying to the BC Supreme Court for Committee of the Estate, a more involved process than simply using an existing authorization document. Worth understanding early, since the committeeship process can take real time to complete.
This page provides general information about BC's Representation Agreement Act and is not legal advice. Please have any existing documents reviewed by a lawyer or notary to confirm exactly what they authorize.