Cemeteries serve as a permanent resting place for our loved ones and can provide a place for people to visit and remember the family members and friends they have lost. When people pre-plan their funeral arrangements, that often includes choosing where they would like to be interred (laid to rest). Choices can include a grave site, crypt or niche to store their cremated remains. However, sometimes plans change – for example, a person may move away and choose another location where they want to be laid to rest. When this happens, people may try to resell their right of interment through online ads.
Tips on purchasing a place of interment
If you are considering purchasing a place of interment through an online ad, there are many things to consider. First, it’s important to know that when you purchase a right of interment you are purchasing the right to be interred (buried) in the space but you are not, in fact, purchasing the land. The land and control of it belong to the cemetery.
In British Columbia, not all cemeteries allow the reselling of places of interment. It is up to the individual cemetery’s bylaws whether they will buy a right of interment back, have right of first refusal to buy the right of interment or if they will allow the reselling of a right of internment to a third party.
Things to know before you purchase
Before you consider purchasing a right of interment through someone else, take the time to find out:
- Does the cemetery allow the sale of a right of interment to a third party?
- Are there restrictions on the size of memorial you can place on the land?
- Are there restrictions on the number of interments that can occur in the plot you are purchasing?
- Are there other bylaw requirements such as the purchase of a grave liner when interment takes place?
Pre-planning for final arrangements can reduce the stress on family and friends during a difficult time, but we encourage you to make an informed decision when it comes to purchasing a place of interment. For more information about funeral services in BC, visit our consumer help page.
ADDITIONAL READING:
Steps to take following a death
Your preneed cemetery or funeral services contract rights
Cemetery and funeral services: do you know your rights?
Have you had “The Talk?” Top 5 things you need to know about funeral services
Can I be buried on the family farm?
Consumers should also be aware that there are some cemeteries who offer the transfer of those plots or niches to other cemeteries across the country. This allows consumers to take advantage of the savings they accrued by preplanning.
I have a plot for sale, how do I go about doing that?
Hi Shannon, thank you for reaching out to us here. Would you mind giving our inquiry centre a call? I think we may need more information from you in order to provide you with information. Our phone number here is 1.888.564.9963 and we are open tomorrow again at 8:30 – 4:30. Thanks!
It would be REALLY useful if ConsumerProtectionBC would explain how to obtain the contract of licensing arrangement when seller has inadequate records – who is entitled to that info and how do you get it as plots are not listed in any registry. Why not start one or expand Land Titles? You might also explain whether and how GST and provincial tax apply to the transaction and which party is liable. Some straight facts on the application of capital gains would also be helpful as CRA is so insistently NOT helpful. This information should not be so hard to obtain. I shouldn’t need a subscription to TaxPro to get it. Pls be more helpful. Selling unwanted burial plots is an excellent way for beneficiaries to obtain some benefit for all the additional care we provide to aging parents, who are living so much longer today.
Hello and thank you for your inquiry. As your questions are very specific, I will pass on your email address to our licensing team so someone can get in contact with you directly. Please stay tuned!
My grandfather passed many years ago. He and my grandmother purchased two plots, side by side. She has just recently passed and we discover her burial plans changed. She has been buried in a different cemetary. My grandfathers’ sister has shown interest in purchasing the plot as she would like to be buried beside her brother. How difficult is it to sell and transfer plot title? What would the approximate cost? Thank You
Hi Cheryl, sorry to hear about your loss of your grandmother. When it comes to reselling of the burial plots, as this blog post suggests, not all cemeteries allow the reselling of places of interment. It is up to the individual cemetery’s bylaws whether they will buy a right of interment back, have right of first refusal to buy the right of interment or if they will allow the reselling of a right of interment to a third party. So you may have to contact the cemetery directly and see what their policies are as well as the cost. I hope you will be able to work this out with the cemetery.
My parents moved around a bit in the last 30 years before coming to stay in the town we now live in. I’ve been trying to consolidate their plans before they pass so we aren’t caught unprepared. They purchased plots in the Lower Mainland in the 1960s but now live in the Interior and are unable to travel. I want to get them plots up here and offload the ones they purchased. I’m hoping not to screw this up and am not entirely sure of the process.
Hi Keith, thank you for contacting us. In British Columbia, not all cemeteries allow the reselling of places of interment. It is up to the individual cemetery’s bylaws whether they will buy a right of interment back, have the right of first refusal to buy the right of interment or if they will allow the reselling of a right of internment to a third party. So it is best to check with the cemetery your parents dealt with. They will be able to tell you what their bylaw is. I hope this information is helpful to you.
I also have an aging parent that does not want her burial plot. I have contacted the cemetery and they said I can sell privately if I wish or they will buy back at original cost plus 80% which is not to my moms advantage but the cemeteries as they charge an enormous fee for a plot now. I would like to know where I might find what pertinent information is required to sell privately.
Hi Jocelyn, thanks for your question. The cemetery is the one that decides whether customers can resell plots (it would be within their bylaws) – this isn’t something that our laws address, so I can’t offer much advice on how to go about selling. I would suggest doing a bit of independent research and also speaking with the cemetery to find out what info they can pass along to you to help facilitate the sale.