Land Owner Transparency Act
As of November 30 this 2020, a new Act will be affecting some Real Estate transactions.
According to this new regulation, if individual has an interest in the Real Estate, but is not registered as an owner on the Title, this individual will need to file a declaration with Land Title office. That individual, will need to declare his/her status/role with that property. It seems that our B.C. Government thinks or believes that the Real Estate market in is manipulated by the "invisible people" who have control over the Real Estate, and who are not known to the government ( for Tax purpose).
Most of the time it relates to a situation where a Numbered Company (Corp. or LTD), owns the Real Estate, and where the ownership is registered in the company name, but the Director of the company is the person that actually controls the Real Estate.
The interesting part or this regulation is, that this Act will not only affect new registrations of the Real Estate, but will also apply to the Real Estate that is currently owned and was purchased in the past. Existing "beneficial" owners will have one year to register this declaration in order to comply with this Regulation. If they are not registered in time, the penalties will apply.
This regulation extends beyond the Numbered Company compliance and also applies to individuals and families. For example: if two people (a Family) are buying a property, but only one person goes on Title and the Mortgage, the person that is NOT going on title, will still need to file this declaration. This situation will sometimes exist where one of the spouses does not qualify for the mortgage.
In order to be in compliance with this Act, Please make sure that you contact your Notary or Lawyer and make sure that this regulation does not apply to your current situation.
Sincerely,
Irina Bartnik
Notary Public
604.575.7494
