Money laundering and real estate

Money laundering can occur through real estate transactions that involve the purchase, construction, financing, sale or rental of one or more properties.

Actions taken by the B.C. government

Real estate transactions—including property construction, purchase, financing, sale or rental—can be used to launder money. To address these risks, the B.C. government is taking action to improve safeguards and increase transparency across the sector.

On this page

• Modernizing mortgage regulation
• Enhancing ownership transparency 
• Partnership with the Government of Canada

Modernizing mortgage regulation

The Mortgage Services Act and its newly approved regulations will modernize the regulation of mortgage brokers, lenders, and administrators and responds to recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia (the Cullen Commission). The Mortgage Services Act will come into force on October 13, 2026.

Key features of the Mortgage Services Act include:

• Stronger consumer protections to ensure homebuyers receive fair and transparent mortgage advice
• New licensing categories dealing in mortgages, trading in mortgages, administering mortgages, and mortgage lending
• Clear record-keeping, reporting, and conduct requirements to ensure accountability and prevent misconduct
• Expanded powers for the B.C. Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) to investigate and enforce standards
• Enhanced anti-money laundering measures, including improved detection of suspicious transactions
• Significant penalties for non-compliance to support enforcement

A 15-month transition period has been set to give the mortgage services industry and the BCFSA time to prepare. Learn about this on BCFSA’s Mortgage Services Act website.

Enhancing ownership transparency

Hidden ownership of real estate can enable money laundering by concealing the true source of illicit funds and making them appear legitimate.

To address this risk, the B.C. government is enhancing ownership transparency through the following actions:

Land Owner Transparency Registry

B.C.’s Expert Panel on Money Laundering in Real Estate report identified beneficial ownership transparency as the “single most important measure that can be taken to combat money laundering”. 

Under the Land Owner Transparency Act, relevant corporations, trustees and partners that own or hold certain other interests in real estate must file a transparency report identifying beneficial owners with the Land Owner Transparency Registry.

This publicly accessible registry is a free to use tool that sheds light on who owns real estate in B.C.

Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register

The Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register tracks pre-sale condo assignments to improve ownership transparency, assist with tax enforcement and support evidence-informed policy development.

As of January 1, 2025, the BC home flipping tax generally applies to income earned from the sale of pre-sale contracts that were held for less than 730 days. 

Data access

The B.C. government continues work to expand access to the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia data for relevant authorities to support the detection and investigation of money laundering and tax evasion in real estate.

Partnership with the Government of Canada

The B.C. government recommended that the Government of Canada take action to prevent money laundering through mortgage lending businesses. As of October 2024, mortgage brokers, administrators and lenders are subject to the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. This means mortgage professionals must meet federal reporting, compliance and record-keeping requirements, making it more difficult to launder money through mortgages.