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.

To combat money laundering, the Province of B.C. is increasing transparency and improving safeguards in the real estate industry.

Learn more about the actions the Province of B.C. has taken to tackle money laundering in real estate, including with our federal partners.

Actions the Province of B.C. has taken

Land Owner Transparency Registry

B.C.’s Expert Panel on Money Laundering in Real Estate report identified disclosure of beneficial ownership as the “single most important measure that can be taken to combat money laundering”. A beneficial owner is a person who ultimately owns or controls a corporation, trust or partnership.

The Land Owner Transparency Act requires reporting bodies (relevant corporations, trustees and partners) that own real estate or hold certain other interests in land to file a transparency report identifying the beneficial owners with the Land Owner Transparency Registry.

This publicly accessible registry is a tool that provides a clearer picture of who owns and holds interest in land in B.C.

The Province of B.C. continues work to expand access to Land Title and Survey Authority data to ensure relevant authorities have the information they need to investigate, detect and deter money laundering, tax evasion and other crimes in real estate.

Elimination of search fee

The Land Title and Survey Authority has eliminated search fees to provide better access to the database.

To learn more about the elimination of search fees for the Land Owner Transparency Registry, see Improved transparency will fight money laundering.

Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register

Like the Land Owner Transparency Registry, the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register is an online register to track assignments of pre-sale condos. The register provides the Province of B.C., the B.C. Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with information about the pre-sale market to make B.C.’s real estate market more transparent and fair for people in B.C. This includes ensuring condo assignment transactions are reported and the appropriate taxes are assessed and paid. The information from the register is also used to inform future housing and tax policy.

Starting January 1, 2025, those who assign their presale contract may be subject to the BC home flipping tax. The BC home flipping tax will apply to income earned from the sale of presale contracts that were held for less than 730 days. The tax is imposed under the Residential Property (Short-Term Holding) Profit Tax Act.

New Mortgage Services Act

The Cullen Commission found the regulation of B.C. mortgage brokers did not provide the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) with sufficient oversight of mortgage brokers, increasing the risk of money laundering in the mortgage services market.

The Province of B.C. is modernizing the regulation of mortgage brokers, lenders, and administrators with the new Mortgage Services Act. When brought into force, the act will:

• Provide clear licensing, registration, record-keeping, reporting, and other regulatory requirements for mortgage brokers to ensure greater oversight and enforcement
• Allow the BCFSA to develop rules for licensing and licensee conduct for mortgage brokers
• Require that a principal broker is accountable for ensuring regulatory compliance
• Provide for significant penalties for non-compliance

Partnership with the Government of Canada

The Province of B.C. recommended that the Government of Canada take action to prevent money laundering through mortgage lending businesses. Effective October 2024, mortgage brokers, administrators and lenders will be subject to the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. This means that mortgage professions will be required to meet federal reporting, compliance, record keeping and know-your-client requirements. These requirements will make it more difficult to launder money through mortgages.