BC Real Estate Regulatory Design

The BC Government has announced a review of BC’s real estate regulators to ensure that consumers in the real estate market are effectively protected.

While more details are still to come, this review will examine the roles and responsibilities of the two co-regulators, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia and the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate.

This co-regulatory model was established in 2016, following the recommendations of the Independent Advisory Group. BCREA recognizes the importance of consumer protection and welcomes robust regulatory powers, but we believe that the regulatory design could be streamlined.

In the current system, the role of each regulator is unclear, which creates uncertainty for consumers and licensees. These dysfunctions do not help or protect BC consumers.

BCREA raised these concerns in a productive meeting with the Minister of Finance in April, and we are pleased to see the BC Government is addressing this issue. The review ends on June 15, 2018, and we look forward to participating constructively.

More information:

• Review of real estate regulators to strengthen protections, BC Government News Release
• BCREA position on real estate regulatory design (April 2018)

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