BCFSA Proposes Changes to Real Estate Teams

On February 23, the province’s real estate regulator, the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) released proposed amendments to the Real Estate Service Rules intended to clarify the role and duties of real estate teams and team members. Teams play an important role for licensees; they can allow families or partners to work together, facilitate larger sales volume and lead generation, provide mentorship opportunities, improve work-life balance, allow for specialization of skills, and normalize income. However, the regulatory framework would benefit from defining teams and providing more clarity about how team members should conduct their professional activities. 

BCFSA is conducting a 60-day consultation on the following proposed requirements: 

• all teams must register with BCFSA, 
• teams include two or more licensed members, 
• team members provide services through their team only, and 
• team members clearly identify their team name in all advertising.  

BCFSA is also proposing Rule changes to align trust account reporting requirements for real estate brokerages with upcoming changes to Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation deposit insurance protection rules to eliminate duplication and streamline information reporting requirements for brokerages. 

Last year, BCREA submitted recommendations to BCFSA based on a consultation with REALTORS^® to understand how team structure can be improved. We appreciate BCFSA’s continued consultation on these issues to understand what is best for consumers and licensees.  

We support BCFSA’s desire to define ‘teams,’ as we previously recommended in 2021, and we will continue to consult Realtors to ensure the definition is as clear and balanced as possible. We will be conducting a series of focus groups with managing brokers and franchisees in the coming month to understand how the proposed changes will impact Realtors.  

We have ongoing questions for BCFSA, such as ensuring an adequate time for teams to adapt to the changes and how to support managing brokers through the transition.  

We encourage Realtors to provide their feedback to BCFSA’s consultation, which is open until April 24. To learn more, check-out BCFSA’s Annotated Rules and Frequently Asked Questions.

To subscribe to receive BCREA publications such as this one, or to update your email address or current subscriptions, click here.