UPDATE: Learn Ten Things About LOTR in Under One Minute

Updated on May 12, 2021, to reflect that the Land Owner Transparency Registry is now publicly searchable.

The Land Owner Transparency Registry, or LOTR, is a publicly accessible registry of information about individuals who have an indirect interest in land that is held through corporations, trusts and partnerships. Here are ten things REALTORS® can learn about LOTR in just under one minute:

1. LOTR became publicly searchable as of April 30, 2021. You can learn more about how to search LOTR here.
2. When an application is made to register or transfer an interest of land as defined by the Land Owner Transparency Act (LOTA), a transparency declaration must be filed by the transferee(s).
3. A transferee that is also a reporting body as defined by LOTA – a relevant corporation, a partner of a relevant partnership, or a trustee of a relevant trust – must also file a transparency report.
4. Reporting bodies must take reasonable steps to obtain and confirm the accuracy of all required information in the transparency report.
5. Transparency reports are generally prepared by lawyers or notaries.
6. LOTR provides a tool to help identify if filing a transparency report is required.
7. Pre-existing owners that are reporting bodies have until November 30, 2021, to file a transparency report (unless land or interest in land is transferred by this date).
8. Public searches of LOTR can be done by name or parcel identifier.
9. Information about individuals who are interest holders or settlors that is submitted in a transparency report will not be publicly accessible or at least 90 days after the transparency report is filed.
10. The BC land title register is the sole source of up-to-date official and public record of who owns lands, and the charges and interests that relate to the land titles. In contrast, LOTR provides information about individuals who have an indirect interest in land that is held through corporations, trusts and partnerships; information that is not available through a land title search.

If If you'd like to learn more about LOTR and how it impacts your real estate practice, you can visit www.landtransparency.ca and check out the resources below:

• Land Owner Transparency Registry Filings Required Beginning November 30
• Three Things to Know About the Land Owner Transparency Act and Registry
• Legally Speaking #533: A Whole Lot to Know About the Land Owner Transparency Act
• PODCAST: Episode 13 - What REALTORS® Need to Know About Land Owner Transparency
• Community of Practice Recording from April 21

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