First of its Kind

On November 30, 2020, the new Land Owner Transparency Act (“LOTA”) and the Land Owner Transparency Registry (“LOTR”) came into effect. LOTR was introduced to record and disclose the identities of individuals who are beneficial interest holders of real property in British Columbia. LOTR allows the public to search for information on individuals that directly or indirectly hold interest in real property through certain corporations, partnerships and trusts.

Why is this important?

Now every time an application is made to register an interest in real property in British Columbia (e.g. you buy a home), a Transparency Declaration must be filed by the transferee. The Transparency Declaration must indicate whether or not the transferee is a reporting body as defined below. If the transferee is a reporting body, it must file a Transparency Report completed in accordance with Division 3 (Content of Transparency Reports) of LOTA, which sets out information about the reporting bodies’ interest holders.

In addition, a new Transparency Report must be filed when there is a change in the reporting body or in an interest holder’s information, whether or not the registered ownership (name on title) of the real property has changed. And finally, existing reporting bodies with an interest in real property must file a Transparency Report by the recently extended deadline, November 30, 2022.

The following are considered as reporting bodies that must file the Transparency Report:

  • relevant corporations;

  • relevant trusts; and

  • relevant partnerships;

Fines for Non-Compliance

The following fines may be imposed for failure to file a report or for providing misleading or false information:

• a person, other than an individual who commits an offence is liable to a fine of not more than the greater of: $50,000, and 15% of the assessed value of the property to which the transparency declaration or Transparency Report relates; and

• an individual, who commits an offence is liable to a fine of not more than the greater of $25,000, and 15% of the assessed value of the property to which the transparency declaration or Transparency Report relates.

Once filed, the general public can search and obtain partial information about the ownership interest in land. More sensitive and personal information such as date of birth and social insurance number, although required for filing, is not accessible by the public and remains accessible only to regulators, taxing authorities and law enforcement entities.

Only legal professionals can submit these documents on your behalf. Our firm can assist you with the preparation and submission of the required filings described above.

This information has not been tailored to your specific circumstances. It does not constitute legal advice and may not be relied upon as such. For more information please refer to landtransparency.ca .