Understanding The Impact Of BC's Land Owner Transparency Act

Much buzz has been heard of late about the new Land Owner Transparency Act (the "Act"), which was introduced by Bill 23 (the "Bill") introduced almost a year ago in June, 2018, by the BC Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier, Carole James. The Act received Royal Assent from the BC legislature on May 16, 2019, and a copy of the Bill that the Act will be formed on can be found here: Bill 23 - 2019: Land Owner Transparency Act. The Bill was originally introduced following the BC government's 2018 budget, which saw the BC government presenting a plan known as "Homes for BC: A 30-Point Plan for Housing Affordability in British Columbia" (the "Plan"). The intention of the Plan was to address the housing crisis, 'hidden ownership' in real estate and to prevent tax avoidance and tax evasion by creating a new 'beneficial ownership registry' that would be accessible to the public (the "Registry"). The intention of the Act is to create the Registry and increase the