The NDP government is launching its own review of B.C.’s real estate regulators, two years after they were overhauled by the previous Liberal government.
The review will examine the roles and responsibilities of the Real Estate Council of BC and the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate, to be led by former public servant Dan Perrin, the province said Wednesday.
“Buying and selling property can be stressful, and people need to trust the professionals they are working with,” Finance Minister Carole James said in a news release.
“Our duty as a government is to make sure the regulatory system is protecting people and functioning effectively.”
READ MORE: New rules to ban Realtors from representing both buyers and sellers
READ MORE: Proposed rules will impact rural realtors
B.C. real estate agents were self-regulated from 2005 until 2016, when then-premier Christy Clark appointed a new, dedicated superintendent of real estate to oversee the real estate council.
This followed revelations of a practice in Metro Vancouver called shadow-flipping, in which real estate agents and allied speculators insert themselves as middlemen in property deals to exploit local sellers and offshore buyers.
Clark had said the real estate sector had 10 years to successfully adopt self-regulation, and failed.
Recommendations from the review will be delivered to the finance ministry by June 15.
@ashwadhwaniashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
