1995 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 35th Parliament
THIRD READING
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Certified correct as passed Third Reading on the 11th day of May, 1995
Ian D. Izard, Law Clerk
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 Section 1 of the Real Estate Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 356, is amended
(a) in the definition of "agent" by adding the following:
(e.1) collects, attempts to collect or offers to collect money
(i) payable as amounts levied by strata corporations under the Condominium Act, or
(ii) payable under a licence to occupy real estate; ,
(b) by repealing the definition of "cooperative corporation" and substituting the following:
"cooperative corporation" includes a housing cooperative under the Cooperative Association Act, any other corporation as defined in the Company Act and any partnership or limited partnership that is the owner of land, where a majority of the persons entitled to occupy all or a portion of that land, or the buildings on it, is, or is intended or entitled to become, the shareholders, owners or partners, directly or indirectly, of that housing cooperative, other corporation, partnership or limited partnership; , and
(c) in paragraph (e) of the definition of "subdivision" or "subdivided land" by striking out "commercial, industrial or apartment building" and substituting "commercial or industrial building".
2 Section 14 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:
(2) An agent must maintain in the Province in a savings institution or savings institutions one or more trust accounts, designated as trust accounts both in the agent's records and the records of the savings institution or institutions.
3 Section 15 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "his trust account" and substituting "a trust account maintained in the Province in accordance with section 14", and
(b) by adding the following subsection:
(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), an agent or licensee employed by an agent may receive money in respect of a real estate transaction that is to be paid or is made payable to a person other than the agent if
(a) by written agreement separate from any agreement giving effect to the real estate transaction, the parties to the real estate transaction agree that the money be paid or be made payable to that other person, and
(b) the agent or licensee ensures that the money is paid to, or is made payable to and immediately delivered to, that other person, in accordance with that written agreement.
4 Section 18.1 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:
(1) The Real Estate Foundation is continued as a corporation consisting of the members of its board of governors.
5 Section 18.7 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:
(2) The Real Estate Errors and Omissions Insurance Corporation (the "corporation") is continued as a corporation consisting of its directors.
6 Section 18.73 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out everything before paragraph (b) and substituting "Not later than May 31 in each year, the corporation
(a) shall cause a report to be prepared as to the insurance fund and all dispositions made from it during the 12 month period that ended at the end of February in that year,", and
(b) in subsections (1) (b), (2) and (3) by striking out "Superintendent of Insurance" and substituting "Superintendent of Financial Institutions".
7 Section 18.74 is amended by striking out "Superintendent of Insurance" wherever it appears and substituting "Superintendent of Financial Institutions".
8 Section 19 (1) and (2) is repealed and following substituted:
(1) For the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this Act and the regulations, the superintendent or any person authorized by the superintendent may conduct, and the council or any person authorized by it, when directed by the superintendent, must conduct, an inspection or examination of the books, records and accounts of any licensee or former licensee at times or by persons the superintendent determines.
(2) On an inspection or examination under this section, the superintendent or the council and any person authorized in writing by the superintendent or the council are entitled to free access to all books, records and accounts of the licensee or former licensee.
9 The following section is added:
25.1 (1) Before assisting or representing any person in a real estate transaction, a licensee must disclose to that person
(a) the nature of the assistance or representation that the licensee will provide to the person,
(b) whether the licensee is, or will be, acting in the real estate transaction on behalf of any other person, in any capacity,
(c) whether the licensee is, or will be, receiving remuneration relating to the real estate transaction from any other person,
(d) the nature of the licensee's relationship with any other person from whom the licensee is, or will be, receiving remuneration relating to the real estate transaction, and
(e) any other particulars that may be prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) If, during the course of a real estate transaction in which a licensee is assisting any person, there is any material change in the facts that the licensee has disclosed under subsection (1) to that person, the licensee must disclose the change to that person immediately.
10 Section 44 is amended by adding the following paragraphs:
(b.1) exempt persons and classes of persons from the application of paragraph (e.1) of the definition of "agent" in section 1 in prescribed circumstances and on prescribed conditions;
(f.1) prescribe the forms of disclosures that, under section 25.1 of this Act or under the regulations, must be made by licensees to the persons entitled to receive the disclosures;
(f.2) prescribe the particulars referred to in section 25.1 (1) (e);
(f.3) require licensees to disclose prescribed types of information to persons who are or may be involved in a real estate transaction in which the licensee is or may be also involved, in any prescribed capacity;
(f.4) for the purpose of a regulation made under any of paragraphs (f.1) to (f.3),
(i) classify, according to the nature of their involvement or potential involvement in the real estate transaction, both the licensees making the disclosures and the persons entitled to receive the disclosures, or
(ii) prescribe differently for the different classes of licensees or persons; .
11 Section 49 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:
(1) In this Part:
"approving authority" means, in a municipality, the municipal council, or outside a municipality, the regional board of a regional district;
"approving officer" means the appropriate person appointed under section 77 of the Land Title Act;
"developer" means a person who, as principal,
(a) sells or leases, or offers or proposes to offer for sale or lease, subdivided land or more than 4 time share interests in one time share plan, or
(b) sells, offers or proposes to offer for sale, more than one shared interest in land relating to the same parcel or parcels of land,
but does not include a purchaser from the developer, or any subsequent purchaser, where the purchase is in respect of not more than 4 lots, 4 strata lots, one cooperative unit within a subdivision, 4 time share interests in one time share plan or one shared interest in the same parcel or parcels of land;
"shared interest in land" means a person's interest in one or more parcels of land, as one of 2 or more owners of the parcel or parcels, where, as part of any transaction or arrangement relating directly or indirectly to the acquisition of that interest, the right to the use and occupation of the parcel or parcels of land is limited to a portion of the parcel or parcels that is less than the entire parcel or parcels.
12 Section 50 is amended
(a) by repealing subsection (1), and
(b) by adding the following subsection:
(2.2) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of land in the Province on which a subdivision is proposed for the purpose of leasing space in a building.
13 The following sections are added:
50.01 (1) A developer or person acting on behalf of a developer must not sell or offer for sale or knowingly assist in the sale or offering for sale of a shared interest in land situated within or without the Province, unless a prospectus in the form and including the particulars required under section 51 has been
(a) submitted to the superintendent by the developer or person, and
(b) accepted and filed by the superintendent.
(2) A developer or person acting on behalf of a developer must not sell or enter into any contract for the sale of a shared interest in land situated within or without the Province, unless
(a) a true copy of the prospectus referred to in subsection (1) has been delivered to the prospective purchaser,
(b) the prospective purchaser has been given the opportunity to read the prospectus, and
(c) the developer or person acting on behalf of the developer has taken a receipt from the prospective purchaser acknowledging the oppor tunity to read the prospectus.
(3) For a period of 3 years after taking a receipt referred to in subsection (2) (c), the developer must retain the receipt on file and produce it for inspection by the superintendent at the superintendent's request.
50.02 (1) Sections 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 48 apply with the necessary changes and so far as applicable to a developer, and to a person acting on behalf of a developer, to whom section 50.01 applies.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a developer, or a person acting on behalf of a developer, to whom section 50.01 (1) applies, deposits money in an interest earning trust account, the developer or person is entitled to the interest earned by the money deposited from the sale of the first 1/3 of shared interests in land offered by the prospectus.
(3) A developer or person acting on behalf of a developer, to whom section 50.01 applies, must hold all money received from a purchaser of a shared interest in land in the manner required by sections 14, 15 and 16 until
(a) an instrument evidencing the purchaser's title to the shared interest in the land has been registered in the appropriate land title office,
(b) an instrument evidencing the purchaser's right to occupy a specific portion of the parcel or parcels of land to which the shared interest in land relates has been delivered to the purchaser, and
(c) that specific portion is ready for occupancy.
50.03 A person who is a developer or is acting on behalf of a developer must not sell in the Province or offer for sale in the Province or knowingly assist in the sale or offering for sale in the Province of a shared interest in land situated without the Province unless
(a) the person is a licensed agent or is a licensee employed by a licensed agent,
(b) the agent has advised the superintendent in writing that the agent is the developer or has consented to act on behalf of the developer, as the case may be, and that the agent's employed licensee, if any, has consented so to act,
(c) the agent agrees to hold in a trust account maintained in the Province in accordance with section 14 all money representing deposits or any other consideration paid by a purchaser with respect to the transaction in accordance with section 63, for a period of at least 90 days after the money is received by the agent, and whether or not the transaction has been completed,
(d) there is printed or stamped in conspicuous type on the face of the prospectus required to be delivered under section 50.01 (2) the words "Delivered on behalf of the developer by __________, whose address is __________", with the name of the agent and the place in the Province where the agent carries on business, and
(e) all matters have been completed, in the jurisdiction in which the shared interest in land is situated, to ensure that the developer or person is able to deliver, to each purchaser of a shared interest in land, a good, safeholding and marketable title to that interest.
50.04 (1) A developer or person acting on behalf of a developer must not sell or offer for sale or knowingly assist in the sale or offering for sale of a shared interest in land situated within the Province, unless the developer or person has applied for and obtained the approval, to the intended sale or offering, of
(a) the appropriate approving authority, if the land contains at least one building that is intended to be occupied under a right of use and occupation limited as set out in the definition of "shared interest in land" in section 49, or
(b) an approving officer, if the land does not contain at least one building intended to be so occupied.
(2) For the purpose of an application under subsection (1) to an approving authority for approval to an intended sale or offering for sale of a shared interest in land that contains at least one building described in subsection (1) (a),
(a) section 9 (1) to (4) of the Condominium Act applies in respect of the intended sale or offering as if it were an intended conversion of the land and building or buildings into strata lots under the Condominium Act, and
(b) in considering whether to grant or refuse the approval, the approving authority must treat the intended sale or offering as if it were an intended conversion of the land and building or buildings into strata lots under the Condominium Act.
(3) Within 2 months after receiving an application under subsection (1) for approval to an intended sale or offering for sale of any shared interest in land described in subsection (1) (b), or within another period that may be prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the approving officer must
(a) approve the intended sale or offering,
(b) refuse to approve the intended sale or offering, or
(c) refuse to approve the intended sale or offering until terms and conditions imposed by the approving officer are met.
(4) An approving officer who under subsection (3) (b) or (c) refuses to approve an intended sale or offering must forthwith notify the applicant in writing, stating briefly the reasons for the refusal, and, in the case of a refusal referred to in subsection (3) (c), must set out the terms and conditions in the notice.
(5) The approving officer, in making a decision under subsection (3), must consider the public interest and must take into account
(a) any criteria that may be prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and
(b) any matters that the approving officer considers to be relevant.
(6) On granting approval to an intended sale or offering for sale of a shared interest in land that is the subject of an application under subsection (1), the approving authority or approving officer must issue a certificate of approval in the form required by the superintendent.
(7) This section does not apply to a shared interest in land that is part of a parcel in which at least one shared interest in land has, before the date this Act receives First Reading in the Legislative Assembly, been sold by or on behalf of the developer under an enforceable agreement of purchase and sale to a person dealing at arm's length from both the developer and any person acting on behalf of the developer.
[Note: This Act received First Reading in the Legislative Assembly on April 26, 1995.]
14 Section 50.1 is amended
(a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:
(1) Notwithstanding sections 50 to 50.03, the superintendent may permit a person to submit a disclosure statement to the superintendent instead of a prospectus and, on submission of the duly completed statement, the superintendent shall, notwithstanding section 57 (1), accept it for filing. , and
(b) in subsection (3) (b) by striking out "or time share interest" and substituting ", shared interests in land or time share interests".
15 Section 51 is amended
(a) by repealing subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following:
(1) Every prospectus to which section 50 or 50.01 relates must be a statement in writing dated and signed by every person who is at the time of the filing of the prospectus a developer or a director of a corporate developer of the subdivided land, shared interests in land or time share interests referred to in it and by any other person required by the superintendent.
(2) A prospectus to which section 50 or 50.01 relates must contain a full, true and plain disclosure relating to the real estate, time share interests, strata lots or cooperative units proposed to be sold or leased or to the shared interests in land proposed to be sold, including particulars prescribed by the superintendent for each category.
(2.1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council, on conditions he or she prescribes, may provide for the exemption from the provisions of this Part
(a) of subdivisions for or in connection with industrial development, or
(b) of the sale or offering for sale of shared interests in land for or in connection with industrial development.
16 Section 53 is amended
(a) by adding the following subsection:
(3.2) Every prospectus submitted to the superintendent under section 50.01 relating to an intended sale or offering for sale of a shared interest in land must be accompanied by
(a) a certificate of a solicitor verifying the contents of parts of the prospectus prescribed by the superintendent, except those parts that are proposals,
(b) an affidavit of every developer or of a director of each corporate developer declaring
(i) that every matter of fact stated in the prospectus is correct, and
(ii) that a true copy of it will be delivered to the prospective purchaser,
(c) any certificate of approval for the proposal that is issued in accordance with section 50.04 (6) by an approving officer or by the appropriate approving authority,
(d) a copy of any relevant management agreement,
(e) a copy of any agreement, instrument or other record setting out or evidencing any rights and obligations of the owner of the shared interest in land forming part of any parcel of land, in relation to other owners of interests, shared or otherwise, in the same parcel of land, and
(f) records the superintendent requires to support any statement of fact, proposal or estimate set out in the prospectus. , and
(b) by repealing subsections (4) and (5) and substituting the following:
(4) In giving a certificate, referred to in subsection (1) (a), (2) (a), (3) (a), (3.1) (a) or (3.2) (a), that requires reference to foreign law, a solicitor may rely on the opinion of a person qualified in that foreign law who is acceptable to the superintendent.
(5) Every prospectus submitted to the superintendent
(a) under section 50 for a subdivision relating to the conversion of one or more buildings by means of a cooperative corporation or strata plan, or
(b) under section 50.01 relating to an intended sale or offering for sale of a shared interest in land that contains one or more buildings
must be accompanied by a complete and current report prepared and signed by a registered architect or engineer, or by any other person, acceptable to the superintendent, as to the age, physical condition and state of repair of each building, its heating, plumbing, electrical fixtures and equipment, elevators, roof, drainage and its general condition and repair of the structure and of its foundations.
17 Section 54 is amended by striking out "or time share interest he" and substituting ", shared interests in land or time share interests the superintendent".
18 Section 56 is amended by adding "50.01, 50.02," after "Sections 50,".
19 Section 57 (1) is amended
(a) by adding "or 50.01" after "section 50", and
(b) by repealing paragraph (e) and substituting the following:
(e) that the subdivision, the real property subject to the time share interest, the time share interest or the land that is the subject of one or more shared interests in land
(i) is subject to a mortgage, lien or other encumbrance, that secures or evidences payment of money and that affects the time share interest, the real property subject to the time share interest, the subdivided land, more than one lot, parcel or strata lot of the subdivided land or the land that is the subject of one or more shared interests in land, or
(ii) is subject to an agreement that affects more than one lot, parcel, strata lot or time share interest or which affects the land that is the subject of one or more shared interests in land, by which agreement the developer, subject to terms or conditions of payment or otherwise, holds an option or right to purchase the subdivided land, the real property subject to the time share interest, the time share interest or the land that is the subject of one or more shared interests in land, unless
(iii) there exists in that mortgage, lien, encumbrance or agreement an unconditional provision that the purchaser of each time share interest, lot, parcel or strata lot or shared interest in land can obtain title or other interest contracted for free and clear of that mortgage, lien, encumbrance or agreement on compliance with the terms and conditions of the purchase,
(iv) an agreement that is satisfactory to the superintendent has been irrevocably made that the entire sum of money paid or advanced by each purchaser of a time share interest, of a lot, parcel or strata lot or a portion of it, or of a shared interest in land, shall be deposited in escrow in a depository acceptable to the superintendent until
(A) a proper release is obtained from that mortgage, lien, encumbrance or agreement,
(B) either the vendor or the purchaser defaults under the contract of sale and there is a determination of the disposition of the money, or
(C) the vendor orders the return of the money to the purchaser,
(v) the title to the subdivision, the real property subject to the time share interest or the time share interest or shared interest in land is to be held in trust under an agreement of trust accept able to the superintendent until a proper release from the mortgage, lien, encumbrance or agreement is obtained, or
(vi) there is compliance with any alternative requirement or method that the superintendent may deem acceptable.
20 Section 58 (1) and (3) is amended by striking out "or the time share interest," wherever it appears and substituting "or the shared interests in land, or the time share interests".
21 Section 59 (1) (a) and (b) is amended by striking out "or time share interest" wherever it appears and substituting ", shared interests in land or time share interests,".
22 Section 62 is repealed and the following substituted:
62 (1) No promise or agreement to purchase or lease any subdivided land or time share interest is enforceable against the purchaser or tenant by a person who has breached any of the provisions of this Part, or by a successor in title of that person.
(2) No promise or agreement to purchase any shared interest in land is enforceable against the purchaser by a person who has breached any of the provisions of this Part, or by a successor in title of that person.
23 Section 63 is amended
(a) by repealing subsections (1) to (1.3) and substituting the following:
(1) Where a person has entered into a contract in the Province to purchase or lease subdivided land situated without the Province, a time share interest situated without the Province or to purchase a shared interest in land situated without the Province, and
(a) any of the provisions of this Part have not been complied with, and
(b) the person is a purchaser, owner or lessee named in the contract to purchase the subdivided land or time share interest or is a purchaser or owner named in the contract to purchase a shared interest in land,
the person may rescind the contract, at any time up to one year after the date that the contract was entered into and while the person remains the beneficial owner, by serving written notice of rescission on the developer or the agent for the developer.
(1.1) A person who has entered into a contract in the Province
(a) to purchase or lease a time share interest, situated within or without the Province,
(b) to purchase or lease subdivided land situated within the Province, or
(c) to purchase a shared interest in land situated within or without the Province
and who continues to be beneficially entitled to an interest in the subdivided land, the shared interest in land or the time share interest, may rescind the contract by serving written notice of rescission on the developer or the developer's agent, in the case of a contract relating to a shared interest in land or a time share interest within 7 days after, and in the case of a contract relating to subdivided land within 3 days after, whichever date is the later,
(d) the date the contract was entered into, or
(e) the date the person received a copy of the prospectus required under this Part in respect of that subdivided land, shared interest in land or time share interest.
(1.2) Subsection (1.1) does not apply to a sale
(a) in respect of which a prospectus is not required to be filed under section 50 or 50.01, or
(b) in respect of which a prospectus was filed or ought to have been filed under this Part before subsection (1.1) came into force.
(1.3) A developer or a developer's agent who receives money from a person purchasing a shared interest in land situated within or without the Province, acquiring a time share interest situated within or without the Province or purchasing or leasing subdivided land situated within the Province must place the money in a trust account in the Province and must not withdraw it until after the applicable time period referred to in subsection (1.1) or, where the person exercises the right under subsection (5), until the time provided for in section 50 (8) (c) or 50.03 (c) has expired. ,
(b) by repealing subsection (5) and substituting the following:
(5) Where a person has entered into a contract in the Province
(a) to purchase or lease subdivided land situated without the Province,
(b) to purchase or lease a time share interest in real property situated without the Province, or
(c) to purchase a shared interest in land situated without the Province,
the deposit and other consideration payable by the purchaser or lessee to the developer with respect to the transaction may be paid, at the option of the purchaser or lessee, to the agent referred to in section 50 (8) or 50.03 (c).
(5.1) For the purposes of a contract, the payment shall be deemed to be valid payment under the contract and every contract for the purchase or lease of the subdivided land or the time share interest, or for the purchase of the shared interest in land, shall be deemed to be amended accordingly. ,
(c) in subsection (6) (a) by adding "a shared interest in land or" before "a time share interest,", and
(d) in subsection (6) (a) and (b) by striking out "(5)" and substituting "(5.1)".
24 Schedule 1 of the Regulations Act, S.B.C. 1983, c. 10, is amended by striking out "Superintendent of Insurance" wherever it appears and substituting "Superintendent of Real Estate".
25 Section 1 (a) comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
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