The Government of British Columbia recently brought in legislation, creating The Land Owner Transparency Registry (the “LOTR”).
The LOTR is a registry of information about individuals who are deemed to have an indirect interest in land (e.g. through corporations, trusts and partnerships). This information will be housed in a searchable, public database and, as of April 30, 2021, the public can search the LOTR, by the name of a person (individual or corporation) or by parcel identifier (PID) of a piece of land. Only individuals listed in a transparency report as a reporting body, an interest holder or a settlor are searchable in the LOTR. A fee of $5.00 per LOTR search applies.
LOTR has received a total of just under 8,000 transparency reports, since the registry was launched on November 30, 2020.
It is important to note, that pre-existing owners that are “reporting bodies” (as defined in the legislation) with an interest in land are required to file a transparency report by November 30, 2022 (amended). If you think that you are a pre-existing owner of an interest in land, please contact our office to discuss what action may be required to comply with the Land Owner Transparency Registry obligations.
Our lawyers regularly deal with the issues set out in this article, and many other issues related to or arising from real estate, corporate and trust matters.
If you have any questions or would like advice related to real estate, corporate and trust matters, please contact us at 604-688-4900 or by email at paul@barbeau.co or morgan@barbeau.co