INVESTIGATING and accessing information about land ownership in B.C. is about to get easier for law enforcement agencies, journalists and researchers with the elimination of search fees for the Province’s Land Owner Transparency Registry (LOTR).
“Money laundering fuels the toxic-drug crisis and gang violence on our streets and takes away housing from hard-working British Columbians who play by the rules – and we’re fighting back,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Finance, on Friday. “Through the registry, we’re shining a light on hidden property ownership and money laundering in the housing market, and now we’re strengthening that work to detect and fight tax evasion, money laundering, and other criminal activity in B.C.”
The Province and the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) are collaborating to improve transparency by allowing search of LOTR records at no cost as of April 1, 2024. The current fee is $5.25 per record.
In 2019, an independent panel of experts found that improving beneficial ownership transparency is the single most important measure the Province can take to combat money laundering. In 2022, the Cullen Commission recommended allowing LOTR searches at no cost for law enforcement and regulators. In response to the advocacy of stakeholders and journalists, the Province is going beyond that recommendation to allow searches at no cost for everyone.
“Making the Land Owner Transparency Registry more accessible supports compliance and enforcement efforts to crack down on hidden ownership in B.C. and ensures B.C.’s real property market is trusted and transparent,” said Al-Karim Kara, CEO, Land Title and Survey Authority.
LOTR is the only registry of its kind in Canada and is an important part of B.C.’s anti-money-laundering work.
Niamh Leonard, executive director, Transparency International Canada, said: “The ability to search the registry free of cost will meaningfully improve access for law enforcement, regulators, researchers, journalists and civil society groups.”
Sasha Caldera, campaign manager, Publish What You Pay Canada, said: “Removing the search fee is a welcome step and will make B.C.’s registry an example for other jurisdictions to follow.”
Quick Facts:
* LOTR is a registry of information about individuals with an indirect interest in land through corporations, trusts and partnerships. LOTR is administered by LTSA, and the Province is responsible for compliance and enforcement.
* As of December 21, 2023, the registry had accepted 553,068 transparency declarations involving 553,234 individual properties, and 137,068 transparency reports involving 261,379 properties.
Learn More:
For more more information about LTSA, visit:Â https://ltsa.ca
For more information about LOTR, visit:Â https://landtransparency.ca
For more information about compliance and enforcement, visit:Â https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/
To read the independent report from the 2018 Expert Panel on Money Laundering, visit https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/
