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Report from Council Newsletter, February/March 2017

Report from Council Newsletter, February/March 2017

Report from Council
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  • Answer our quiz below to ensure you’re doing everything you should to keep your Personal Real Estate Corporation in good standing. If you’ve answered “no” to any of these questions, take steps right away to make sure you’re complying with the rules and regulations for Personal Real Estate Corporations.

    Have you filed your Annual Report?

    The Business Corporations Act requires holders of Personal Real Estate Corporations to file an Annual Report each year. You must send the Annual Report to the Registrar of Companies within 60 days of the anniversary of your incorporation. If you don’t, the Registrar of Companies may begin dissolution proceedings on your corporation. Learn More…

    Do you understand the restrictions on Personal Real Estate Corporations?

    There are very specific limitations on the activities that a Personal Real Estate Corporation may undertake. Make sure that you have not contravened any of the requirements for Personal Real Estate Corporations under the Real Estate Services Act and Regulation. The Council strongly advises that any licensee with questions about these requirements should get professional accounting or legal advice. Learn More….

    Do you know the status of both your individual licence and your Personal Real Estate Corporation licence?

    If a Personal Real Estate Corporation is unlicensed, both you and your managing broker can face discipline — so make sure that you’ve kept both licences up to date. Use the Licensee Search on the Council’s website to check on the status of your licences. Learn More….

    Are you keeping current with information from the Real Estate Council?

    The Council has a useful online Guide to Personal Real Estate Corporations that answers many of the common questions about Personal Real Estate Corporations and includes a step-by-step guide to licensing. We recommend that anyone thinking of incorporating and licensing a Personal Real Estate Corporation read it carefully.

    Then, get independent professional legal and accounting advice to help you understand whether a Personal Real Estate Corporation is the right choice for you — and if it is, how to make sure you satisfy all the ongoing legal requirements. Learn More…

    Remember… when a Personal Real Estate Corporation is not appropriately licensed with the Real Estate Council, not maintained in good standing with the Registrar of Companies, or not controlled or operated in accordance with the Real Estate Services Regulation, the licensee who owns it and their managing broker may both face discipline.

  • At its January meeting, the Real Estate Council approved changes to the Council Bylaws, introducing pre-hearing conferences as part of the Council’s disciplinary or qualification processes. And what exactly is a pre-hearing conference, you ask?

    Pre-hearing conferences are meetings held with licensees in advance of a disciplinary hearing, or with prospective applicants who are required to participate in a qualification hearing to determine if they are suitable for licensing. Used by a growing number of regulators, pre-hearing conferences help to make hearings run more smoothly and efficiently. They give licensees the opportunity to make sure in advance that they understand what will be expected of them at the hearing, and that they have all the information they need — so that there are no surprises at the hearing. ln complex cases, if numerous witnesses will be called, or if there are many documents to deal with, pre-hearing conferences can help to simplify and clarify issues ahead of time for everyone, resulting in hearings that are more focused, and more effective.

    Pre-hearing conferences are not open to the public — they are opportunities for the parties to ensure in advance that they are fully prepared for the hearing. As well, licensees still have the ability to submit a consent order proposal to the Council up to 21 days in advance of a scheduled disciplinary hearing if they decide to admit to the allegations against them.

    I encourage you to take time to read more about pre-hearing conferences and the recent additions to our bylaws that govern the Council’s use of these new tools:

    Also in this issue you’ll find important information about changes to licensing fees, advice to help ensure that licensees with Personal Real Estate Corporations maintain their corporations in good standing, and recent discipline decisions from the Council. If you have questions about anything you read in this or any other issue of the Report from Council newsletter, contact the staff of the Council at [email protected] to discuss your concerns, or offer your feedback.

    Robert Holmes, Chair

  • On January 23, 2017 amendments to the Real Estate Council’s General Bylaws took effect. The amendments introduce new defined terms for the Bylaws, provide for the establishment of Council committees, and for the establishment of procedures and practices with respect to Council hearings.

    Real Estate Council General BylawsDescription
    Definitions
    1-1 In these bylaws:
    …
    chair and vice-chair mean the chair and vice-chair of the council appointed under section 80 of the Act;
    …
    hearing committee member means a member of the council or other individual appointed to sit on hearing committees;
    …
    respondent means an applicant or licensee named in a notice of hearing.    		These additions provide definitions for terms introduced as part of amendments to sections 3-7 and Part 5 of the General Bylaws.
    Council committees 
    3-7    In addition to any council committees established by the council, the Chair and Vice Chair may jointly establish council committees as they consider advisable and may jointly appoint individuals to those committees as provided in section 84 (2) (d) of the Act.
    (1) The following council committees are established pursuant to section 84(2) of the Act and may, guided by Council approved terms of reference, undertake the tasks and duties assigned to them by the council, including acting on behalf of the council as follows:
    (a) A complaints committee, which may include persons who are not council members, to review investigations referred to it and make decisions or recommendations on the dispositions of those matters;
    (b) A consent order review committee, which sits as a discipline committee and may include persons who are not council members, to consider and accept or reject consent order proposals from licensees and make discipline orders where a proposal is accepted;
    (c) An education and licensing committee, to review and make recommendations to council on education and licensing issues and matters;
    (d) A governance committee to review and recommend corporate policies for operations, processes, delegated authorities and human resources; and
    (e) A finance and audit committee to oversee the budget process and financial reporting and management obligations of the council.
    (2) The chair and vice-chair of the council may jointly:
    (a) appoint individuals to council committees; and
    (b) create committees, sub-committees, or other groups to provide reports, recommendations and advice to council.
    (3) The chair or vice-chair of the council may appoint individuals to a consent order review committee or a hearing committee to consider a particular matter or matters.    		Amendments to section 3-7 of the General Bylaws provide for the establishment of council committees, and the appointment of individuals to these committees.
    Part 5 — Hearing Committee Practice and Procedure
    Pre-hearing conference 
    5-1     (1) At the request of the respondent or counsel for the council, or on his or her own initiative, the chair may order a pre-hearing conference at any time before a hearing commences.
    (2) When a conference has been ordered under subsection (1), the chair must
    (a) set the date, time and place of the conference and notify the parties, and
    (b) designate a hearing committee member to preside at the conference.
    (3) Legal counsel for the council must be present at the conference.
    (4) The respondent may attend the conference in person, through legal counsel or both.
    (5) If the respondent fails to attend the conference, the hearing committee member presiding may proceed with the conference in the absence of the respondent and may make any order under subsection (8) if the hearing committee member presiding is satisfied that the respondent had notice of the conference.
    (6) Any person may participate in a conference by telephone or by any other means of communication that allows all persons participating to hear each other, and a person so participating is present for the purpose of subsection (3).
    (7) The conference may consider
    (a) the possibility of agreement on facts or simplification of the issues in order to facilitate the hearing,
    (b) the necessity or desirability of amendments to the notice of hearing,
    (c) the discovery and production of documents,
    (d) the possibility that privilege or confidentiality might require that all or part of the hearing be closed to the public, or that exhibits and other evidence be excluded from public access,
    (e) setting a date for the hearing,
    (f) any application by counsel for the council to withhold the identity or locating particulars of a witness, and
    (g) any other matters that may aid in the disposition of the matter.
    (8) On application of the respondent or counsel for the council, or on his or her own initiative, the hearing committee member presiding may make an order
    (a) for discovery and production of documents,
    (b) to withhold the identity or contact information of a witness,
    (c) to adjourn the conference or the hearing generally or to a specified date, time and place,
    (d) for severance of allegations or joinder of hearings,
    (e) for disclosure of the details of the circumstances of professional misconduct alleged in a notice of hearing, or
    (f) concerning any other matters that may aid in the disposition of the matter.

    Adjournment of hearing 
    5-2     (1) Before a hearing commences, the respondent or legal counsel for the council may request that the hearing be adjourned by delivering written notice setting out the reasons for the request to the chair and to the other party.
    (2) Before a hearing commences, the chair must decide whether to grant the adjournment, with or without conditions, and advise the parties accordingly.
    (3) The chair may designate another hearing committee member to make a determination under subsection (2).
    (4) After a hearing has commenced, the chair of the hearing committee may adjourn the hearing, with or without conditions, generally or to a specified date, time and place.

    Notice to admit 
    5-3     (1) At any time, but not less than 45 days before a date set for the hearing, the respondent or counsel for the council may request the other party to admit, for the purposes of the hearing only, the truth of a fact or the authenticity of a document.
    (2) A request made under subsection (1) must
    (a) be made in writing in a document clearly marked “Notice to Admit”, and
    (b) include a complete description of the fact, the truth of which is to be admitted, or attach a copy of the document, the authenticity of which is to be admitted.
    (3) A party may make more than one request under subsection (1).
    (4) A respondent or counsel for the council who receives a request made under subsection (1) must respond within 21 days.
    (5) The time for response under subsection (4) may be extended by agreement of the parties or by an order under section 5-1 [pre-hearing conference] of these bylaws.
    (6) A response under subsection (4) must contain one of the following in respect of each fact described in the request and each document attached to the request:
    (a) an admission of the truth of the fact or the authenticity of the document attached to the request;
    (b) a statement that the party making the response does not admit the truth of the fact or the authenticity of the document, along with the reasons for not doing so.
    (7) If a party does not admit the truth of a fact or the authenticity of a document under subsection (6) and the truth of the fact or authenticity of the document is proven in the hearing, the panel may consider the refusal when exercising its discretion respecting costs under section 44 [Enforcement expenses and discipline penalties] of the Act.
    (8) A party who has admitted the authenticity of a document under subsection (6) may withdraw the admission with the consent of the other party or with leave granted on an application
    (a) before the hearing has begun under section 5-1 [Pre-hearing conference] of these bylaws, or
    (b) after the hearing has begun, to the hearing committee.

    Preliminary matters 
    5-4     (1) Before hearing any evidence on the allegations set out in the notice of hearing, the hearing committee must determine whether
    (a) the notice of hearing was served in accordance with the Act and section 2-18 [Effective delivery to licensees] of the rules, or
    (b) the respondent waives any of the requirements of section 2-18 of the rules.
    (2) If the requirements of section 2-18 [Effective delivery to licensees] of the rules have been met, or have been waived by the respondent, the notice of hearing or a copy of it must be filed as an exhibit at the hearing, and the hearing may proceed.
    (3) Despite subsection (1), before the hearing begins, the hearing committee may receive and consider
    (a) the notice of hearing,
    (b) an agreed statement of facts,
    (c) an admission made or deemed to be made under section 5-3 [Notice to admit] of these bylaws,or
    (d) any other document or evidence by agreement of the parties.    		Part 5 of the General Bylaws provides for the establishment of procedures related to the administration of hearings by the council, including pre-hearing conferences, adjournments, notices to admit, and preliminary matters.

  • In January, BC Housing launched the BC Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership, or HOME Partnership, a new first-time homebuyer program providing repayable down payment assistance loans for eligible British Columbia residents.

    As part of the HOME Partnership, first-time buyers who have saved towards a down payment can apply to the program for a loan of up to 5% of a home’s purchase price, or a maximum of $37,500. The loan, which is interest-free and payment-free for five years, must be matched by the buyer’s down payment.

    To qualify, homebuyers must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and must be first-time buyers who have not previously owned an interest in a property anywhere in the world.

    Find further information about the BC HOME Partnership Program at the BC Housing website, including:

  • Licensing fees collected by the Real Estate Council of BC will be changing in April due to adjustments made by both the Real Estate Compensation Fund Corporation and the Superintendent of Real Estate.

    As a result:

    • Renewal fees for individuals remain unchanged at $1330.
    • Renewal fees for brokerages will decrease to $1330, from $1480.
    • Application fees for new licences will increase to $1660 for individuals, $1860 for brokerages.

    A complete listing of the changes to licensing fees is available on the Council’s Licensing Fees page. To find out more about what you pay for through your licensing fee, and how fees will change in April, check out these online resources:

    Compassionate Care Leave

    As part of updates to the Council’s Education and Licensing Guidelines, which came into effect in January, the Council has introduced Compassionate Care Leave. Leaves of up to 28 weeks are available for licensees who must take time away from work to care for a gravely ill family member. Compassionate care leave will not be considered a break in licensing history.

    In order to receive a Compassionate Care Leave, licensees must submit a written request to the Council, enclosing a copy of a medical certificate. Licensees must surrender their licence during the Compassionate Care Leave, which cannot exceed 28 weeks in a twelve-month period, and cannot be taken in combination with other leaves.

    Please see the Council’s Education and Licensing Guidelines for further information about

    Privacy Guidelines for Strata Corporations and Strata Agents

    In BC, strata corporations, and strata managers acting on their behalf, must adhere to the privacy rules of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Are you confident that you and your strata corporation clients are following all current guidelines for handling and disclosing personal information when responding to complaints, creating or updating privacy policies, responding to privacy breaches, or installing video or audio surveillance equipment?

    To ensure you can advise your strata corporation clients correctly, we recommend you review these resources from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner:

    If you or your strata corporation clients have questions about the disclosure of personal information, it is recommended that you seek independent legal advice on the provisions of PIPA.

  • Q: I’ve applied for a licence for a Personal Real Estate Corporation. Will I need to change my advertising once the Personal Real Estate Corporation is licensed?

    A: Yes, you will need to develop new advertising — and you are thinking about it at the right time: before you’ve received the new licence. By taking time now to think through the changes needed, you’ll be ready to comply with the advertising requirements for Personal Real Estate Corporations as soon as your licence arrives.

    Here are some of the considerations you should be aware of:

    • (1) Make sure that in your application for a Personal Real Estate Corporation the licensee name you specify is the name you wish to use for advertising.
      • All advertising that identifies an individual who has a Personal Real Estate Corporation must use the licensee name of the Personal Real Estate Corporation, not the individual’s name.
      • So if Susan Seller advertises using the trade name Susie Seller, when she licences a Personal Real Estate Corporation, she must ensure that the legal name of the Personal Real Estate Corporation is Susie Seller Personal Real Estate Corporation. Then she can continue to use Susie in her advertising.
    • (2) Your advertising must use the full legal licensee name of the Personal Real Estate Corporation-for example, ‘Barry Buyer Personal Real Estate Corporation’. Do not use the initials PREC or any other short form of Personal Real Estate Corporation.
    • (3) The name of your brokerage must be prominent and easily readable in all advertising.

    To find out more about Personal Real Estate Corporations and advertising, review these resources:

  • Since the December 2016 Report from Council newsletter, the following actions have been taken as a result of disciplinary hearings and Consent Orders conducted by the Council.

    Trading Services

    Strata Management Services

    Rental Property Management Services