Land Owner Transparency Report in British Columbia: Who Must File

British Columbia's Land Owner Transparency Act is meant to show who really owns land. If you are buying property, acting as a trustee, or running a company that holds land, you may have filing duties that are easy to miss.

This article explains the difference between a declaration and a report, who must file, what becomes public, and what happens if you do not comply. Your filing duties depend on the type of owner and the land involved, so confirm the details with a lawyer.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Declaration versus report

When a transferee applies to register an interest in land, they must file a transparency declaration. This covers a transfer of fee simple, a transmission to a personal representative, and a transmission to a surviving joint tenant.

A transparency report is a separate, more detailed filing. It is required only if the future registered owner is a reporting body, meaning a corporation, the trustee of a relevant trust, or a partner of a relevant partnership. An individual buying in their own name generally files only the declaration. Which corporations, trusts and partnerships are excluded from reporting is a detailed question, so confirm it for your situation.

Exceptions to be aware of

• Treaty land, self-governing First Nation land and reserve land do not need a transparency declaration. Instead, the applicant submits a Declaration of Exclusion from the Land Owner Transparency Act with the application.
• Where property vests in a person's name under section 40 of the Taxation (Rural Area) Act, a transparency report must be filed within 2 months after the vesting.
• Pre-existing reporting bodies that held an interest in land acquired before November 30, 2020 had to file a report by November 30, 2022.

If you were a pre-existing reporting body and missed that date, you are out of compliance and should file immediately.

What the public can see

Registry data is publicly searchable free of charge through myLTSA Explorer. It shows the reporting body and the individuals named as interest holders or settlors, but not date of birth, SIN or home address. Public information about a person who filed only a declaration is not available.

Some people are not shown publicly at all. These include individuals under 19, those deemed incapable of managing their financial affairs, those registered for 90 days or less, and those approved for an application to omit information over health and safety risks.

Penalties for not filing

In setting a penalty, factors include previous enforcement actions, the significance and repetition of the violation, whether it was deliberate, any economic benefit gained, and whether the person tried to correct it. An unpaid or undisputed penalty could result in a lien on the property.

The enforcement officer may use discretion for people working in good faith to meet the requirements, but purposefully negligent conduct can bring significant penalties.

What to do next

• Work out whether the future registered owner is an individual, a corporation, a trustee or a partner.
• Decide whether you need a declaration only, or a transparency report as well.
• Gather names and details of the individuals who hold interests or are settlors, so the information is complete and accurate.
• Check whether the land is treaty, self-governing First Nation or reserve land, which changes the filing.
• If you hold land through a company or trust acquired before November 30, 2020 and never filed, speak to a lawyer promptly.

Accuracy matters as much as timing, since leaving out information or giving misleading information is itself a penalty ground. A lawyer can help you identify the right filing and prepare it before you apply to register.

Frequently asked questions