B.C. to end self-regulation of real estate industry after critical report
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s real estate industry no longer deserves the privilege of self-regulation and will have that authority stripped away, Premier Christy Clark announced after a damning report concluded the sector had lost the public trust.
Clark said Wednesday the province will hire a new superintendent of real estate, who will take over the rule-making, oversight and disciplinary powers that have been held by the Real Estate Council of B.C. since 2005.
“The real estate sector has had 10 years to get it right on self-regulation and they haven’t,” Clark told a news conference. “So we are going to end the right of the real estate sector to self-regulate.”
The announcement comes a day after an independent advisory group tasked with restoring consumer confidence in the industry released a report with 28 recommendations, including hefty fines for misconduct.