Real Estate Cooling-Off Period Consultation Concludes

Today, BCFSA has concluded the consultation process on the parameters of a legislated cooling-off period for resale properties and newly built home sales as requested by British Columbia’s Minister of Finance. Potential other consumer protection measures were also included as part of the discussions.

The consultations were facilitated through a series of virtual workshops and included a diverse cross-section of over 140 participants, including key real estate industry organizations and industry experts. To ensure thorough input, participants were also given the opportunity to provide written feedback.

The consultation process also included a wide variety of participants from across the province to ensure regional views were represented. BCFSA also ensured the interests of both buyers and sellers in the real estate market were taken into consideration during the discussions. As outlined in the Terms of Reference for this consultation, BCFSA is also exploring opportunities to collect additional data to better understand current market practices.

We want to thank all participants who took part in this consultation process and shared their expertise and valuable opinions with our team. The wide range of feedback we have received will help inform the advice BCFSA will provide to the Minister of Finance.

With the consultation process now closed, BCSFA has begun work on developing a report with advice for the Minister of Finance that will be presented in spring 2022.