In addition to the Certificate and Consent of Purchaser – Individual, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has developed the Certificate and Consent of Purchaser – Corporation or other Entity to assist your members in legal compliance with the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.
These resources can be used in conjunction with other due diligence practices. If REALTORS® choose to use the relevant certificate, it should be completed before assisting or advising a potential purchaser. Both certificates are also now available on CREA WEBForms®.
REALTORS® have an obligation to Know Your Client pursuant to the FINTRAC Regime. This includes identifying clients and recording certain information. One key difference is that under the FINTRAC Regime you may identify your client at the time of the transaction, whereas pursuant to this law, REALTORS® should ID clients before assisting or advising them on the purchase of a property.
Another difference is FINTRAC beneficial ownership obligations require REALTORS® to identify any individual who owns 25% or more of a corporation/entity, whereas this law requires REALTORS® to determine substantially all owners or those who may control the corporation/entity to assess their status as non-Canadians.
As real estate is provincially regulated, REALTORS® should ensure they comply with any guidance provided by their provincial regulator, board, and association.
To download CREA’s certificates, and learn more about the Regulations we have added additional resources to member.CREA.ca.
According to the Regulations, properties located outside of either Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) or Census Agglomerations (CAs) are excluded from the prohibition.
Statistics Canada’s list of CMAs and CAs can be found here, where a thorough list is available under the Data section at bottom of that page which highlights the 160 CMAs and CAs across Canada.
An interactive mapping tool has also been created to assist individuals who have been reaching out to Statistics Canada.
CREA has spoken with many boards and associations across the country about the new regulations. We would like to continue to hear from you about the impact of this legislation on REALTORS® and their clients.
If you have a story from your region of how a REALTOR® or a potential foreign buyer has been negatively impacted by the prohibition, please let us know by sharing at support@CREA.ca. It’s important we understand the impact this prohibition has on our members as we continue to make representations to the government.
The guidance above is for information purposes and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.
