Disclaimer: Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice and does not establish a solicitor-client relationship between the reader and Alpine Legal Services. The Land Owner Transparency Act has been amended since it came into force and the rules can change again. Always confirm your filing obligations with your lawyer or notary public.
If you are buying property in Chilliwack, Abbotsford or Langley, there is one form in your closing package that most buyers have never heard of. It comes from the Land Owner Transparency Act, a BC law that requires every new owner to disclose who really owns the property. For most families buying a home in their own names it takes a few minutes. For anyone buying through a company, a trust or a partnership, it takes real planning.
Here is what the Act is, who it applies to, and how it fits into your closing.
What Is the Land Owner Transparency Act?
The Land Owner Transparency Act, usually shortened to LOTA, came into force in British Columbia on November 30, 2020. Its purpose is to stop people from hiding behind companies, trusts and partnerships when they own land in BC. The province wanted a clear public record of the real people who own or control property, which helps with tax enforcement and with tracking money laundering through real estate.
The Act created the Land Owner Transparency Registry, a public database run by the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA). Since April 2021, anyone can search the registry for a fee and see who has an interest in a property held by a company, trust or partnership.
When Does LOTA Apply to You?
LOTA applies whenever someone applies to register an interest in land at the BC Land Title Office. The most common example is a transfer of ownership when you buy a home, but it also covers other registrable interests such as long-term leases and life estates.
Every buyer, called the transferee under the Act, has to file a transparency declaration at the time the transfer is registered. The declaration answers a simple question. Is the new owner a reporting body, meaning a company, a trustee of a relevant trust or a partner in a relevant partnership, or not?
Transparency Declarations vs Transparency Reports
There are two different filings under LOTA, and which one you need depends on how you are buying.
- Transparency declaration. Filed by every transferee. It confirms whether the buyer is a reporting body. If you are buying a home in your own name, this is usually the only LOTA filing you need.
- Transparency report. Filed only by reporting bodies. It lists the interest holders behind the company, trust or partnership, meaning the individuals who own or control a significant share of it, along with their identifying information.
Your real estate lawyer or notary public prepares and files these through the LTSA system as part of your closing, alongside the Form A transfer and your property transfer tax return.
Who Counts as a Reporting Body?
The Act treats three types of owners as reporting bodies.
- Relevant corporations. Most private companies that hold BC land, including holding companies used for investment properties.
- Trustees of relevant trusts. A person holding title in trust for someone else, such as a parent holding property in trust for a child.
- Partners of relevant partnerships. Partners holding land on behalf of a partnership.
Some entities are excluded, such as public companies, certain government bodies and some non-profit and Indigenous-owned corporations. Amendments that took effect on November 20, 2023 widened some of these exclusions and also clarified that a trustee does not have to file a report where the property is already registered in the names of all the beneficial owners. Whether your situation is excluded is a legal question, so it is worth asking before you sign.
What Goes Into a Transparency Report?
If you are buying through a company or trust, the report asks for detailed information about each interest holder. That usually includes full legal name, date of birth, citizenship, tax residency, last known address and a description of how the person holds or controls the interest.
Gathering this takes time, especially if a company has several shareholders or layered ownership. For a corporate purchase our business lawyer can help pull together the corporate records, and our real estate team builds the report into the closing timeline so it does not hold up completion.
What This Means for Fraser Valley Buyers
For most people buying a family home in Chilliwack, Abbotsford or Langley, LOTA is a short declaration that our office prepares and you sign with the rest of your closing documents. You do not need to do anything extra.
It matters a lot more if you are:
- Buying an investment or rental property through a holding company
- Holding title in trust for a child or another family member
- Buying with business partners through a partnership
- Transferring property into or out of a company or trust as part of a property transfer
In any of those cases, tell your lawyer early. The report needs information you may have to collect from other people, and a missing filing can stop your transfer from registering on completion day.
What Happens If You Do Not Comply?
The Province of BC enforces LOTA and can impose significant administrative penalties on reporting bodies that fail to file, file late or file false or misleading information. The Land Title Office will also refuse to register a transfer that does not have the required LOTA filings, which means a missing declaration can delay your whole closing.
How LOTA Fits Into Your Closing
LOTA filings are one more piece of the BC real estate closing process. When you work with Alpine Legal Services on a home purchase, our lawyers and notaries public:
- Confirm whether you are a reporting body or an individual buyer
- Prepare and file your transparency declaration with the LTSA
- Collect interest holder information and prepare the transparency report when one is needed
- Coordinate the LOTA filings with your transfer, mortgage and property transfer tax documents so everything registers together
Buying Through a Company or Trust?
If your purchase involves a company, a trust or a partnership, bring it up as soon as your offer is accepted. A few extra days of preparation keeps your LOTA filings from becoming a problem on completion day.
Alpine Legal Services handles residential and investment purchases for buyers across Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Langley and the wider Fraser Valley. Contact Alpine Legal to talk through your purchase, or learn more about our real estate legal services.
Reviewed by Shanal Prasad, Lawyer, Notary Public, and Chartered Professional Accountant. Shanal is the founder of Alpine Legal Services and has helped hundreds of Fraser Valley families and individuals with their real estate transactions.
