BCFSA Explores Ways to Strengthen Trust and Confidence in Real Estate Services

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Ensuring people have confidence when buying or selling a home is vital to keeping British Columbia’s real estate market strong. To support this, BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) has released a discussion paper, “Strengthening Confidence in Real Estate Services”, which explores ways to build trust and confidence through enhanced transparency, fairness, and professionalism.

BCFSA is inviting industry members and the public to provide feedback on the ideas presented in the paper, as well as suggestions for other ways BCFSA can continue to promote confidence in the real estate services industry.

Building on BCFSA’s report, Enhancing Consumer Protection in British Columbia’s Real Estate Market, published in 2022, the discussion paper explores potential changes to the Real Estate Services Rules to enhance transparency, fairness, and professionalism in B.C. real estate services:

Transparency – proposed approaches include mandatory service agreements with buyer clients, protections when buyers make unconditional offers, requiring agents to obtain strata documents at the time of listing a home for sale, and new information disclosures in multiple offer situations.
Fairness – proposed approaches explore fairness in compensation structures and enabling a broader range of remuneration models.
Professionalism – proposed measures limit the ability of real estate agents to modify their fundamental agency and fiduciary duties to clients.

“It’s important that people are informed when buying or selling a home. When they are, they’re more likely to make good decisions and trust the process,” said Jonathan Vandall, Senior Vice President, Financial Professionals at BCFSA. “This helps not just buyers and sellers, but also real estate professionals who are better equipped to serve their clients and earn their trust. These new ideas we’re exploring are meant to improve clarity and fairness for everyone—supporting professionals in building trust and delivering excellent service.”

See the Strengthening Confidence in Real Estate Services consultation webpage for more information about the paper. BCFSA invites real estate licensees, members of the public, and other interested parties to provide feedback on the proposed approaches presented in the discussion paper until January 31, 2026. Questions about the consultation can be sent to engage@bcfsa.ca.

The feedback we receive will help BCFSA decide what to work on going forward. After the consultation period ends, we will review the feedback and share a summary of what we heard. BCFSA will undertake further consultation before any changes to the Real Estate Services Rules are made.  

Additional information

About BCFSA

BC Financial Services Authority is the province’s regulator for the financial services sector that helps to protect British Columbians during some of the most important financial decisions of their lives. As a Crown agency of the Government of British Columbia, BCFSA oversees credit unions, trust companies, insurance companies, pension plans, mortgage services, real estate services, and real estate development marketing. BCFSA also administers the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (CUDIC). BCFSA’s mission is to instill confidence in the financial services sector by focusing on the safety and soundness of regulated entities and consumer protection through effective market conduct monitoring.

Media contact

Kate Bilney
Manager, Communications
media@bcfsa.ca
visit: www.bcfsa.ca