B.C.’s condo-flipping crackdown law targets tax evasion to keep down prices

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s government is moving to ease the province’s housing crisis by cracking down on tax evasion in the condominium market and giving municipalities more control over the protection and development of rental housing.

Finance Minister Carole James says proposed changes to the Real Estate Development Marketing Act will require developers to collect and report buyer information on the purchases of pre-sale condominiums to ensure the proper amount of tax is paid when the units are sold.

James says the prices of pre-sale condominiums are inflated by people who buy and sell the properties without ever living in them or paying capital gains tax.

Cameron Muir, chief economist at the B.C. Real Estate Association, says compiling data to track pre-sale condominium sales is a long overdue move.

Housing Minister Selina Robinson says the government has also introduced legislation that would give municipal governments stronger zoning tools to protect and improve the supply of rental properties.

The proposed legislation follows the New Democrat’s pledge earlier this year to invest more than $6 billion in affordable housing over the next decade.