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The provincial government ended self regulation for the B.C. real estate industry because the evidence was pointing to the fact that the industry wasn't regulating itself, says B.C.'s finance minister.
On June 30, the government announced that the right to regulate the industry would be taken away from the Real Estate Council of B.C. and put into the hands of a newly established and dedicated superintendent of real estate.
The announcement came a day after a special advisory group issued a damning report with 28 recommendations for how the council should improve its oversight ability — but the panel was not asked to consider independent regulation.
'No one called them out'
When asked what was the last straw for the province, Finance Minister Mike de Jong said there were several reasons, but the "most troubling" finding of the report was that there was a lack of action on the part of the council when it appeared many knew some Realtors were engaging in unscrupulous practices.
"As [the panel] did their work, as they spoke to Realtors — and this is consistent with what I've found myself — Realtor after Realtor would say, 'Yeah, I knew there was some of this bad stuff going on, but no one did anything about it. No one," de Jong told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.
"The report also does say the vast majority of Realtors do conduct themselves with integrity, are ethical and provide good service to their clients.
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