Notice to the Profession
July 08, 2020

Attention real estate lawyers! Don’t forget additional property transfer tax is payable for foreign nationals, foreign entities and taxable trustees

Lawyers Indemnity Fund will be releasing short videos on risk management once a month, to offer guidance and tips to avoid issues that can lead to claims. The first of these videos is about claims where lawyers have forgotten that a foreign national, foreign corporation or taxable trustee is required to pay additional property transfer tax on certain real estate transactions.

Watch this video of Marlon Song, Claims Counsel at LIF, to learn more.

The additional tax applies to the residential portion of a property that BC Assessment has classified as residential (class 1), farm land (that includes a residential improvement) or commercial (that includes a residential improvement). You can also familiarize yourself with the features of the tax by reading the Ministry of Finance’s web page.

Update on Professional Legal Training Course interviewing assessments and examinations

The Law Society is moving forward with in-person interviewing assessments for PLTC students in locations in Vancouver, Victoria and Kamloops with safety protocols in place. Students who live out of province will do their assessments remotely and students with serious health concerns can apply for accommodations. As the Law Society was not able to secure sufficient physical space to hold the qualification examinations in person with physical distancing measures, the exams will be held remotely on August 4 and August 7, with a remote proctoring service provider (Monitor EDU) and the software Examsoft. Students who do not wish to do their interviewing assessment or qualifications Examinations under these conditions can defer to a later PLTC session.