The requirements of the new act came into force on Sunday
Derrick Penner
Sun
Any manager handling the affairs of B.C. condominium owners, or holding some of the estimated $1 billion in strata fees that are being held in trust for owners at any one time, is now breaking the law if he or she isn’t licensed with the province’s real-estate regulator.
The B.C. government enshrined the licensing requirement into law last January with the adoption of a new Real Estate Services Act.
The requirement came into force Sunday.
Anthony Cavanaugh, communications director for the Real Estate Council of B.C., said there will be a short grace period for those who have not already applied for licences, however “by ‘short,’ I mean a matter of a few weeks, not a few months.”
Cavanaugh estimates that most of the province’s strata managers are now in compliance. He added that the council expects that the public will pass on the names of those managers who are not in compliance, which the council will forward to B.C.’s Superintendent of Real Estate for enforcement action, which could include criminal prosecution.
Cavanaugh said the licensing measure was brought in because up until now management of strata corporations, estimated by the Condominium Homeowners Association of B.C. to number 30,000 covering 1.1 million condominium units, was unregulated, leaving owners little recourse when problems arose.
“There was no consumer protection mechanism for consumers dealing with strata management,” Cavanaugh said. “Up until this time, there was no consumer protection mechanism.”
Cavanaugh added that the recommendation to license strata managers came out of the Barrett Commission into B.C.’s leaky condominium crisis.
From now on, everyone managing strata-titled property on behalf of its owners is required to have passed a licensing exam and be registered with Real Estate Council of B.C. making them subject to specific regulations, and subject to council oversight and discipline.
Cavanaugh said licensed realtors who also manage rental property only have to take a supplemental exam dealing with strata property issues.
Those who were not previously licensed will have to take a specific course on strata management before writing the exam.
However, Cavanaugh added that strata corporations that are self managed by their property owners will be exempt from the licensing requirement.
Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Homeowners Association of B.C., said the licensing regulation will bring a welcome level of professionalism to the industry.
Gioventu added that the property management firms licensed as rental managers have delivered good service, however since there was no requirement for strata managers to be licensed, a segment of unlicensed firms attracted some untrained and underqualified employees.
He said problems that strata corporations ran into as a result ranged from poor maintenance of their properties and non-performance of repair contracts to the misappropriation of reserve funds.
“[Strata owners] had no recourse at all, unless they wanted to go to court,” Gioventu said.
Gioventu said that while there have not been many misappropriations, they gave the whole management industry a black eye.
Cavanaugh said that as of Friday, the last business day of 2005, the Council had licensed 145 brokerages and 529 individuals to be strata managers, which he believes will represent most managers. However, the number of unlicensed managers is not known.
He expects that number will climb as applications that were in the works late last week are processed.
THE NUMBERS:
30,000: Estimated number of strata corporations in B.C.:
15,000: Estimated number of strata corporations that hire outside managers. One manager can administer many strata corporations.
$1 billion: Estimated amount of money from strata fees held in trust on behalf of owners:
The rules:
Requirements to become a licensed strata manager:
– Licensed rental managers: Complete strata-management supplemental exam by Jan. 1, 2007.
– Unlicensed managers currently managing strata properties: Complete strata-management supplemental course and exam by Jan. 1, 2007.
– Unlicensed individuals entering the industry: Complete full strata-management licensing course and exam.
The costs:
– Full strata-management-licensing course: $875
– Exam: $47
– Two-year licence: $1,050
Source: Condominium Homeowners Association of B.C/
Real Estate Council of B.C.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
