New Money Laundering Law Affects All Canadian Real Estate Buyers and Sellers
The next time you are involved in buying or selling real estate you may be surprised to have the real estate agent ask to see your ID.
In an effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the Canadian government - through FINTRAC (Financial and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) – has just introduced new legislation affecting all real estate transactions. The legislation applies to all individuals and Corporations.
Under this new law, the real estate industry must now keep on file the names of the individuals involved in the transaction, their address, date of birth, occupation or principal business, and the type of ID provided.
What type of personal identification do you have to show?
Your birth certificate, driver’s license, passport, record of landing, permanent resident card or other similar government-issued piece of identification. Provincial health cards are not accepted in Ontario, Manitoba or PEI.
Who does this legislation apply to?
Real estate brokers must now complete an Identification Record with each and every real estate sale at the time of the transaction.
When does this new legislation take effect?
As of June 23, 2008, all real estate brokers (sales representatives, agents) must keep a Receipt of Funds Record and identify the client who provided the funds.
What about my personal privacy?
The new legislation now deems this type of information “necessary” for the purposes of identification.
What if there are no real estate agents involved?
In that case the full responsiblity of collecting this information is placed on the lawyers acting on behalf of the buyer and seller.
What are the Realtors’ responsibility regarding my private information?
Realtors are responsible for protecting all personal information collected from you as part of the FINTRAC Compliance Process against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure or copying.
Non-compliance penalties by the real estate industry are quite serious, with up to five years in prison and fines up to $2 million for each offence.
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