Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J U N E 2 0 1 7 19 cerns date back 400 years when the island was divided into 65 lots granted to Brit- ish Lords who would then have the local population work the land, leaving out the possibility of locals buying and profiting directly from the land. "There's zero economic benefit to have someone in Ontario or Alberta own the land here and simply hire someone to farm it, because all of the farm profit leaves," says Scott MacKenzie, chairman and chief exec- utive of the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission. "P.E.I. has had a long history of problems with absentee landlords. "That historical . . . concern about absentee land ownership, it just continues right through the culture here." P.E.I. restrictions going back to the 1970s and adapted over the years focus on both farm land and the shoreline. The rules require those buying more than five acres of land or 165 feet of shoreline to apply to the commission, which reviews the appli- cation. Anyone purchasing more than five acres or 165 feet of shoreline must be living in P.E.I. 365 days over the course of 24 months. Prior to the May 2016 changes, purchasers were required to live on the island for 183 days. But MacKenzie says there were instances of people meeting that requirement and then moving away after successfully purchasing property. P.E.I. also limits land holding of 1,000 acres for any individuals and 3,000 acres for corpora- tions. P.E.I. officials looked at regulations else- where leading up to its latest rule change. Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta all restrict who can buy larger parcels of farm- land. Like P.E.I., non-residents in Quebec include anyone not living in the province. But, other than the shoreline restrictions in P.E.I., it's only this past year that specula- tion and foreign ownership of residential property has been targeted by legislation. In its announcement introducing the new rules, Ontario cites two consecutive years of double-digit gains, resulting in an average house price in the Toronto region of $916,567 this past March, up 33.2 per cent from a year earlier. It also referred to RBC Economics information showing that housing affordability in Canada's largest city during the last quarter of 2016 was at its second-worst level since the mid-1980s and a vacancy rate in Ontario of 2.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent in Toronto. In the years leading to British Colum- bia's new rules, Vancouver was also expe- riencing dramatic increases in property values. Former civil rights lawyer and NDP housing critic David Eby, who was busy running for re-election this spring, said immediately upon his election in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey in 2013 that he was hearing concerns about how escalat- ing values were pushing people out of the housing market. "What was going on in the constituency increasingly is people using real estate as an investment rather than a place to live," says Eby, who during his campaigning found many houses vacant. But he says his light- bulb moment came when reading about Laurence Fink of Blackrock, the world's largest private investment firm, advising other investment firm heads in Singapore to buy modern art or condos in London, Manhattan or Vancouver. "It's a good indi- cation that something has really shifted in your housing market and it's no longer *Insurance by FCT Insurance Company Ltd., with the exception of commercial policies, which are provided jointly by FCT Insurance Company Ltd. and First American Title Insurance Company. Services by First Canadian Title Company Limited. The services company does not provide insurance products.. This material is intended to provide general information only. For specific coverage and exclusions, refer to the applicable policy. Copies are available upon request. ®Registered Trademark of First American Financial Corporation. FCT protects you before, during and after * a real-estate transaction. Get protected today. Residential Solutions 1.866.804.3122 Commercial Solutions 1.866.804.3112 Untitled-1 1 2017-01-18 10:35 AM

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