A West Vancouver rental property that once funnelled rent to an unlicensed manager has landed a Lower Mainland couple $125,000 in fines and enforcement costs, the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) announced this week.
BCFSA ordered Peter Ho Chiu Chu, sole director of 168 Rock Solid Homes Ltd., to pay $75,000 for running unlicensed rental-property management services between 2012 and 2020. His wife, licensed realtor Rui (Rena) Liang, was fined $50,000 for professional misconduct after directing a tenant in West Vancouver to send rent to Chu, despite knowing he was unlicensed. Both must also pay $5,000 each in investigative expenses.
According to BCFSA investigators, Chu signed management agreements for at least 31 homes across Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Delta and Tsawwassen. He advertised units, drafted tenancy agreements and collected rents while unlicensed in B.C. Liang’s misconduct ruling encompasses two breaches: assisting Chu’s unlicensed business and using her personal real estate corporation to issue a $500,000 loan to Chu in 2019, securing the loan with a mortgage on a Vancouver home that later became the couple’s residence.
The regulator first received a complaint about Chu in August 2019. In March 2021, the Superintendent of Real Estate ordered Chu and his company to stop all real estate services unless licensed. Chu later passed the rental-property management exam, but his license application remains on hold while disciplinary matters are concluded.
“These actions show a disregard for consumers who deserve to be represented by licensed real-estate professionals,” said Jon Vandall, BCFSA’s senior vice-president of compliance and enforcement. “Ignorance of the Real Estate Services Act is no excuse.” Chu, who has no prior discipline history, cooperated with investigators. Liang, also previously unsanctioned, must complete a remedial education course in real-estate trading services. Both are now prohibited from providing unlicensed rental management services.
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