The Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA), responsible for administering BC’s land title system, has adapted swiftly to technological changes over the past 20 years. Since its inception, LTSA has introduced digital systems to ensure property ownership is registered efficiently and accurately.
The digital environment continues to evolve, with online interactions a central part of our day-to-day lives. Consumers expect instant transactions and seamless functionality at the touch of a button. While real estate transactions are more complex than the average purchase, property owners increasingly expect the same level of simplicity and seamlessness.
At the same time, sophisticated fraud is developing in all aspects of the online environment. Across every industry and region, work is underway to strengthen resources and response against the increasing risk of cybercrime and other illegal or fraudulent activity.
We are facing the remarkable challenge of transforming the real estate transaction and property ownership systems to meet these new opportunities and risks. Building on the strengths of a land title system developed well over 100 years ago, we must evolve our systems and practices to meet the needs of generations to come while continuing to support a thriving economy today.
The responsibilities of professionals such as realtors, lawyers and notaries are indispensable in facilitating and finalizing a real property transaction and will continue to be part of the process. With the advancement of digital technologies, the homeowner can now also have a direct access to the land title system. LTSA is taking a leadership role to digitally connect the real estate transaction, ensuring that property owners’ needs are at the centre of the process.
The next step in the digitization journey is to modernize identity verification for homeowners and other parties involved in real estate transactions, using digital tools . With this enhanced verification, we can then connect the parties and continue the digitization journey.
By limiting opportunity for identify theft and fraud and improving the connectivity of the real estate transaction, the whole system will be stronger. Benefits include enhanced security, improved access to information and data, improved interoperability with other public service agencies and truly paper-less transactions for property owners. Collectively, these improvements form LTSA’s concept of the Verified Transaction, which ensures the real property market and the systems that support it are well-positioned for the future.