A B.C. real estate agent has had his licence suspended for six months and agreed to pay more than $200,000 to a provincial regulator after admitting he improperly purchased a home that was designated for affordable housing. Jason Alexander Leslie and his personal real estate corporation entered a consent order agreement with the B.C. Financial Services Authority earlier this month, and a redacted version of the document was published on the regulator’s website Monday. The building According to the consent order, Leslie entered an agreement to purchase unit 102 in Victoria’s Vivid on Yates development in February 2018. The condo—a 505-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit with a private exterior entrance—is located in a building designated as part of an affordable homeownership program intended for middle-income households. The provincial government provided a low-interest loan of $59.2 million to the building’s developer for the construction of the 20-storey highrise, with the stipulation that units would be sold at below-market rates as part of BC Housing’s Affordable Home Ownership Program. Vivid’s developer is redacted from the consent order, but a BC Housing news release from when the building was completed in May 2021 identifies the company as Chard Developments. Purchasers were required to abide by a covenant on the title to their properties, which stipulated a maximum household income, a requirement that the buyers live in the units they purchased, and a limit of one unit per buyer. The investigation According to the consent order, the BCFSA received two complaints about Leslie’s purchase in March 2024. One was from the building’s strata council and another was from a member of the public. Both alleged that Leslie had begun renting out his unit to a tenant immediately after taking possession when construction was complete. Investigators pulled the title for the property and found that Leslie’s ownership had been cancelled in August 2022, with the Provincial Rental Housing Corporation taking over. The BCFSA also looked at the original purchase agreement and found that Leslie had signed multiple documents acknowledging the affordable housing covenant on the property and agreeing to be bound by it. When contacted by investigators, the consent order indicates, Leslie submitted a written statement in which he acknowledged that “he at no time intended to reside in Unit 102 as his primary residence,” despite the covenant. He also admitted to renting the place out, according to the document. After an interview with BCFSA staff, the consent order notes, Leslie confirmed that he had acted as an agent in the sale of six units in the development—three at Vivid, including his own unit, and three at Yates on Yates, another Chard-built building that didn’t have the same restrictions on ownership. While representing other buyers at Vivid, Leslie “explained the purchase process,” including the restrictive covenant that would be placed on the title to their homes, the document notes. Return to BC Housing Less than a year after taking possession of the property, Leslie was contacted by BC Housing lawyers, who said they had conducted “an audit into his ability to purchase” the unit, and concluded he was ineligible, according to the consent order. BC Housing demanded the return of the unit. “J. Leslie agreed to return Unit 102 to BC Housing, the transaction of which was completed on Sept. 23, 2022,” the document reads. “As part of the transaction, J. Leslie returned the net real estate commission he earned on the original purchase of Unit 102 to BC Housing, paid the net rental income earned on the unit, paid the property transfer tax that BC Housing owed for purchase of the unit, and paid the legal fees incurred by BC Housing in connection with J Leslie’s purchase of the unit.” The BCFSA issued its notice of discipline hearing against Leslie in December 2025, more than three years after the property had been returned to BC Housing. Misconduct and penalty To resolve the regulator’s case against him, Leslie proposed the consent order to the BCFSA. The document describes Leslie’s purchase of the unit despite knowing he didn’t qualify under the Affordable Home Ownership Program as “conduct unbecoming” of a licensee. Failing to occupy the unit, renting it out and making a false statement by claiming to meet the ownership requirements all also fell under the “conduct unbecoming” heading. Leslie also admitted to committing professional misconduct by violating the provincial Real Estate Services Act’s provisions on “wrongful taking or deceptive dealing” and the duty of licensees to “act honestly and with reasonable care and skill.” Under the consent order, Leslie and his personal real estate corporation will have their licences suspended for six months and must pay a $200,000 discipline penalty within three months. They must also pay $5,000 in BCFSA “enforcement expenses” and allow “enhanced supervision” of their practice by a managing broker for at least 12 months after their suspension ends. Leslie has further been ordered to complete a remedial education course at the University of British Columbia, at his own expense. In a news release announcing the sanctions against Leslie, BCFSA senior vice-president of financial professionals Jon Vandall said the penalties send “a clear message” for licensees. “Exploiting an affordable homeownership program for personal gain is serious misconduct that erodes public confidence in real estate professionals and will result in significant consequences,” Vandall said, in the release. “Real estate agents are entrusted to act honestly. Deceptive dealing violates that trust, undermines confidence in the profession, and demands decisive regulatory action.”
