A Victoria real estate agent who rented out a unit he was ineligible to buy faces a six-month licence suspension
A Victoria, British Columbia real estate agent has been fined $200,000 and handed a six-month licence suspension after BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) found he purchased a subsidised housing unit under false pretences, then immediately rented it out for profit.
Jason Alexander Leslie, a trading services representative who operated through Jason Leslie Personal Real Estate Corporation at RE/MAX Generation in Victoria, entered a consent order with BCFSA on August 14, his second disciplinary action with the regulator.
The order, issued under the Real Estate Services Act (RESA), found Leslie committed both professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming a licensee in connection with his 2018 purchase of a unit in the Vivid at the Yates development in Victoria.
The Vivid building was part of a BC Housing Affordable Home Ownership Program backed by a $52.9 million provincial low-interest loan, with residential units selling at an average of 12% below current market rates.
Eligibility was restricted to households earning no more than $150,000 annually, and purchasers were required to make the unit their primary residence.
Canadian Mortgage Professional first reported on broader exploitation of the Vivid program in 2024, when BC Housing filed 13 lawsuits to recover units from buyers who had not lived in their homes as required.
Leslie signed a statutory declaration on February 13, 2018, claiming to be a qualified purchaser under the Section 219 Affordable Home Ownership Covenant, a document he signed before a notary public.
BCFSA investigators later confirmed he had no intention of residing in the unit at the time of purchase. He also acted as his own buyer's agent in the transaction, collecting a commission of 3% on the first $100,000 and 1.5% on the balance of the adjusted net purchase price.
A British Columbia submortgage broker who continued arranging mortgages for nearly a year after losing her registration has been hit with $55,000 in penalties — the maximum fine available under the province's Mortgage Brokers Act (MBA).https://t.co/V9tWVF4qPR
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) July 15, 2026
Rented out within weeks
Leslie took possession of Unit 102 on May 7, 2021. By June 10, 2021, or less than five weeks later, he had entered a residential tenancy agreement with a third-party tenant. That's a direct violation of the Section 219 Covenant, which prohibited rental to anyone other than qualified persons who were registered owners.
In a written submission to BCFSA, Leslie acknowledged he never intended to make the unit his primary residence.
He also confirmed to investigators that he had acted as buyer's agent for five other clients purchasing units in the same development — three of them in the affordable housing portion — and had explained the program's eligibility requirements to those buyers.
BC Housing conducted an audit in March 2022 and notified Leslie he was ineligible to have purchased the unit.
He returned it to BC Housing in September 2022, repaying the net commission earned on the original purchase, the net rental income collected, the property transfer tax BC Housing incurred, and the legal fees associated with the transaction.
Prior discipline and expanded enforcement powers
This is not Leslie's first BCFSA sanction. A 2019 consent order found he and his corporation committed professional misconduct as a limited dual agent by failing to disclose material facts and allowing an inspection without all sellers' consent. That matter resulted in a $7,500 penalty, $1,500 in costs, and mandatory remedial education.
The latest order includes a further remedial education course at his own expense, as well as 12 months of enhanced brokerage supervision by a managing broker following his suspension.
The case arrives as BCFSA prepares to significantly expand its enforcement powers under British Columbia's new Mortgage Services Act (MSA), which comes into force on October 13, affecting more than 7,000 licensed mortgage professionals in the province.
"The $200,000 penalty and six-month licence suspension sends a clear message: 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," said Jon Vandall, senior vice president of financial professionals at BCFSA.
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