British Columbians may be at the mercy of realtors' "shady practices" thanks to loopholes in the province’s foreign buyers tax, according to a Metro Vancouver MLA.

Jodie Wickens, NDP MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, said she's received many calls from concerned home sellers since the tax came into effect on Aug. 2.

The tax, which was passed in late July by the B.C. Liberals, forces foreign nationals to fork over an additional 15 per cent of the home's value in property transfer taxes. Recently released data shows foreign buyers make up about 10 per cent of property sales in Metro Vancouver.

The government said the bill was meant to help quell the competition local buyers face when trying to purchase a home in the area.

But Wickens said the tax has hurt some long-time residents of the area who are now facing threats that buyers may back out of deals arranged prior to the tax, over the increase in costs.

Wickens spoke to media outside a Coquitlam home that was taken off the market in May.

Homeowners Heather Nyberg and Dan Zimmerman bought the home three years ago, and decided to sell it and move to a smaller duplex so they could spend less time fixing up their residence and more time with their young children. They also decided to downgrade in an effort to save money.

Nyberg and Zimmerman's home was listed and sold in May, with a closing date months later. They found a smaller home, started packing, and made several drives past the new place so their young son could get used to the neighbourhood.

Then in August, they were told that the buyers were thinking of backing out. The realtor representing their buyers also mentioned that they may want to offer a discount to secure the deal.

But the family hasn't actually been able to confirm that the buyers are foreign nationals, and is worried that the other realtor may be using the excuse of the tax to get a better deal for his clients.

"They could be permanent residents, or they could be trying to get a deal. And there's really no way for us to find out who they are and what their residency status is," Nyberg said.

"They could be foreign buyers but until we close on the house we don't know."

She said the realtor representing Nyberg's family has only been able to find out what the buyers' agent will tell them, and that he "isn't saying anything definitively.

"I don't feel that there really was a mechanism or someone to turn to that was able to give us answers, because there's so many of us in the same position."

Nyberg's family called their local MLA for help, but there isn't much Wickens can do other than push the government for change.

"One of the challenged with the tax is that there are a number of loopholes in the tax that still leave ability for shady practices," Wickens said Tuesday.

The MLA, who has represented her riding since February, said her party put forward amendments to the bill, but that they had not been seriously considered by the Liberal government back in July.

"I think it's time for the government to re-look at this bill and look at how it's affecting British Columbians – unfairly, possibly – and make sure that those loopholes are closed," Wickens said Tuesday.

"There are dozens of emails and calls that we're getting every day on how this is affecting people and I don't really think it was well thought out."