'Unnecessarily punitive': Property management CEO speaks out against regulator's order freezing accounts

Downtown Vancouver is seen in this undated image. (Shutterstock)

The CEO of a property management company that had its licence suspended and trust accounts frozen by the B.C. Financial Services Authority last week says the regulator's move was "unnecessarily punitive and disproportionate."

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Rent it Furnished CEO Erika Weimer apologized to the company's clients for the disruption caused by the BCFSA's orders, and said the company is "working around the clock" to get them reversed.

The regulator issued its orders – and a "consumer alert" – last week, saying they were the latest steps in "a series of escalating actions" it has taken over the last year in response to the company's "repeated failures to provide compliant financial records."

• Read more: Property management company's licence suspended, accounts frozen in 'urgent' BCFSA order

According to the BCFSA, the company and the regulator entered a consent agreement last August, in which RIF admitted to failing to identify six shortages in its trust accounts between February 2017 and September 2020. The shortages totalled roughly $5,700. 

RIF also admitted to failing to take immediate steps to rectify the shortages and failing to notify the BCFSA of a negative balance within 10 days of when it occurred.

In her statement Friday, Weimer said the BCFSA's orders were the result of the company's "automated reporting system failing to produce reports that comply with BCFSA standards."

"We are fully committed to making any necessary adjustments to our systems to prevent future issues," the CEO said.

"We remain firm in our position that there are no trust shortages nor any misappropriation of funds in our trust accounts. Our clients' funds remain secure in trust."

Weimer said the company has hired former B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal to represent it in the matter.

RIF has also commissioned international accounting firm KPMG to conduct a third-party audit of its accounts, with "initial findings" to be released Tuesday, according to Weimer.

"Unfortunately, tenants and landlords have been impacted in various ways," the CEO noted in her statement.

"Mr. Oppal lobbied hard for the BCFSA to conduct an early hearing to reinstate our licence to mitigate disruption and damage to our landlords and tenants. The BCFSA offered us Aug. 1 for a hearing, but then decided to delay the meeting to next week."

When announcing the orders last week, the BCFSA noted that the trust account freeze would mean RIF's landlord clients would be unable to receive rent payments made by tenants into the accounts.

The regulator advised landlords to take "the necessary steps to update their rental payment arrangement," and noted that residential tenancy agreements involving RIF clients are not affected by the freeze.

Weimer said her company is "fully co-operating with the BCFSA and promptly providing all requested documents."

"I am sincerely sorry to our hundreds of clients for the disruption the BCFSA order is causing," she said. "We take our responsibilities and relationships extremely seriously, and it is this dedication that established ‘Rent It Furnished’ as a leader in today’s competitive rental market."

The company describes itself as "a leading provider of luxury rental property in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and New York," with more than 5,000 "luxury furnished properties" under management, serving "local and international clients."