Published Jun 23, 2026, 3:09 p.m.

Five-Year Rental Lock: Townline CEO Pitches Foreign Buyer Return to Unfreeze Vancouver Projects

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Image 11: Vancouver developer proposes bringing back foreign buyers — if homes are rented for five years — Vancouver developer proposes bringing back foreign buyers — if homes are rented for five years

Townline Homes CEO Rick Ilich has floated a conditional compromise to Ottawa's foreign buyer restrictions that would allow international purchasers to return to Metro Vancouver's housing market—provided the homes are rented through established property management firms for the first five years of ownership. The proposal, outlined in an early August interview with Daily Hive Urbanized, comes as the industry grapples with stalled projects and unsold inventory. Ilich, whose company did not sign the July open letter from 26 BC developers urging blanket relaxation of foreign buyer policies, argues this middle-ground approach gives politicians "the tools they needed to shift gears" without fully reversing popular interventionist measures. The federal ban, introduced in 2023 and set to expire in 2027, currently prohibits most non-residents from purchasing residential property, while BC's provincial foreign buyers tax has been in place since 2016.