British Columbia Financial Services Authority orders Menethil Properties to cease real estate services and freezes its trust accounts

The British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) has taken urgent enforcement action against Kelowna-based rental property brokerage Menethil Properties Ltd, ordering the firm to stop providing real estate services, freezing its trust accounts, and suspending its brokerage licence. The order also requires Menethil’s director, David Song, to stop providing real estate services. For landlord clients, the freeze affects the accounts used to collect and disperse rent: tenants can continue paying rent to Menethil, but Menethil cannot make payments to landlords unless BCFSA varies the freeze order. BCFSA stated that funds in the frozen accounts will remain there for the appropriate beneficiaries, and landlords are not permitted to evict tenants for non-payment of rent or a deposit if it was paid to Menethil under the tenancy agreement. Tenants face no immediate impacts to tenancy agreements and should continue paying rent according to their agreement, while landlords are advised to engage a licensed rental property manager or assume management themselves and put alternative payment arrangements in place. BCFSA linked the action to its earlier suspension of Menethil’s managing broker in February 2025, noting that a brokerage must have a licensed managing broker and that Menethil has been unauthorized to operate since February 10, 2025. Monitoring subsequently found the brokerage continued to provide real estate services despite not being authorized to do so.