Sourced photo of Matthew Kuras.
Former Vancouver real estate licence holder Matthew Kuras has surrendered his licence as the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) continues its investigation into an alleged short‑term rental scheme.
Kuras has been under investigation since 2025 on allegations that include leasing multiple condominium units under false pretences and then subleasing them as short‑term rentals without the owners’ consent.
On June 4 the regulator issued a consumer alert advising the public not to make payments to Kuras, after receiving recent complaints from Lower Mainland property owners claiming he demanded additional fees and withheld rent payments.
BCFSA has stated that Kuras is no longer authorized to provide real estate services and has advised tenants to deal directly with their landlords.
On May 22 Kuras surrendered his real estate licence and was terminated from TRG – The Residential Group Tri‑Cities Realty Ltd./TRG The Residential Group Realty Property Management.
According to the regulator, the termination is connected to property management services allegedly provided through MetroVan Realty, trading as MetroVan Realty Property Management, an entity that BCFSA says was never licensed to carry out real estate transactions in British Columbia.
Kuras was first licensed to trade real estate in 2006 and obtained a licence to provide property management services in 2009.
The allegations
BCFSA is investigating claims that Kuras rented multiple properties as short‑term accommodations without owners’ consent, supplied real estate services outside of his brokerage through an unlicensed entity, falsified contractual documents, exposed owners to fines during tenancies, and made false or misleading statements in a licence renewal application.
Complaints dated between July 2023 and September 2025 involve at least six different strata units. The allegations state that those units were rented by Kuras and then listed as short‑term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb, prompting fines from strata corporations and the City of Vancouver.
While BCFSA does not directly regulate short‑term rentals, it notes that rental property managers must be licensed and must provide services through a licensed brokerage.
Regulator sought banking records and documents
As part of the probe, BCFSA required Kuras to produce banking records related to funds transferred and received by Kuras and MetroVan Rent Disbursement between January 1, 2023 and April 1, 2025.
The regulator also requested rental agreements, contracts, payment records and other documents connected to the properties under investigation.
BCFSA reports that Kuras refused to cooperate with investigators despite repeated attempts to obtain records needed for the investigation. That lack of cooperation prompted enforcement action.
In 2025 BCFSA issued a notice of administrative penalty totalling $27,000 against Kuras for allegedly failing to comply with the investigation. The regulator has not disclosed whether the penalty has been paid.
Discipline decision still pending
BCFSA held a discipline hearing on March 19 and 20 to consider allegations that Kuras committed professional misconduct by failing or refusing to provide documents and information requested by investigators and otherwise failing to cooperate with the investigation.
A liability decision from that hearing remains pending.
The regulator is urging tenants, landlords and others with information about Kuras’ activities to contact BCFSA as the investigation continues.
“BCFSA will investigate if a licensee engages in conduct that is contrary to the best interests of the public, undermines public confidence in the real estate industry, or brings the real estate industry into disrepute,” the authority said.
The allegations against Kuras have not been proven and remain under investigation.