Change is Coming

January 18, 2018
Home underneath a magnifying glass

On March 15th, the Superintendent of Real Estate’s new consumer protection rules take effect. These rules will require new mandatory disclosures of remuneration to be paid at the time of every offer presentation, new mandatory disclosures of the licensee’s responsibility to both clients and unrepresented parties, a new mandatory disclosure to consumers of the risks of being unrepresented in a real estate transaction, and the ending of the practice of dual agency (where one licensee represents both sides of a transaction legally).

A big impact on agent practices

These new requirements may have a profound impact on how the real estate agent you choose can assist you, or whether they can assist you at all! Certainly, when a licensee deals with current and past clients, potential for conflict of interest will need to fully be considered by agents and declared to all involved. In some situations, customers or clients will be required to deal with someone other than the person they had hoped would assist them in the transaction.

We expect that during the initial period of transition there will be many questions from the public regarding the provision of services, and agents will be developing new business models and procedures to best assist and inform those that they legally represent and those who they do not, and cannot, represent as required by the new regulations.

Accountability and transparency

We fully expect that real estate purchase and sales activities will need to be modified from past practices, and that expectations and offered services and fee structures will change. However, these changes will create a more transparent and accountable industry to serve the public and will result in a more professional real estate industry

Should you have questions regarding these new rules please feel free to contact one of our managing brokers to discuss how it may impact your situation.


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