Protect yourself from a compliance investigation by following RECA’s Residential Measurement Standard (RMS) requirements.

Please ensure you follow these guidelines to avoid RMS errors:

• Measure the property and use the RMS
  Don’t take measurements from a former listing (unless you obtained those measurements yourself and you’re relisting the property) and don’t use non-RMS measurements (unless the property is inaccessible due to a court, health or police order. If the property falls into one of these categories, you must disclose where you obtained measurements from).
• Do your due diligence and document it
  Speak with your client about RMS so they understand why their property is being measured this way. Document conversations and keep notes about the client’s questions and your answers regarding RMS in the brokerage file.
• Clearly advertise the property’s size
  If you are advertising a property's size, clearly advertise the RMS size to avoid misrepresentation or confusion.

RMS supplement compliance trends

When the RMS was first introduced, CREB^® Member Practice looked into what a member would be required to produce to defend themselves against an alleged RMS breach. We then worked closely with RECA to integrate those items into a mandatory RMS supplement that is to be included with an MLS^® System listing.

We encourage you to review and understand the following trends identified by CREB^® Member Practice, to stay complainant with RMS supplement expectations. Please ensure you know:

What needs to be included on an RMS supplement

• The address of the property.
• The listing agent’s name.
• The date the property was measured.
• A diagram (or footprint) of the structure or unit being listed.
• Perimeter measurements (the length of each wall that creates the outline of the house or unit).
• The total RMS square footage.

What documents don’t qualify as an RMS supplement

• Blueprints
  Please note that these are only acceptable for properties under construction, and it needs to be clear that the RMS was applied to the blueprints. An abundance of information can lead to confusion so be sure to be clear about what the RMS measurements are.
• Real Property Report (RPR)
  Surveyors abide by their own legislative standards of measurements separate from RMS, and RPRs are used to confirm lot measurements. Measurements for the unit being sold are the responsibility of the listing agent, who must adhere to RMS Principles.
• Condo Plans
  A unit’s diagram or a condo plan may contain measurements, but these are approximations that don’t account for above or below grade. These come from a non-RMS measurement standard and cannot be relied on to be RMS compliant.

What information needs to be input into the MLS^® System

Before activating a listing, make sure the total RMS on the supplement matches the measurement input in the total above grade field.

If an MLS^® System listing has conflicting RMS information, it is usually because the wrong piece of information is taken from the supplement.

For more information on RMS supplements, visit the Member Practice FAQ’s on CREB^®Link.

If you have additional questions about the RMS, please contact CREB^® Member Practice at crebmp@creb.ca.