The REALTOR® Cooperation Policy takes effect on Jan. 3, and CREB® is getting you ready for it. The 10 Alberta real estate boards have established a harmonized rule and approach to fulfill the requirements of CREA's policy, which states, "Boards and Associations operating MLS® Systems must adopt and enforce this policy in their MLS® System Rules or an equivalent policy."
On Jan. 3, 2024, the following rules will be added to CREB® Rules Part II Provincial Practice Rules:
1.01(ee) “Public Marketing” means the representation of marketing of a Listing to the public or anyone not directly affiliated with the listing brokerage/office in a business capacity. For clarity, Public Marketing does not include one-to-one direct communication with a REALTOR® unaffiliated with the listing brokerage/office.
Public Marketing includes any representation regarding the sale of a property, including but not limited to flyers, yard signs, digital marketing on any public-facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW) and onsite brokerage promotion, digital communications marketing (i.e., email blasts, newsletters, social media posts), multi brokerage Listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.
6.06 REALTOR® Cooperation and Public Marketing: In accordance with the REALTOR® Cooperation Policy, Member must, within three (3) calendar days of any Public Marketing, place the Listing on the MLS® System for cooperation with other REALTORS®. The following Listing are exempt from the requirements above:
a. Commercial property Listings (i.e., business properties, agricultural properties);
b. New construction Listing in developments with multiple properties of units (i.e. residential development projects, condo development projects); and
c. Rental property Listings.
While we anticipate members will adjust their business practices to align with the expectations of these rules, if there are cases where members are not aligned with the rules, boards may take the following steps:
- The first time CREB® confirms the rule has been broken, Member Practice will work with our member to review the rule's requirements and provide suggestions to help them align with the rule, fix the issue, and prevent future violations. This reminder of the rules and expectations is considered an Educational Advisory.
- If the member breaks the rule again or doesn’t fix the issue, the board may issue a $250 fine; if the issue continues to go uncorrected or happens a third time, a $500 fine will be posted to the member’s account.
- Should a violation remain unfixed, or the member continues to violate the rule four or more times, the board may forward the matter to a disciplinary hearing.
Issuing fines and forwarding a member to a disciplinary hearing is one of the most unpleasant parts of the board’s role. We encourage brokers and members to work together to raise concerns with each other as an alternative to sending the concern to CREB®. With new policies like this, it can take time for members to adjust to the changes, and we know members are receptive to hearing from their colleagues if they’ve made an error.
Sometimes, this allows the issue to be resolved without the board's involvement. With that said, should a member want to forward a concern to Member Practice, we’ll look into the issue, and if the rule has been violated, we’ll work with the listing agent to help them fix it.
INFORMATION FOR BROKERS
For publicly marketed listings, what can brokers do to help prepare?
Review your listings.
Cross-check the listings that appear on the MLS® System with the listing contracts you have on file; you can find all your brokerage listings through the “My Active Listings” Report on Pillar 9™. In your comparison, if you find a listing that isn’t on the MLS® System but you have the listing contract, if it’s not part of one of the exemptions to the rule (commercial, rental, new developments- in some cases), consider if the current marketing is "current marketing."
Suppose it is, and the property doesn’t sell firm before Jan. 3. In that case, they must ensure the property is listed on the MLS® System by Jan. 6 (which is three calendar days from when the policy starts), OR they need to stop all public marketing before the policy takes effect.
Please ensure that any listings that are not on the MLS® System but need to be, due to the new policy, have the necessary AREA listing contracts signed. Please also check that the listing expiration date on the contract or amendments meets the 60-day minimum MLS® listing period.
Review your advertising.
Do you use Coming Soon marketing? How about non-MLS® Listing networks like private Facebook Groups that share non-MLS® listings? Do Pre-MLS® signage, promotion and marketing, like sneak peeks or previews via email blasts, part of your listing strategy?
These types of advertising get consumers and fellow REALTORS® excited about the property. They are also types of advertising that will trigger the rule, and the property must be listed on the MLS® System within three calendar days.
Think about which of your properties are in the “pre-MLS®” stage and ensure you have a plan; if those listings don’t sell before Jan. 3, make sure you're ready to activate property on the MLS® System.
Listings are not publicly marketed. What needs to be done?
If the listing is not publicly marketed and is not going to be added to the MLS® System
Suppose you have a property that will not be on the MLS® System and will not be publicly marketed on Jan. 3. In that case, listing agents must tell the seller about the benefits of listing on the MLS® System and get their written instructions to forego putting their property on the MLS® System.
CREA has developed the REALTOR® Cooperation Disclosure and Consent Form to promote REALTOR® compliance with the policy when members have properties that are not publicly marketed.
If there’s a concern that a member has not made the necessary disclosures or got the seller's consent, as required by CREA’s policy, these would be managed through our administrative justice process and require a formal complaint alleging that REALTOR® Code Article 30 has been broken. Avoid a potential complaint by incorporating this form into your listing package for a listing not being publicly marketed so the seller can sign the REALTOR® Cooperation Disclosure and Consent Form, and you can keep it in the listing file.
If the listing will be added to the MLS®
If a listing agent doesn’t do any pre-marketing for a property but will still be adding it to the MLS® System, they will now have three calendar days from the commencement date of the MLS® Listing. This is a change from the two business days members currently have. The adjusted CREB® Rule Part II 3.01 states:
3.01 Submitting MLS® Listings to the Board
- MLS® Listings must be
- Brokerloaded into the Board’s MLS® System; or
- delivered to the Board in the process required by the Board, within
two (2) businessthree (3) calendar days of the commencement date of the MLS® Listing.
- For Brokerloaded MLS® Listings, there is no requirement to send the MLS® Data Input Sheet to the Board. For MLS® Listings that are to be loaded into the MLS® System by the Board, a copy of the completed MLS® Data Input Sheet shall be delivered to the Board within
two (2) businessthree (3) calendar days of the commencement date of the MLS® Listing.
This change was made to ensure that properties listed using the AREA listing contract and intended to be listed on the MLS® System at the direction of the sellers are using the same timeline to add the properties to the MLS® System as publicly marketed properties.
This is not an exhaustive list of ways to prepare. We encourage all members to review the new rule and the full CREA REALTOR® Cooperation Policy and consider other steps to promote a smooth transition.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with Member Practice at crebmp@creb.ca or 403-781-1336.
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