In mid-December, we shared that the CREB^® Board of Directors had amended some of the CREB^® rules. Some of these amendments resulted from the feedback CREB^® members shared with the Member Practice team, committees and Board of Directors.

This feedback allowed CREB^® to advocate for changes and share suggested amendments to the rule with the Change Management Group to meet our members' needs and promote professionalism across the REALTOR^® Community in Alberta. We appreciate the Change Management Group discussing changes and amendments to the rules and to the Directors of the 10 Real Estate Boards, who ratified the proposed adjustments.

Here's a quick recap of the rules that have been updated:

Respectful Treatment of Others

CREB^® Rule Part II 2.01, Mutual Respect, has been updated to clarify that respectful treatment is required in physical and virtual environments and bullying behaviours are unacceptable.

Mutual respect toward other Members, Brokerage staff, Board staff, AREA staff and the public is a requirement. A breach of Mutual Respect is intentional conduct that the member knows or should have reasonably known would harm, humiliate, degrade, or publicly embarrass. Such conduct may take place in physical, or virtual environments, including but not limited to aggressive, abusive, or threatening behaviour and is considered especially egregious in relationships involving an imbalance of power. Such behaviour will not be tolerated and is not in the professional image of a Member. (See also Article 16, 19, and 21 of the REALTOR^® Code)  

Quick tips

• Be aware of your demeanour, tone of voice, and body language in frustrating or uncomfortable situations.
• Stay focused on discussing/resolving the issue instead of using personal attacks.
• Pause before sending an email/text or posting a comment to social media; consider how those remarks could impact other people and your professional reputation.
• Engage your Broker if there’s an issue that is too frustrating or you feel the other person's conduct is disrespectful. Brokers can help keep the conversation civil.

Public Remarks on the MLS^® System

CREB^® Rule Part III 2.02(d) has been updated to explain the purpose of the public remarks better. By and large, they are focused on the physical attributes and amenities of the property.

All information in the general (public) remarks section of an MLS^® Listing on the Board’s MLS^® System must be property-specific. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, it is not permitted to include any:

1. promotion or incentive;
2. ii. contact information of the Listing Brokerage, listing REALTOR^®, Member, or references to other “team members” or assistants;
3. iii. Third parties or external service providers;
4. iv. e-mail addresses, URLS (website addresses), virtual tour information and electronic links of any other kind, including but not limited to hashtags, @mentions and other social media handles.

Violation history reset

Given the re-categorization of the rules, all members will re-start at an Educational Advisory level if they breach CREB^® Rule Part III 2.02(d). 

The CREB® Rules are available on CREB®Link for members to review.

CREB^® continues to review our rules, including those that are provincially harmonized, to consider the industry's evolution and how to support professionalism and data integrity for our members.