Administrative Penalties by RECA from June 13 to July 18, 2022
Real Estate Act s.41(b) A real estate licensee must provide competent service.
Jane Doe:
Real estate associate broker registered with Walsh Real Estate 2010 LTD. o/a Re/Max Fort McMurray
- On November 15, 2021, Jane arranged an inspection for their buyer client
- Jane asked the seller’s agent if it was okay to have the buyer and inspector alone in the property
- The listing associate sent a text message to Jane stating that was not okay
- On November 17, 2021, Jane attended the property for the inspection
- Jane asked a colleague to attend the property for them as they had an obligation that conflicted with the inspection
- The colleague was unable to attend
- Jane made no attempts to contact the seller’s agent to notify them of their situation and discuss options
- Jane decided to disregard the seller’s restriction and left the property, leaving the clients and inspector alone in the property
- $1,500
Learning Opportunity:
Licensees must ensure they exercise reasonable care and skill at all times when showing properties. Licensees must provide access for home inspections as stipulated in the contract, including who can access the property and perform the property inspection. Sellers expect licensees will access the property only for the reasons access is granted and that the property will remain in their care and control at all times. Leaving anyone in a property unattended requires permission from the seller or the seller’s agent.
Real Estate Act Rules s.91(4) A brokerage’s accounting must be filed with the Council no later than three months following that brokerages’ fiscal year end.
John Doe:
Real estate broker registered with ARIVL Ltd. o/a ARIVL
- John brokerage fiscal year end was December 31, 2021
- Numerous reminder emails were sent to John’s brokerage email address and their personal email address reminding them that the required accounting forms must be filed by March 31, 2022
- Each email reminder gave clear instructions on what forms were required, a link to
RECA’s website, explained how to access the forms, and included a warning that failure to complete the required forms by March 31, 2022, could result in an administrative penalty
- On March 21, 2022, John requested to RECA to waive the fiscal year end reporting requirement
- The request was declined
- To date, RECA has not received John’s brokerage accounting fiscal year end reports
- $1,500
Learning Opportunity:
Brokerages provide accounting reports to RECA to ensure trust funds are being properly administered to protect the public and the integrity of the industry. A brokerage must file its accounting with RECA no later than three months after the end of the brokerage’s fiscal year. In this case, the broker has failed to file the forms by their deadline despite RECA sending numerous reminders.
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