Becoming a real estate broker: What are the OACIQ's requirements?

Taking real estate brokerage training while not knowing if you can get a licence, due to a criminal record for instance, is a sensitive issue. Practising this profession is a privilege, not a right.

The OACIQ's mission is to protect the public, and this is why verifying future brokers’ records when they apply for a licence is a key element of the process. By entrusting the purchase or sale of their property to a real estate broker, consumers must certainly be advised and represented by trusted professionals at all stages of the process.

Verifying the qualifications of a future broker

The OACIQ verifies the qualifications of all persons or companies applying for a licence. The Real Estate Brokerage Act mandates the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee (LIMC) to assess each application received that falls within the parameters of section 37 the Real Estate Brokerage Act, resulting in three possibilities:

• Issuance without conditions or restrictions
• Issuance with conditions and restrictions*
• Refusal to issue a licence

*Among the possible conditions or restrictions imposed by the LIMC, a future licensee may, for example, be prohibited from acting on his own account, be subjected to special supervision or be required to take a specific training course.

The LIMC's assessment of a candidate's file

Each case is assessed on its own merits by the LIMC based on section 37 of the REBA, specifically in cases where the applicant:

• has previously had his licence revoked, suspended or made subject to restrictions or conditions by the Discipline Committee, by a body in Québec responsible for overseeing and monitoring real estate brokerage, or by such a body in another province or State (for example, you are the holder of a real estate broker's licence in Ontario and you have had your licence suspended by the Real Estate Council of Ontario);
• has already gone bankrupt i.e. has made an assignment of property or been placed under a receiving order pursuant to the Bankruptcy and insolvency Act;
• has previously been convicted, by a court, of an offence or an indictable offence which, in the Organization’s opinion, is related to brokerage transactions, or has pleaded guilty to such an offence; or
• has been assigned a tutor, curator or adviser.

Criminal record check

When assessing the application of a candidate who has a disciplinary or bankruptcy record, or a combination of both, or who has been previously convicted, the LIMC considers a range of factors. As a future broker, it can be very relevant to take the time to assess your own application before starting the real estate brokerage training.

To do this, the future broker may rely on these factors (non-exhaustive list):

• The link between the facts and real estate brokerage practice;
• The seriousness of the offences;
• The extent and number of bankruptcies, the sums owed to the State, whether it is a tax bankruptcy, one or more objections to the bankruptcy, receiving orders, etc.
• The impacts on the stakeholders (victims, creditors, clients, business partners, etc.);
• The risk of reoffending;
• The fact that the applicant has learned from the incident and changed his conduct or ways of doing things and has taken control of things since the events or, on the contrary, that he does not realize the seriousness and impact of his actions, minimizes his liability, etc.
• The number of incidents and risk factors present or, on the contrary, the fact that it is an isolated incident (mishap);       
• The time elapsed since the events;
• Presence of false declarations at the Organization.

These examples of bankruptcy cases or criminal acts or offences, based on actual cases, have been submitted to the LIMC in the past. These cases were assessed, and a decision was rendered by the LIMC from amongst the following options: a refusal to issue a licence, issuing a licence with conditions and restrictions or issuing a licence without conditions or restrictions. These charts are certainly a good ally in helping a prospective broker assess the impact of his or her background on obtaining a real estate broker’s licence. They allow him or her to decide if the real estate brokerage training is the right choice.

Therefore, it is impossible for the Organization to immutably determine which criminal or disciplinary offences, or in which cases one or more bankruptcies (or a combination of both) will prevent the issuance of a licence. In its mission conferred by the Act, the OACIQ ensures that consumers are protected when they deal with a real estate broker. This is why the Organization ensures that a licence is issued to future licensees who are worthy of contributing to this mission.