The OACIQ sanctioned three brokers who carried out brokerage transactions while their licence was suspended
Sanction
Licence suspensions, ranging from 30 to 120 days with fines, have recently been imposed on brokers to highlight the seriousness of offences and protect the public.
Recap of the facts
During the past year, the OACIQ Discipline Committee sanctioned three brokers who carried out brokerage transactions while their licence was suspended. The committed offences include:
- Meeting with a potential seller and mentioning comparables and the possible value of his property;
- Advertising or allowing someone to advertise on Facebook his services as a real estate broker;
- Visiting an immovable with a friend, prospective buyer;
- Drafting or participating in the drafting of an offer to purchase and presenting it to sellers on behalf of a friend;
- Using the real estate broker title in a correspondence sent to another broker;
- Drafting and presenting a promise to purchase to the seller’s broker.
Remember that a broker is not allowed to perform brokerage transactions while his licence is suspended even if the alleged acts were taken to help friends, free or in good faith and without dishonest intent or even through a third person at his request. He is therefore no longer authorized to practise his profession during the suspension period, but remains subject to the Real Estate Brokerage Act and its regulations (Section 17 of the Regulation respecting the issue of broker’s and agency licences).
Failing to comply with a suspension order is particularly serious since it undermines the authority and the imperative nature of the Discipline Committee’s decisions. It constitutes a hitch to the protection mechanism which is the disciplinary system and, therefore, significantly jeopardizes public protection. “This is unacceptable,” says the committee and “a licence suspension is required.”
Click here to read the full disciplinary decisions:
- Decision on guilt 33-17-2027;
- Decision on sanction 33-17-2027;
- Decision on guilt and sanction 33-16-1930;
- Decision on guilt 33-16-1883;
- Decision on sanction 33-16-1883.
Broker’s obligations
A suspended licence holder remains subject to the Real Estate Brokerage Act and its regulations.Want to learn more about the type of activity that is prohibited or the obligations of the suspended broker and his agency? Please read the following article published by the OACIQ:
Want to check a broker’s licence history to see if he has ever been the subject of a disciplinary decision or if his licence is valid for example? Check the Register of licence holders on the OACIQ’s website.
About the Discipline Committee
The Discipline Committee hears ethical complaints brought against real estate brokers or agencies and imposes penalties on those found guilty at public disciplinary hearings. Created under the Real Estate Brokerage Act, the Discipline Committee is completely autonomous and independent from the Board of Directors and staff of the OACIQ.
