The Public Assistance Department
If you are experiencing or have experienced a problem involving another real estate broker or agency, you may file a complaint. By informing us of any problem encountered, you allow the OACIQ to ensure effective real estate brokerage supervision and help protect the public.
The Public Assistance Department is among the protection mechanisms provided under the Real Estate Brokerage Act. It is this Department that will receive and review your complaint. Each request is taken seriously, and every effort is made to help you.
If you experience a problem during the transaction, it is best to discuss it quickly with your agency executive officer. His or her role is to help you solve the problem even before you file a request for assistance.
For example, if this is about a collaboration problem and it is urgent to take action, whether it is for an unanswered request for a visit or appointment to present a promise to purchase, the Public Assistance Department notes that the following process yields excellent results:
- If you do not get any response to an initial request by telephone, you can make a written request to the broker to have proof of your actions
- If the broker still does not respond, do not hesitate to inform your agency executive officer of the situation, and make a new written request to the broker, by email or Immocontact, by copying the broker’s agency executive officer and your agency executive officer
- If the agency executive officers cannot resolve the situation, it is obvious that the OACIQ’s involvement becomes necessary and rest assured that every effort will be made to resolve the situation
If you are an agency executive officer, go to My AEO Space for more information about your role.
Before starting, make sure you have enough time to complete the form. In order to submit your request, you will need to detail the facts and the damage suffered, if any. You will also need to include a copy of all relevant documents, such as brokerage contract, declarations by the seller of the immovable, promise to purchase, annexes, documents describing the immovable, email exchanges, etc. In order to receive a copy of your request for assistance, you must enter your email address in Section VI – Identification of Assistance Applicant(s).
Note that requests for legal opinions are not the responsibility of the OACIQ and will not be processed. As for advertising approval requests, please consult the Advertising guide for real estate agencies and brokers where you will find answers to your questions.
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Need help? Do not hesitate to talk to your agency executive officer or to contact the Info OACIQ agents who can help you complete your request. |
- After submitting your request, including all relevant documents, an analyst from the Public Assistance Department will be assigned to your file.
- He or she will review your request and then contact you. Based on the nature of your request and the documents you submitted, he will decide on the most appropriate course of action from the options below. He could also close the file if the required actions have been taken, if the alleged facts do not require an investigation or if the problem does not fall within the competence of the OACIQ.
- In all cases, you will be informed in writing of the outcome of his analysis.
Urgent, immediate and preventive action
To further protect the public, when urgent, immediate or preventive action is required, the agency executive officer plays a key role in this regard, as he must oversee the conduct of his agency brokers and ensure that they comply with the Act.
The analyst will contact the agency executive officer of the broker concerned to inform him of the problem and ask him to take the necessary steps to ensure that the practice of the broker is compliant. A deadline will be given to the agency executive officer to enable him/her to report to the analyst on the steps taken, the status or the outcome of the situation.
At the same time, the syndic may investigate to check whether a disciplinary complaint must be filed or whether another measure must be imposed to deter the broker from re-offending.
Transfer of your request for assistance to the Syndic for investigation
The Syndic investigates any alleged ethical violations to the Real Estate Brokerage Act and its regulations. Once an investigation has been completed, the Syndic will determine whether or not to file a complaint with the OACIQ Discipline Committee. If a broker commits an ethical fault, he may be brought before the Discipline Committee and, if found guilty, a penalty such as a fine, a licence suspension period or even a licence revocation may be imposed on him.
Penal investigations
The OACIQ may investigate to determine whether an individual or a company is carrying out brokerage activities illegally or leading others to believe that they are authorized to do so. In this case, criminal proceedings may be brought against this individual or company before the Court of Quebec. If so, note that you could be summoned to appear as a witness during a trial before the Court of Québec.
