2. The CREA, or Canadian Real Estate Association, has over one hundred thousand
individual members and 100 boards / associations, and works on behalf of its
members as well as the Canadian public.
CREA has been tracking and measuring the level of professionalism in Canadian real
estate for decades.
The ‘REALTOR® Code’offers strict standards of professional conduct for its
members, protects the rights of buyers and sellers, and advocates for government
legislation to benefit both.
In 1913, the Canadian Real Estate Association established their first code of ethics.
The first member-approved version, voted upon by its members, came in 1959.
As with any working document, this code has been revised time and time again. Real
estate, as any industry, continually has changes in its industry and the code needs to
change in order to reflect that.
But what has happened outside of the industry has come to be pertinent to the code
as well.
Changes in society and its values, as well as changing dynamics for property
owners, property sellers and the real estate agents themselves have further
influenced changes to the code.
3. What’s this ‘code’ all about?
Well, as with any profession, there needs to be a set of standards to
which the professionals are accountable. A lot of common sense
items are in here, basic professional tenants and fundamental
courtesies. Such items that the code covers or requires are:
• Basic codes of ethics
• Standard for conscientious, skilled service
• Abiding by compliance (including board bylaws, statutory
requirements, and co-operation)
• Keeping abreast of current essential facts
• Discovery of facts
• Respecting rules around disclosure forboth the realtor and their
agency (this includes disclosure of roles and disclosure of benefits to
all)
• Responsibilities and duties to clients
• Avoiding controversies, discrediting others, and discrimination issues.
4. The code expands beyond these fundamentals to more specific professional issues
such as:
• Transaction and service agreements
• Respecting of contractual relationships
• Transactional expenses
• Parameters around outside professional advice
• Personal interest
• Rules around advertising content, accuracy, and listings
• Arbitration details
So, the code covers basic ethical and moral obligations such as integrity, competence
and dedication. It then reaches beyond this to address basic legal requirements. In
fact, some may say that the CREA Code sets obligations that are higher than what the
law demands, although if the code and law ever went to court, the law would win
every time!
Not only does this Code serve to set high standards of professional conduct for real
estate agents and their agencies, but it protects everyone’s rights, and builds trust
between the profession and its clients.
It is a condition of membership to CREA that all realtors agree to abide by this strict
standard of conduct, this Code.
