Duties and Obligations of the Broker

The OACIQ received many inquiries from brokers after the publication of an article entitled “The clause 6.1 of the brokerage contract confirms the existence of two classes of brokers in Quebec – What happens to real estate brokers who lost MLS®?” on www.yvonpoirier.com site, on October 12, 2012. We would like to point out that the position taken by the author of this article does not reflect in any way that of the OACIQ.

Section 81 of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising provides that a broker or agency executive officer must notably “recommend to the person proposing to acquire an immovable that the person have a full inspection performed by a professional or a building inspector who has professional liability insurance covering fault, error and omission”.

Very often following a visit to an establishment, the Inspection Department will request certain adjustments to be made or corrective action to be taken right away or within a given period, depending on the urgency of what has been observed. These requests can be forwarded directly to the broker working on his own account, the executive officer of the agency, or the representing brokers.

Since the coming into force of the new Real Estate Brokerage Act on May 1, 2010, brokers must open and maintain a trust account, regardless of their field of practice. All brokers have access to a trust account without exception.

In the field of mortgage brokerage, the Real Estate Brokerage Act states that a broker must “without delay give a written disclosure statement to the borrower (…) containing all pertinent facts relating to the loan applied for.” (Section 49 – Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising).

In order to properly carry out the mission and responsibilities assigned to them by their incorporating acts, some public bodies have special powers allowing them to require the disclosure of personal information through what is commonly called a “formal demand”. The person whose personal information is subject to such a demand may also be a client, a broker acting for an agency, or an employee of a broker or agency. 

The brokerage contract and promise to purchase mandatory forms for residential brokerage, which must be used as of July 1, 2012, include now the obligation to specify whether or not an immovable is subject to goods and services tax (GST) and Québec sales tax (QST).

To make real estate transactions more secure for all stakeholders, notaries are subject to strict rules regarding the requesting of account statements for the repayment of a loan balance to discharge an hypothec on an immovable. Today clients have access to different types of credit that can be secured by an immovable hypothec.

The OACIQ welcomes the establishment of the new Mortgage Broker Regulators’ Council of Canada (MBRCC). This Council brings together all mortgage regulators from across Canada.

Generally, the sale of a residential complex that is not newly constructed and has not undergone substantial renovations is exempt from GST and QST.