Public articles
Identifying and reporting illegal brokerage
Do you know what does “illegal practice” mean? It is when someone leads you to believe that he is authorized to act as a real estate broker, while he does not hold a valid licence issued by the OACIQ. In Québec, all real estate brokers and agencies must hold a valid licence to practice.
Heavy fines for carrying out the activity of an agency and broker illegally
Carrying out the activity of a real estate or mortgage agency or broker illegally is a violation of the Real Estate Brokerage Act.
Notaries and lawyers must act “in the course of their practice”... or be OACIQ licence holders
Note: This article refers to a judgement rendered between 2004 and 2012, at the time when the old Real Estate Brokerage Act (R.S.Q. c. C-73.1) and its regulations were in force. Therefore, the following text refers to the vocabulary applicable at that time. However, the following analysis remains relevant under the Real Estate Brokerage Act (R.S.Q. C-73.2) that came into force on May 1, 2010 and updated on July 13, 2018 after the adoption of Bill 141.
A suspended or revoked licence bars the holder from practicing
A real estate broker whose licence is suspended or revoked is no longer authorized to practice his profession or carry out brokerage transactions. He must cease any real estate brokerage-related activity.
