Competency verification: a tool to improve our profession’s image

As always, the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ) carries out inspections as part of its mission. The role of Inspection Committee is to oversee the activities of agencies and brokers acting on their own account, as well as brokers’ competency.

Why verify competency

The purpose of the Inspection Committee’s competency verification is to evaluate such things as the licence holders’ ability to use their knowledge skilfully, to organize their records and to carry out their contracts in their chosen fields of practice.

This provides a definite advantage for the public as well as for all licence holders’, since you are working in a field where collaboration is key.

Concrete application of competency-based inspections

Competency can be inspected using various means. When reviewing registers, records and accounts, the inspector is able to verify many aspects, including:

For a broker:

• Drafting of contracts and forms;
• Drafting of specific clauses;
• Appropriate use of forms;
• Adherence to deadlines and follow-up on conditions;
• Information contained in the detailed description sheet;
• Documents contained in the records.

For an agency executive officer or a broker acting on his own account:

• Keeping of records and registers;
• Trust accounting;
• Office management;
• Personnel management;
• Oversight and supervision of brokers.

The inspector assesses the broker or agency executive officer’s competency based on a number of criteria, specifically:

• The notion of contract validity;
• Whether a transaction was put in jeopardy;
• Whether errors or omissions were committed;
• The presence of repeated breaches.

An inspector who observes a breach in competency on the part of a broker or agency executive officer may in his report ask the individual to sign a commitment to comply with the sections of the Real estate Brokerage Act or attend education sessions.

In cases where it is deemed necessary, the Act allows the Inspection Committee to oblige a broker or agency executive officer to attend a course or any other training activity successfully. The broker or agency executive officer is therefore informed of this obligation and may apply for a review of the decision by the Organization’s Board of Directors.

Any training completed following the signing of an undertaking or as a requirement from the Inspection Committee meets an additional specific need. In this context, continuing education units are granted, but they are not recognized under the Mandatory continuing education program, as set out in section 7 of the Policy on additional training of the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec:

7. Training courses or activities completed by a person as a requirement from the Inspection Committee, Discipline Committee, Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee or following a voluntary undertaking on the licence holder’s part, are not recognized activities under this Policy.

Our approach

The Inspection Committee wishes to continue promoting a preventive approach by encouraging licence holders to update their knowledge and skills on a voluntary basis.