Council Issues Licence Conditions for New Coast Realty

VANCOUVER, April 9, 2016 /CNW/ - Issues raised in an article by Kathy Tomlinson which appears in the April 9, 2016 edition of the Globe and Mail have been a matter of serious concern to the Real Estate Council of BC for a number of weeks. As soon as the Council was informed by the Globe and Mail of the existence of a tape recording containing statements of potentially serious violations of the Real Estate Services Act, the Council requested that the Globe and Mail identify the brokerage and provide us with the evidence in their possession so that we could commence an investigation in the public interest. The Globe and Mail refused. Nevertheless, the Council commenced an investigation using all the measures available to it to collect the evidence needed to ensure that the public interest was protected.

Earlier this week, this investigation resulted in the Council meeting with the owner of New Coast Realty and its legal counsel, who are cooperating with the Council's investigation. The brokerage has provided the Council's investigators with the tape recording made at the brokerage, and the Council has now had the opportunity to review the evidence. In order to ensure the brokerage complies with the Real Estate Services Act, the Council has imposed a number of licence conditions that will establish appropriate oversight of the brokerage. New Coast Realty has agreed to these conditions.

The licence conditions include:

• appointment of a managing broker approved in advance by the Council;
• training sessions are to be conducted by only the managing broker;
• licensee supervision is to be conducted directly by only the managing broker;
• monthly reports to be submitted by the managing broker to the Council on any in-house transactions, trust accounts, transactions involving licensees personally, activities of unlicensed assistants, and any complaints received by the brokerage;
• approval of account signing authorities by the Council;
• provision to Council of trade records relating to assignments and commission bonuses;
• retention of copies of all offers received for a property for inspection by the Council;

The Council will conduct quarterly audits of the brokerage. Should the Council find non-compliance with the conditions or any other aspects of the Real Estate Services Act, the Council will take such further action as it considers necessary. The specific wording of the conditions will be finalized and published early next week.

"There are a significant number of buyers and sellers with transactions in progress at the brokerage. Those consumers have contractual obligations that they must meet, and the Council does not wish to impede the transactions. The conditions that have been agreed to with the brokerage will ensure that those transaction are able to proceed, and that the appropriate controls and oversight will be in place", said Robert O. Fawcett, the Executive Officer of the Council.

Any consumers with concerns about transactions at New Coast Realty should contact the Council at [email protected] or by phone at 604-683-9664, toll-free 1-877-683-9664.

SOURCE Real Estate Council of BC

For media inquiries: Marilee Peters, Communications Officer, Real Estate Council of BC, 604-683-9664 | [email protected]