Message to Licensees: Meeting Your Duty to Report Misconduct

Meeting Your Duty to Report Licensee Misconduct

Council Develops New Tools to Help Licensees Identify and Report Misconduct

As a licensee, you know that it is your duty to always act in the best interests of your clients. You also have a responsibility to act in the public interest — and that means reporting the misconduct of other licensees whenever you become aware of it. Licensees are uniquely positioned to identify potential misconduct and prevent harm to consumers by sharing their concerns with their managing brokers and ensuring matters are brought to the attention of the Council.

To assist you in identifying and reporting potential misconduct, the Council has developed an online FAQ and step-by-step guide for licensees. Available on the Council’s website at www.recbc.ca/complaints/duty-to-report.html, the Duty to Report FAQ covers topics such as:

• What are my obligations to report misconduct?
• What kinds of conduct should I report?
• What should I do if I’m not sure if another licensee’s actions are misconduct?
• Can I make an anonymous report?

As a real estate licensee in British Columbia, you are privileged to be a member of a self-regulating profession. This means that government and the public have placed their trust in you to act professionally and uphold high standards of conduct at all times. If you know of a licensee who has violated those standards, you have an obligation to speak up so the Council can take action. By acting promptly to alert your managing broker whenever you become aware of potential misconduct by another licensee, you’ll reduce the risk of consumer harm.

When the Council becomes aware that consumers may have been put at risk by the actions of a licensee, we will initiate an investigation into the licensee’s actions that can lead to discipline. Where appropriate, the Council can take immediate steps to protect the public by issuing orders in urgent circumstances, suspending licences, and freezing brokerage trust accounts. That can start with a single person recognizing misconduct and taking action.

For More Information:

• Read the Duty to Report FAQ
• Contact the Council’s Professional Standards Advisor if you have questions about this information: advisor@recbc.ca or 1-877-683-9664.