Consequences for an agency that does not meet its obligations
As agency executive officer, you must ensure that your agency meets certain regulatory obligations to keep its record up to date.
These obligations include the following:
- Every year, the agency must carry out its mandatory information update. Remember that if any changes take place during the year, you must inform the OACIQ immediately;
- Every year, the agency must pay its licence fees;
- As agency executive officer and under your supervisory role, you must also ensure that you and agency brokers update your personal information and pay your licence fees every year. To perform the necessary follow-ups, please always refer to the Monitoring of my brokers section in My record on synbad.com. The information is updated every day;
- Also, don't forget to renew your own real estate broker's licence. You must update your information and pay your annual licence fees via the Online Checkout;
- Then, every two years, you and your agency brokers must complete the Mandatory Continuing Education Program (MCEP).
For more details, read the article on the Consequences for the broker who fails to meet his obligations.
Dates to remember
- Every year, the annual licence renewal period starts in spring and ends on April 30;
- The current cycle of the MCEP is from May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2025;
- Good to know: An Online Checkout is available during the licence renewal period. It is the easiest way to update agency information and pay licence fees.
If the agency does not comply with these obligations:
- Update its information, its licence and that of its brokers will be suspended after April 30;
- Pay its annual licence fees, its licence will be revoked and the licences of all its brokers will be suspended, retroactively to May 1.
If the agency licence is suspended or revoked, the agency will need to:
- Stop carrying out brokerage activities immediately (performing any brokerage activity without a licence is considered illegal practice);
- Remove all advertising;
- Immediately notify in writing the parties with brokerage contracts in progress that the agency, you, or the brokers acting on its behalf, are no longer authorized to represent them. For this purpose, please read the article Notice – Agency or status change to choose the notice corresponding to your situation (notice N if the agency was a co-lister or notice H in the opposite case, the latter leading to the automatic termination of brokerage contracts due to the cessation of activities of the agency whose licence is suspended or revoked).
To return to practice, you must:
If the agency licence is revoked:
1) Send us an Agency licence application, including:
- The supplementary forms and other documents listed in section V – Declarations of the licence application, if you answered positively to questions in the (Form to be completed in case of conviction – Penal offence and criminal act, Form to be completed in case of conviction – Ethical offence and Form to be completed in case of bankruptcy);
- The payment required for the issue of an agency licence;
- The payment of $105 fee to lift the suspension of each agency broker's licence;
- The form Request for lifting of licence suspension – Real estate broker – Real estate agency – Natural person, where the Declarations section must be completed by all brokers. This section is used to certify that the notices for all contracts in progress were sent to clients and to declare that you and your agency brokers have not engaged in any brokerage transaction during the suspension period. Otherwise, the Syndic will be informed and may take all the measures he deems appropriate. Finally, you will have to wait for the confirmation of the Certification Department, which will arrive a few weeks after sending the duly completed form to be able to resume your activities.
You must also complete the section for holders of revoked licences on the licence application form, and, for your agency brokers, the section Declarations on the Request for lifting of licence suspension form. These sections are used to certify that the notices for all contracts in progress were sent to clients and to declare whether you and your agency brokers have engaged in brokerage transactions during the revocation period. If necessary, the Syndic will be informed and may take all the measures he deems appropriate.
2) After the analysis of the Certification Department, you will be contacted by the Inspection Department. You must develop a written compliance program if there is none already implemented within the agency or to adjust the existing one and make a commitment to comply with it. In both cases, the program must meet the requirements of the OACIQ. For more information on the steps to obtain an agency licence, read this article.
3) Wait the confirmation of the Certification Department a few weeks after taking the above-mentioned steps. Verifications will also be carried out to validate the compliance of the agency’s file. The agency may then resume its activities.
If the agency licence is suspended:
- Update the agency’s information;
- Complete the Request for lifting of licence suspension for an agency form and send it to us along with the payment of the $400 fee;
- Pay the $105 fee to lift the suspension of each agency broker's licence;
- Complete, have all agency brokers complete the section Declarations in the Request for lifting of licence suspension – Real estate broker – Real estate agency – Natural person form and sent it to the Certification Department. This section is used to certify that the notices for all contracts in progress were sent to clients and to declare that you or your agency brokers have not engaged in any brokerage transactions during the suspension period. Otherwise, the Syndic will be informed and may take any measures he deems appropriate;
- Wait a few weeks after sending the duly completed form for the confirmation from the Certification Department before resuming your activities.
