Checking a broker's record

It is always preferable to know what kind of record the licence holder to whom you are entrusting the sale, purchase or lease of your property has before you embark on this adventure.

The OACIQ puts at your disposal in the Register of licence holders several tools to check the record of a real estate broker. You will be able to:

ensure that he/she holds a valid licence and check his or her identity;
consult the calendar of disciplinary hearings to see if an upcoming hearing is scheduled for the broker;
read the disciplinary hearing decisions posted on jugements.qc.ca website, if necessary;
see if a broker’s licence has notably been suspended or revoked or if conditions or restrictions were imposed thereon, by reading the notices issued by the Discipline Committee or those issued by the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee.

Register of licence holders

To make sure you are dealing with a professional who is duly authorized by the OACIQ, check the Register of licence holders. It contains the professional contact information of all licence holders practising in Québec who have a valid or suspended licence, or those who revoked their licence and maintained their right to practise but are not currently authorized to practise.

It also indicates:

The broker’s licence number and type;
The contact information of the establishment with which he is associated, the name of the agency and its executive officer, the company name or pseudonym, if any;
The broker's photo, which must be updated every 5 years;
The list of training activities completed in the current cycle of the Mandatory Continuing Education Program;
Whether the licence is suspended or subjected to conditions or restrictions.

A licence suspension means that the licence holder’s right to practice has been interrupted. Several reasons may warrant a suspension, including a voluntary suspension at the broker’s request, a cessation of activities, failure to complete a training course or to update information, or a decision by the OACIQ Discipline Committee or the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee.

A licence revocation means that a holder’s licence is no longer valid. Several reasons may warrant a revocation, including a voluntary revocation at the broker’s request, failure to pay the annual licence maintenance fees on the specified date, failure to pay fines or other sums due to the OACIQ, or a decision by the OACIQ Discipline Committee or the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee.

No brokerage transaction can be performed during the suspension period or if the licence is revoked. To verify whether the suspension or revocation is of disciplinary nature, contact the Registry Service at greffes@oaciq.com.

Click here for more information on the Register.

Disciplinary decisions

Discipline Committee receives the complaint from the Syndic and informs the concerned broker or agency. If the defendant pleads guilty to the offences brought against him, the Committee determines the sanction to be imposed at a hearing. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the Committee provides for a hearing on guilt. In the light of evidence presented by each of the parties, the three members of the Discipline Committee will first render their decision on the defendant's guilt and, if applicable, a second decision on the penalty imposed: this means that it is possible to have two decisions pertaining to the same file, one in which the defendant is found guilty, and the other specifying the penalty.

The decisions of the Discipline Committee may be appealed according to the terms and conditions set out in the Real Estate Brokerage Act and the Professional Code.

Finding a disciplinary decision

The decisions rendered by the Discipline Committee are public: you may access them free of charge on the website citoyens.soquij.qc.ca.

Use caution when searching:

Read the decision in its entirety as the defendant may have been acquitted;
The fact that a broker’s name appears in a decision doesn’t necessarily mean he is the defendant; he may simply be a witness in the case;
A decision concerning a broker may appear on the jugements.qc.ca website while no notice from the Discipline Committee in the broker’s name is posted on the OACIQ website. This could mean that the period for which a measure was ordered is now over.

To avoid any misunderstanding, we recommend that you contact the Discipline Committee Secretary.

You may also consult the secretary to:

Access a decision that does not appear on jugements.qc.ca;
Verify whether a real estate broker or an agency has a disciplinary record;
Verify whether a broker or agency has been the subject of one or more disciplinary sanctions.

450-462-9800 or 1-800-440-7170, ext. 8350

greffes@oaciq.com

WARNING

Section 94 of the Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising prohibits brokers or agency executive officers from using a decision rendered by the Discipline Committee for the purpose of harming a licence holder. In addition, because more than one person can have the same name, we recommend that you consult the Register of licence holders to verify the identity of persons who have been the subject of disciplinary penalties.

Calendar of disciplinary hearings

Discipline Committee hearings are public. Most take place at the OACIQ's Brossard office at 4905 Lapinière Boulevard, Suite 2200, and in Québec City.

A disciplinary hearing is where a decision is rendered on guilt or on the penalty to be imposed. The parties and witnesses must appear on the date and time indicated on the notice of hearing or summons sent by the Discipline Committee secretary.

It should be noted that the Discipline Committee has the same powers as the Superior Court to subpoena witnesses to appear, including that of issuing a warrant.

Here is the latest hearing schedule provided by the clerk of the Discipline Committee. Where appropriate, postponements or cancellations are indicated in the description of the hearing.

Consult the Calendar of disciplinary hearings

Notices from the discipline committee

The Discipline Committee is responsible for imposing penalties on brokers or agencies found guilty of a violation of the Real Estate Brokerage Act. Following the disciplinary hearing, the offender could receive various penalties, including suspension or revocation of his licence, or the imposition of conditions or restrictions.

Where this is the case, a notice of decision by the Committee must be published in an official publication of the OACIQ or on its website. Furthermore, the Discipline Committee may decide to have a notice of its decision published in a local newspaper that is most likely to be read by the licence holder’s clients.

It is important to know that these notices are removed from the OACIQ website as soon as the period during which the measure was in effect (suspension, restriction, revocation, imposition of conditions, etc.) is over.

Consult the notices of licence suspension or revocation or imposition of conditions or restrictions on a licence.

Notices from the licence issue and maintenance committee

The mission of the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee, under the Real Estate Brokerage Act, is to make decisions regarding licence issue or maintenance where an applicant or a licence holder has had his licence revoked, suspended or made subject to restrictions or conditions by the Discipline Committee of the OACIQ or by another body supervising real estate brokerage, or was the subject of an assignment of property, a receiving order, or a protective supervision of a person of full age.

The role of the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee under the Real Estate Brokerage Act (R.S.Q., c. C-73.2) consists particularly in determining whether public protection warrants the application of such measures as provided under the Act where an applicant or a licence holder has been found guilty of or has pleaded guilty to an offence or a criminal act, to the extent where the Committee has established that this offence or this act has a link with the activity of real estate broker or agency.

If a licence issue application is submitted to the Committee, the latter has the power to review all criminal convictions, regardless of when the person was found or pleaded guilty.

When deciding on licence maintenance, the Committee may take into account any criminal conviction occurred since May 1, 2010.

In addition, the Committee may review cases involving bankruptcy, guardianship, protection mandate, as well as cases where an applicant or licence holder has had his licence revoked, suspended or made subject to restrictions or conditions by the OACIQ Discipline Committee or by a body in another province or State responsible for overseeing and monitoring real estate brokerage. In the latter cases, the Committee may decide to impose one of the measures as provided for under the Act where the protection of the public warrants such measure.

Depending on circumstances, the Committee may refuse to issue a licence to an applicant, or to issue it by imposing restrictions or conditions thereon. The Committee may also take measures against a licence holder, including suspending or revoking a licence or making it subject to restrictions or conditions.

Consult the notices of licence suspension or revocation or imposition of conditions or restrictions on a licence.