New licensing forms available on RECA website

The Real Estate Council of Alberta has new licensing application forms available through RECA Online and on its website.

Changes to the licensing forms were necessitated by RECA’s new licensing reciprocity policy with other Canadian jurisdictions. These changes, which take effect on April 1, 2009, are a result of the new requirements of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between Alberta and British Columbia and the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) between all jurisdictions in Canada (for an article on RECA’s new policy, please click here). RECA has reviewed all licensing and registration forms.

Significant form changes are outlined below:

Information Respecting Suitability: The last question in this section requires applicants to disclose whether they are currently the subject of a suspension, investigation, licensing conditions, statement of claim relating to the business of an industry member or similar process including, but not limited to, conduct, audit, practice review or competence-related proceedings in any jurisdiction. This will assist RECA in determining the suitability of applicants from other jurisdictions at the time of application and whether they are the subject of a complaint and/or investigation process. On occasion, industry members who are the subject of a complaint involving serious allegations of misconduct in one jurisdiction move to another jurisdiction to avoid dealing with the complaint.

Responsibilities: Applicants currently acknowledge their obligation to familiarize themselves with the laws of Alberta as they apply to the business of an industry member, only engage in work or provide services in which they are authorized and competent to do so, and abide by any restrictions or conditions that may be imposed upon the issuance of a licence, including restrictions related to specific areas of practice or educational requirements addressing practice issues unique to Alberta. This section of the application was enhanced to more accurately reflect an industry member’s responsibilities.

Broker Acknowledgement: This section has been amended to reinforce that brokers have a responsibility to review the approved photo identification of applicants with their brokerage, to ensure that the identification matches the information on the application form. Brokers have to acknowledge that they have spoken with the applicant about the questions respecting suitability, the serious nature of the questions, the importance of answering truthfully and the possible consequences of swearing a false affidavit. Some applicants have sworn a false affidavit because, at the time of completing the application, forgot, or chose to forget, activities for which they have a criminal record, such as a Driving Under the Influence or a “0.08.”

Applicant from Another Jurisdiction: The shaded section of the application is to be completed only by those applicants seeking licensing in Alberta who are currently licensed or eligible for re-licensing in another jurisdiction that is recognized by RECA’s licensing reciprocity policy. Section G requests information with respect to any previous jurisdiction in which a licence was granted. In addition, applicants must confirm they have reviewed and familiarized themselves with the applicable Real Estate Reciprocity Information Materials or the applicable Mortgage Brokerage Reciprocity Information Materials. The application must be submitted to RECA for consideration and processing.

The new forms for licensing and registration are available now on the RECA website at www.reca.ca. For more information on RECA’s licensing reciprocity policy, please click here.

 

 

 

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