4.2 The Consumer Relationship Guide & Mandatory Disclosures
Key Takeaways
Rule 60.1 and Schedule 1 require use of the Consumer Relationships Guide in residential trading.
Rule 55 requires written disclosure before asking for confidences or as soon as possible after they are volunteered, and before a service agreement.
Rule 60 permits a Customer Acknowledgement. Use the applicable mandatory content and distinguish factual help from agency advice.
Rule 43 requires a written service agreement when a residential client relationship is established.
Apply PIPA and Rule 44 before forwarding private information, including when a consumer asks for a referral.
Explain the relationship before acting
The Consumer Relationships Guide explains how a licensee can work with a consumer in an Alberta residential trade. Rule 60.1 and Schedule 1 require its use and protect its content. The Guide helps someone understand their options. A signed acknowledgment of receiving the Guide is different from the written agreement that sets out the services the brokerage will provide.
When written disclosure is due
Rule 55 requires written disclosure before eliciting confidential information about a person’s real estate needs, motivation or financial qualifications, or as soon as possible upon receiving it if volunteered. In all cases the disclosure must precede a service agreement. Cover the services offered, whether you act for another person in the trade, conflicts and other facts likely to influence the person’s decision. If a disclosed fact materially changes, disclose the change immediately. Use best efforts to obtain written acknowledgment.
A bona fide open-house showing, small talk about price range or property type, or answering general factual questions does not alone trigger Rule 55. Rule 57(b) separately requires a seller’s sole agent to tell an interested buyer that they represent the seller at the earliest reasonable opportunity. If an interested visitor unexpectedly volunteers a mortgage limit, explain your role as soon as possible and handle the information under the applicable privacy and professional duties. Giving personalized advice may blur the role or support a claim of implied agency, depending on the conduct and circumstances.
Apply the consumer’s choice
| Choice | Consequences for the service |
|---|---|
| Represented client | The brokerage and licensee perform the agreed services and the agent owes fiduciary duties. A residential client relationship requires a written service agreement under Rule 43. In designated agency the brokerage appoints the designated agent. In common-law brokerage agency the brokerage acts as agent. |
| Unrepresented customer | The licensee uses reasonable care and skill and gives accurate factual assistance. Under Rule 60 the brokerage and consumer may enter a Customer Acknowledgement. When applicable, use the required Schedule 1 content. Customer status does not confer agency advocacy, discretion or confidential advice. |
| Transaction brokerage | Where the Rules permit it and the parties agree in writing, the brokerage or designated agent facilitates a specific trade impartially. Explain the alternatives, including separate representation, and use the applicable mandatory content. Rules 59 and 59.1 address the common-law and designated-agency situations. |
For a customer who wants an offer prepared, Rule 60 permits help completing documents according to the customer’s own instructions. For example, a listing associate can confirm days on market and communicate the customer’s written offer, while keeping the seller’s confidential information protected and declining to predict the seller’s lowest price. Explain the opportunity to obtain independent advice. Rule 55 calls for best efforts to obtain written acknowledgment, and documentation of the explanation and response is useful if the consumer declines to sign. There is no universal requirement to secure a customer’s signature at a casual encounter.
A residential service agreement must include the applicable Rule 43 terms, including parties, property if applicable, duration, services, responsibilities, use and distribution of information, compensation and termination. Give the client a true copy immediately after signature. Changes must be in writing and signed by the relevant parties. Keep the relationship and the client’s legal instructions clear throughout the file.
Safeguard information in either relationship
Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) generally applies to personal information held by Alberta private-sector brokerages. The federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) can apply to cross-border commercial information flows or federally regulated organizations. Personal information concerns an identifiable individual. Confidential information under the Real Estate Act Rules can also include property and transaction information. Before sharing a client’s records, verify what the client authorized or the law requires under Rule 44 and what PIPA permits. Consent is generally required unless a statutory exception applies. For sensitive documents, obtain specific written authorization where appropriate and send only the records needed. Chapter 15 covers consent forms, record retention and the Commissioner’s breach-reporting threshold.
For example, a buyer asks their agent for names of mortgage professionals. That request does not itself authorize the agent to send tax returns to a lender. Confirm the purpose, recipient and scope of any authorization, consider whether a client can send the records directly, and use an approved secure channel where sharing is authorized. Rule 45 imposes additional requirements when a licensee expects a benefit for a referral.
Official sources
After a factual discussion at an open house, a listing associate plans to ask an interested visitor for their private financing limit. The visitor says they will read the relationship disclosure but will not sign an acknowledgment. What should the associate do before asking?
Explain seller representation, deliver the required written disclosure and use best efforts to obtain written acknowledgment. Record the disclosure and the visitor’s response.
Ask for the financing limit immediately because the first conversation at the open house was factual.
Treat the visitor as a buyer client once they have read the Consumer Relationships Guide.
Wait to disclose until an offer is submitted and have the visitor sign the disclosure at that time.
A buyer chooses to remain unrepresented and asks the seller’s associate how long the property has been listed and what the seller would accept. What is the appropriate response?
Estimate the seller’s lowest price and recommend an offer.
Create a transaction brokerage relationship by giving both parties the same oral advice.
Explain the customer role, provide accurate listing history and refrain from giving the buyer price advice or disclosing the seller’s confidential negotiating position.
Refuse to provide any factual information because an unrepresented buyer cannot receive assistance.
A buyer requests names of mortgage brokers. Without authorization or any legal requirement to do so, the buyer’s real estate associate sends the buyer’s tax returns and bank statements to a mortgage broker. How should the associate have handled the request?
Treat the request for names as consent to send all financial records.
Provide the names and obtain specific authorization before disclosing sensitive records, checking what can reasonably be shared under PIPA and Rule 44.
Send the records because both occupations are regulated by RECA.
Send them first and rely on a later opportunity for the buyer to object.
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.