Advocacy British Columbians Face Diverse Housing Challenges in Northern and Island Communities

In advance of the 2022 General Local Elections, BCREA discussed housing challenges faced by mayors and community stakeholders in several of BC’s unique municipalities.

Legally Speaking Use Your Name Wisely #550

Despite good intentions, there are limits to how far a REALTOR® should go to help a colleague when it comes to business collaborations and opportunities.

Legally Speaking No Judicial Leeway to Compensate Unlicensed Individuals Who Provide Real Estate Services #523

Beginning in the late eighteenth century, courts refused to enforce illegal contracts as a matter of public policy…

Legally Speaking Third-Party Recommendations and REALTOR® Liability #504

Could a licensee be held liable for the poor performance or negligence of another professional such as a home inspector…

Legally Speaking Effective Cause #492

What if a buyer is introduced to a property, or to a seller, during a multiple listing, but later enters a legally enforceable contract to buy the property after the listing expires…

Legally Speaking Liability for Commission #481

A recent BC Supreme Court decision confirms that the Multiple Listing Contract (MLC) creates an equitable assignment…

Legally Speaking “Limited Dual Agency Or No Agency,” There Is A Different #446

A recent case illustrates the pitfalls awaiting brokerages and REALTORS® when choosing to act as a limited dual agent…

Legally Speaking Commission Due Despite Extension of Completion Date #405

In general, a brokerage must have a contract with a person to claim commission from that person. In each particular set of circumstances, the wording of…

Legally Speaking Future Commission Not Deductible From Purchase Price; Deposit Lost — Failure to Act Expeditiously #398

A half-interest in a home is owned by a live-in resident, while the other half-interest is owned by non-residents…

Legally Speaking Seller Entitled to Refuse Uncertified Third-Party Deposit; Ask Gerry #397

In a case where a seller refused to accept a deposit cheque, a Supreme Court judge gave an answer to a problem we didn’t know we had in the Contract of Purchase and Sale (CPS)…

Legally Speaking Delay in Applying for Building Site Approval; a Loss of View; Commission Advance Loans #378

The phrase “the race goes to the swiftest” describes the result of a dispute between the purchasers of two adjoining lots in a subdivision fronting on Columbia Lake…

Legally Speaking Paragraph 8 of the Multiple Listing Contract—Seller’s Obligation to Refer Inquires and Offers; Commission Lost, Contingent Upon Giving Written Notice #376

Paragraph 8 of the standard Multiple Listing Contract requires the seller to refer and deliver all enquires of offers to purchase the listed property to the listing agent…

Legally Speaking Property Law Act, s.6—Seller Must Have Title to Sue; Commission Case—No Breach of Fiduciary Duty #373

A couple who agreed to purchase a yet-to-be-constructed condominium from a developer repudiated the agreement after it was built because their complaints could not be resolved…

Legally Speaking Commission Claims – Agent and Not Licensee Must Sue Under s.43 of the Real Estate Act; Importance of a Written Record #372

A false start raised several expensive obstacles for a licensee who sued for payment of a commission…

Legally Speaking An Agent’s Duty of Care – Commission Cases Continued #360

Legally Speaking 359 considered a licensee’s successful claim for commission when his principals argued that he breached the standard of care and fiduciary duty owed…

Legally Speaking Commission Collection – No Breach of Duty or Fiduciary Relationship #359

When the price of a property listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) is reduced, what is the extent of a licensee’s obligation, if any, to give follow-up notice…

Legally Speaking Contract of Purchase and Sale – Clause 18 #344

I understand it is the standard practice of a licensee to explain the significance of the Contract of Purchase and Sale terms to the parties to it, before it is signed…

Legally Speaking Commission Claim Lost, Restrictive Contract Wording #339

Earning a commission is very much an all or nothing venture…

Legally Speaking Finder’s Fee; Unlicensed Person Entitled to Enforce Payment #334

A Supreme Court of British Columbia judge decided an individual who was not licensed as an agent or salesperson under the Real Estate Act was entitled to payment of $50,000 for introducing a buyer to property sellers…

Legally Speaking Commission, Receiver/Manager Can’t Be Sued Personally for Sale of Unionized Business, Seller Discharged Employees, Not Liable for Payment Made by Buyer to Settle Grievance #327

An agent who is given a listing of real property by a receiver/manager licensed under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act can confidently expect to be paid if a buyer contracts during the term of the listing to purchase…

Legally Speaking Commission – Licensees Sign the Effective Cause of Sale #314

A Port Alberni agent successfully collected a commission because of his prominently displayed sign on his principal’s property…

Legally Speaking Listing Contract – Cancellation and Relisting; Discharge – Ministry Of Highways – Attempt to Reserve Property for Future Highway Use #280

Column #279 discussed the cancellation of a listing, which cancelled the holdover clause and the practice of cancelling an MLSO listing of property, which has been on the market for a number of days to give…

Legally Speaking Listing Licensees Duties to Provide True Market Value; The Cancellation of a Listing Cancels the Holdover Clause #279

The extent of a licensee’s duty to provide market value for property a licensee knows he will list for sale, was discussed in a case where a lakefront lot, which was listed for sale at $35,000, was purchased…

Legally Speaking Commission Claims Made in Small Claims Court #275

The increase several years ago of Small Claims Court monetary jurisdiction to $10,000, opened the door for a number of licensees to sue for payment of a commission which they might otherwise have chosen…

Legally Speaking Effective Cause of Sale, the Test – Break in Continuity of Negotiations #271

The conclusion of a judge, concerning the test for determining the effective cause of sale in a case where an agent sued for a commission, may have some application to the arbitration of a commission dispute…

Legally Speaking Personal Property Security Act – Commission Trust; Contract of Purchase and Sale (Paragraph One) Restrictive Covenant; Third Party Approval of Plans Not a Minor Defect of Title #267

The last column No. 266 ended with the suggestion that licensees with independent contractor contracts containing commission trusts, might wish to file a Financing Statement in the Personal Property Security Registry…

Legally Speaking Contract with Unincorporated Company a Nullity; Unlicensed Person Posing as Licensed; Residential Assessment – Market Value Included Not GST; Cheque Yore Spilling #265

Two decisions illustrate the risk of not using the full name of a company purchasing property, or the failure of a company to be incorporated at the date it received the benefit of an assignment of a contract…

Legally Speaking Commission Trust Between Independent Contractor and Agent, Validity & Personal Property Security Act Involvement #266

An investment made by BCREA and the Victoria Real Estate Board, of legal fees towards the cost of a claim made by a Victoria licensee, that payment of her commission had priority over the receiver/manager…

Legally Speaking Chattels or Fixtures New Test Applied #260

Column #247 referred to a case in which the judge laid down six rules for deciding whether or not an article is a chattel or a fixture…

Legally Speaking Commission Upon the Sale of "An Insolvent Property" #232

The case referred to in Column #231, which discussed the loss of a commission payable by an insolvent owner of property valued at less than the total amount of mortgages…