Dual Agency in BC Real Estate: Can One Realtor Act for Both Sides?

You may have noticed that the realtor who showed you a home also represents the seller, or that the brokerage selling your home also has a buyer. That can feel uncomfortable, and it raises a fair question: whose side is the realtor on?

In British Columbia, the answer depends on whether anyone is actually a client of the licensee, and on how the brokerage is set up internally. This article explains the general rules, the narrow exceptions, and what you should be told in writing.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

What dual agency means

Dual agency happens when one brokerage acts as the representative of both the buyer and the seller in the same trade. A "client" is the principal who has engaged the licensee to provide real estate services. In a dual agency, the same brokerage would owe client duties to two people whose interests pull in opposite directions, such as the price.

The rules for real estate licensees are set by the Real Estate Services Act and the Real Estate Services Rules, and the regulator is BCFSA (BC Financial Services Authority).

The general rule: dual agency is not allowed

Under the Real Estate Services Rules, a brokerage must not engage in dual agency. If a licensee would otherwise be acting for conflicting clients in one trade, the licensee must either provide trading services to none of them or represent only one of them. They may represent only one if all the clients give written agreement.

This means a realtor who is working for you as a buyer should not also be your seller's representative on the same property, outside the exceptions below.

Designated agents and the remote-location exception

Many brokerages have several licensees. A brokerage may designate one or more licensees to act for a client by written agreement, and other licensees at the brokerage then owe that client no client duties under section 30 of the Rules. The brokerage must still supervise its licensees and treat its clients even-handedly.

Designating agents does not by itself amount to dual agency. It becomes dual agency only if the designated licensee represents both parties as clients.

There is one specific exception. A brokerage may engage in dual agency for a trade in real estate in a remote location where it is impracticable for the parties to be provided trading services by different licensees. Before that happens, the licensee must first make a disclosure to each party and then enter a written agreement of dual agency with each party. The brokerage must promptly give the superintendent the disclosure that was made. Exactly what that disclosure must contain is worth confirming with a lawyer or with BCFSA.

What you should be told, and what must be in writing

Before providing trading services, a licensee must disclose whether or not they will represent you as a client. If they represent someone else in the deal, they must also tell you, as an unrepresented party, the risks of receiving assistance from them and recommend that you seek independent professional advice.

A licensee must promptly and fully disclose a conflict to the client. Those disclosures must be in writing and separate from the service agreement. Even where you are not a client, the licensee must still act honestly and with reasonable care and skill.

• Before services begin, whether the licensee is acting for you, for the other side, or for neither of you.
• Any conflict of interest, in a separate written document.
• The risks of getting help from a licensee who represents the other party.
• A written agreement with each party if a remote-location dual agency is proposed.

What to do if you think dual agency has happened

• Ask the licensee in writing whom they represent in this trade.
• Collect every document you signed, especially any service agreement and disclosure forms.
• Check whether the disclosure was separate from the service agreement.
• Do not sign anything agreeing to unusual arrangements until you understand it.
• Get independent legal advice before the deal completes if you are unsure.

Any person may make a written complaint to the superintendent if they believe a licensee may have committed professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming, and it must include particulars. Unless the complaint is anonymous, the superintendent must acknowledge it and tell you the outcome. The discipline process provides no damages for you as a complainant. The Act's remedies are regulatory orders, and compensation is available only through the Special Compensation Fund for certain losses of money held by a licensee. A lawyer can tell you whether you have other options.

Frequently asked questions