Disclosing a suicide: the obligation remains

Article Number: 6140
November 1, 2006 - 01:00

Notice to reader

Please note that the following article has not yet been updated since the coming into force of the new Real Estate Brokerage Act on May 1, 2010. The OACIQ positions which are conveyed in this article may have evolved since the date of its publication. It is your responsibility to ensure, at all times, that you are acting or that you are exercising your rights or recourse in accordance with the Real Estate Brokerage Act, its regulations or any other applicable law.

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Source: ACAIQ

In October 2005, the ACAIQ published an article on the duty to inform the buyer when a violent death has occurred on a property in which he is interested (1). On the other hand, the Small Claims Court (2) has just ruled that a suicide is not a factor that must be declared by the seller, since the event has no bearing on the value of the immovable and is too subjective. According to the judge, it is up to the buyer to ask questions about this if this is factor that is important to him.

Based on this decision, some ACAIQ members have formed the impression that a real estate agent is no longer obligated to disclose this information to the buyer. It is important to note that the Small Claims Court decision changes nothing to current Discipline Committee jurisprudence, which is very clear on that subject, nor to the Rules of Professional Ethics of the ACAIQ. An agent who is apprised of the fact that a suicide has occurred on a property still has an ethical obligation to disclose this fact.

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(1) Violent death on a property – Duty to advise the seller and inform the buyer (Info ACAIQ, October 2005)

Violent death on a property • Duty to advise the seller and inform the buyer

(2) KNIGHT vs. DIONNE (C.Q. Small Claims, January 27, 2006)