Quick reference guide – Key changes to forms since 2022

A real estate broker who gives a client a form containing this box must explain the OACIQ's mission and is not required to provide any other separate documents in this regard. 
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Space for two additional signatories has been added. 

A box on the privacy of personal information has been added as a reminder of obligations.
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Main clauses specific to the non-exclusive brokerage contract: 

• The seller's obligation to notify the broker if he enters into another brokerage contract 
• Access to the Declarations by the seller of the immovable form for other brokers with whom the seller has entered into a brokerage contract 
• Payment of remuneration only if the sale takes place during the term of the contract and the broker is the efficient cause of the sale.

The concept of exclusivity applies only between real estate brokers. Therefore, the seller's undertaking not to offer the property for sale by himself has been removed from the Declarations by the seller. 

Under a brokerage contract to purchase (BCP):

• A clarification has been made to confirm that the buyer has the right to search for a property on his own.
• The buyer bound by a BCP must inform the owner of an immovable or his broker that he is represented by a licensee. 
• The buyer must also inform his own broker of the steps he has taken and of his interest in a property, especially following an open house.

A client who is bound by a brokerage contract may no longer waive his right to cancel the contract. This is now indicated in clause 2.1.

Sale and purchase : clarifications have been made regarding the reasons for the termination of the contract. The brokerage contract is a service contract. Thus, the client may terminate such a contract without reason. The real estate broker or agency, as service provider, may not terminate the contract unilaterally except for a serious reason and must do so without harming the client. 

Purchase : a warning has been added to clause 2.1 of BCP to inform consumers that the contract can be terminated by the real estate broker in a dual representation situation. 

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The clause on the certificate of location has been clarified, particularly regarding the cadastre and the restrictions of private and public laws.

The buyer’s broker must inform his client that the remuneration sharing offered by the seller’s broker may vary depending on the  broker and the  property. It may also exceed the remuneration indicated in the contract. The broker must pass on this information to the client before the client makes a promise to purchase the property (Remuneration section). 
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A clarification has been made to the effect that the real estate broker must inform the buyer in writing if an exception to the dual representation prohibition rule applies. In such a case, the real estate broker must obtain the buyer's written consent to continue representing him before the buyer makes a promise to purchase. 

It has been specified that the real estate broker must disclose in writing to the client any remuneration sharing, in addition to the one with the broker who collaborated in the transaction, which he is planning to make of his remuneration. This disclosure must include the identity of the person receiving that share and, in the case of a non-monetary benefit, the nature of the compensation.

For the sake of transparency and to better inform the public,  recent brokerage contracts specify that real estate brokers must inform the seller, in writing and without delay, any remuneration agreement they benefit from that is related to the object of the contract. Real estate brokers must now disclose any remuneration agreement they benefit from.  

The reference to the seller's broker's obligation to assign a portion of his remuneration to the broker who collaborated in the sale has been removed from recent brokerage contracts. This obligation does not concern the obligations of the parties to the contract, but rather the agreement that real estate brokers may enter into with each other (Remuneration section).

The deposit clause has been reworded to simplify the use of electronic transfers and to provide for two times for paying the deposit: either at the time of the promise to purchase or within 72 hours following fulfilment of conditions.

A statement has been added requiring real estate brokers to record in writing the information provided to their clients on the importance of having a pre-purchase inspection conducted (2021).

Unless expressly excluded by the parties, the legal warranty of ownership and quality applies automatically under the law. However, for the sake of transparency and to better protect consumers, it was decided to mention the existence of this warranty in the Declarations and obligations of the seller section. 

The clause on the certificate of location has been clarified, particularly regarding the cadastre and the restrictions of private and public laws.

Changes to the structure of the form, including moving sections and questions and the rewording of several phrases to make them easier for consumers to understand. A concordance table showing the differences between the old and new versions is available on the OACIQ website (for the DS and DSD forms).

A preamble specifying the purpose of the Declarations by the seller of the immovable (DS) form has been added.

• To take current trends into account, new questions have been added, including short-term leasing, energy efficiency certification, presence of electric car charging stations, as well as the rewording of the question on cannabis growing.

   

• Other questions have been added regarding changes to or relocating or replacing of elements, such as parking spaces, rights-of-way, common fences, addition of pools, windows, sheds, fences, etc.