JULY 2015
Electronic Signatures Permitted as of July 1, 2015
New Requirements for Handling of Offers – Best Practices & Info Sessions
Changes to the Handling of Personal Information
Training That Fits!
What’s in Your REALTOR® Toolkit?
And More
ACROSST H E B O A R D
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Table of Contents
Changes to the Handling of Personal Information
Page 3Stratus Unavailable on July 28 for 6-12
hours for Major Maintenance Page 3
Electronic Signatures Permitted as of July 1, 2015
Page 3New Requirements for Handling of Offers
– Best Practices & Info Sessions Page 4
Training That Fits! Page 4
Attention Rogers Mobile Phone Users Page 4
Confirmation of Appointments to Co-Operating Salespeople/Brokers
Page 5TorontoMLS Unplugged Retired
on July 7 Page 5
Update on the RECO Insurance Program Page 5
What’s in Your REALTOR® Toolkit? Page 6
Mark Your Calendars! – TREB's Annual Meeting
Page 6Email Listings with Your Own
Customized Message and Signature Page 7
TREB Member Benefits Pharmacy Preferred Provider Network
Page 7
© Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.
Changes to the Handling of Personal Information
On June 18, 2015, Bill S-4, the Digital Privacy Act, received Royal Assent in Parliament. The
Bill makes a number of changes to Cana-da’s private sector privacy law, the Person-al Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). While the changes do not specifically target the real estate sector, Boards and Associations operating in provinces and territories where PIPEDA applies (all provinces and territories other than British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec), should be aware that Bill S-4 may impact how they handle personal information. Of particular note are changes in the Bill that:
• Exclude business contact information from the definition of “personal infor- mation” provided the business contact information is used for the purpose of communicating or facilitating commu- nication with the individual in relation to their employment, business or profession.
• Require organizations to maintain a record of all privacy breaches involving
personal information under their con- trol. The Federal Privacy Commissioner may request this record upon request.
• Require privacy breach notifications where a breach creates a real risk of significant harm to an individual. In such cases, organizations must report the breach to the affected individual, the Federal Privacy Commissioner, and other government institutions where the government institution could miti- gate the harm.
• Provide the Federal Privacy Commis- sioner with a new power to enter into compliance agreements with an organi- zation to ensure compliance with PIPEDA where the Commissioner believes, on reasonable grounds, that the organization has commit- ted, is about to commit, or is likely to commit, a breach of PIPEDA.
• Create new offences for failing to report or keep a record of a privacy breach. Such offences are punishable by fines of up to $100,000.
The full text of the Bill is available online.
The changes in Bill S-4 related to breach notification and record keeping, and the related offences for failing to comply are not in yet in force, and we will commu-nicate this information once it becomes available.
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Electronic Signatures Permitted as of July 1, 2015
Stratus Unavailable on July 28 for 6-12 Hours for Major
Maintenance Due to a major infrastructure mi-gration, Stratus and related services will be unavailable for a period of ap-proximately 6 to 12 hours on July 28.
Thank you for your understanding.
The use of electronic signatures on real estate agreements of purchase and sale is permitted
in Ontario as of July 1, 2015.
The Government of Ontario’s decision stems from the proclamation of the 2013 amendment to the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (ECA), which extended the
legal protections of the Act to in-
clude electronic real estate agreements of purchase and sale.
The amendment to the Electronic Commerce Act has made electronic signatures legally equivalent to signa-tures on paper documents for real estate transactions.
For more information on the Govern-ment’s announcement, click here.
TREB Members who subscribe to Rogers Mobile phone wire-less data services received notice
that on June 29, Rogers would be shutting down the SMTP gate- way that subscribers
have been utilizing to send trebnet.com emails
from their mobile phone.
How does this affect Members using a trebnet.com email address on a mobile phone? Members will continue to receive their trebnet emails on their phone; however, you will not be able to send trebnet.com emails on your phone.
What can Members do?You can forward your trebnet emails to your primary email address by contacting TREB. Send us all of your information in an email to [email protected] Please include your name, membership number, your trebnet.com email address, and the email address that you would like us to forward to.
TREB continues to bring you current, topical, and relevant training.
August 1, 2015 marks the transition to the Real Estate Council of Ontario's (RECO) New Continuing Education Policy. Continuing Education (CE) cred-its will no longer be required for your RECO license renewal.
Our training opportunities are of unique value to REALTORS® working in the GTA and are available in a variety of formats.
Click to learn about:
The seminars, workshops and hands-on technical training are available at various locations across the GTA. For more in-formation, click the Education tab on the home page. To regis-ter for courses, click e-Commerce.
You may also call the Education Department at the Don Mills office at 416-443-8108/8128/8149/8153 or at the York office at 905-895-7624.
* Have your Broker of Record/Manager contact TREB to arrange a Broker Outreach session.
Attention Rogers Mobile Phone Users
Training That Fits!
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Seminars, workshops & hands-on training
Webinars & training videos
Brokerage Outreach* Trainer On Duty Drop-in
The Government of Ontario’s Bill 55 made changes to REBBA 2002 regarding how an
Agreement of Purchase and Sale must be handled as of July 1, 2015.
To help Members comply with these new requirements, TREB has developed a “Best Practices for Handling of Offers” document.
In addition, to assist Members with these important changes to REBBA 2002, TREB is offering 1.5-hour Hand-ling of Offers–Bill 55 complimentary information sessions. Click here for schedule and locations around the GTA.
Advance registration is required. To register, click e-Commerce or call the Education Department at 416-443-8108 /8128/8149/8153.
For more info on the new requirements for handling offers, click here.
New Requirements for Handling of Offers – Best Practices & Info Sessions
TREB has received a number of complaints from Members regard-ing the scheduling of showing ap-
pointments with a Listing Brokerage.
The receptionist indicates that it is their Brokerage policy that in order to con-firm the appointment, the Co-operating Salesperson/Broker must leave their cell phone number.
When the Co-operating Salesperson/Broker refuses to give their cell number, indicating that it is a privacy issue, the ap-pointment to show is refused.
TREB is concerned about the potential
legal implications to Listing Brokerages who follow such a policy.
The policy of a Listing Brokerage which makes the collection and use of a per-sonal cell phone number a condition of setting or confirming the appointment may be a breach of privacy laws where the Co-operating Salesperson/Broker refuses to consent to the collection and use of that personal information and is willing to provide an alternate business number.
In those circumstances, Listing Brokerages may not be entitled at law to refuse to set up or confirm the appointment.
Confirmation of Appointments to Co-Operating
Salespeople/Brokers
TorontoMLS Unplugged Retired
on July 7
Unplugged, which gave Mem-bers access to TorontoMLS on mobile devices before
the advent of New Stratus, was retired on Tuesday, July 7. To access mobile Stratus, Members with iOS devices may use the Stratus App available for free from the Apple App Store.
Members using BlackBerry, Android, or Windows Phone devices may use the mobile link http://mobile.toron-tomls.net
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On March 26, 2015, the Ministry of Consumer Services launched a 45-day consultation regarding
changes to the regulation governing the mandatory Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) insurance program for real estate registrants.
The ministry is looking to modernize the insurance requirements under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 for real estate Salespersons and Brokers.
Proposed amendments include:
• modernizing outdated terminology;
• stipulating that registrants are required to pay the insurance deductible;
• providing for the submission of indi- vidual applications by a specified date if an insurer requires it; and
• establishing prescribed minimum in- surance coverage amounts.
TREB has been working with OREA, RECO and the Ministry over the past year and a half on changes to the insurance program for real estate registrants. Together, TREB and OREA have been fighting to retain and protect all three types of insurance cover-age, which includes errors and omissions, commission protection and consumer de-posit protection. We support the move to rename the term of errors and omissions to professional liability insurance.
TREB and OREA are also concerned with the proposal to remove maximum levels of coverage in the regulation as this could lead to higher claims, higher settlements, and upward pressure on insurance premi-ums for registrants. For more information on our position, please click here to view OREA’s submission to the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.
Update on the RECO Insurance Program
The HPI is based on the concept of a benchmark, or typical home for a given neighbourhood. The
benchmarks are established considering attributes such as the number of bed-rooms and bathrooms, interior square footage and lot size, as well as proximity to amenities like schools, public transpor-tation and recreation opportunities, pro-viding an apples-to-apples comparison.
Because the MLS® HPI estimates price and price change using these benchmark char-acteristics from one period to the next, it is less volatile than average and median measures, which can sometimes swing dramatically in response to changes in the share of very expensive or inexpensive home sales from one time period to the next. Thus, the MLS® HPI provides a price growth measure that is more closely based on pure market factors like the changing relationship between demand and supply.
TREB reports MLS® HPI statistics for four major benchmark home types (single family detached, single family attached, townhouse, and apartment). The detached and attached home types are further bro-ken down into one-story and two-story. A composite measure is also produced that reflects all home types combined.
You can find MLS® HPI statistics in two key reports produced monthly by TREB. First, Market Watch contains monthly HPI tables down to the municipal level, providing an index figure, a benchmark price, and a year-over-year percent change in the benchmark price. The base period for the index is January 2005. So, for ex-ample, the May 2015 index for single fam-ily detached homes in Mississauga was 187.8. This means that between January 2005 and May 2015, the detached bench-mark price increased by 87.8 per cent. The year-over-year per cent change indicator tells us that the detached benchmark in Mississauga increased by 9.7 per cent be-tween May 2014 and May 2015.
What’s In Your REALTOR® Toolkit?The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI)
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Are you trying to establish the rate of growth in home prices within a TREB market area over time? The Home Price Index (HPI) is the tool to use.
Mark Your Calendars!
TREB’s Annual Meeting is October 20, 2015 at the Allstream Centre (Exhibition
Place), 105 Princes' Blvd., Toronto. Keep watching for more information in the months to come.
What’s In Your REALTOR® Toolkit?The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI)
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Suggestions & FeedbackIf you have content suggestions for Across The Board or comments about this publication, feel free to email us at [email protected]
GET SOCIAL WITH TREB
TREB Member Benefits Pharmacy Preferred Provider
Network
As a member of the Toronto Real Estate Board, you have access to a pharmacy pre-
ferred provider network. This program provides you an opportunity to save money on prescription medications.
A $5.00 capped dispensing fee is ap-plied to all prescriptions filled by TREB Members and/or their dependents. Participating pharmacies include The Pharmacy in Metro grocery stores, and Drug Basics Pharmacy in Food Basics. Participating pharmacy locations can also be found online at metro.ca/phar-macy or foodbasics.ca/pharmacy.
Taking advantage of this offer is EASY:
• Visit trebmemberbenefits.com and download your Preferred Provider Network Drug Card.
• Present your card to the pharmacist at any participating location and save money on your prescription medica- tions.
Contact your TREB Member Benefits Team at [email protected] or 416-443-9989 for more information.
Thank you.
Your TREB Member Benefits Team.
Many real estate professionals are in the practice of personalizing the default email subject line,
message body, and signature every time they email listings from search results. It’s a great way to add personality and warmth to your MLS® communications.
Now you can create a customized mes-sage and set it as your default. Create your own subject line, a detailed message body, and a signature block that can even include a link to your website!
To create your own custom email message:
1. Click Settings from the Left Side Panel.
2. Click the Send Listings tab.
3. Type the cus- tom text you desire in the Subject line.
4. Type your desired message and your signature text in the Message field.
5. If desired, apply formatting attributes to the text in your message or signature using the Formatting Toolbar.
6. Click Save.
Now, every listing you email will go out with your own customized message!
Email Listings with Your Own Customized Message and Signature
