Property Management

Unregistered Property Management in Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission (the “Commission”) periodically receives information that consumers may knowingly or unknowingly be entering into property management agreements with unregistered persons or entities.

The Commission is an independent non-government organization responsible for the regulation of the real estate industry in Saskatchewan by ensuring public protection through the administration of The Real Estate Act, its regulations and the Commission Bylaws.

Not all property management requires a service provider to be registered with the Commission. A person or company is only required to be registered if the work they are doing constitutes “property management” or some other “trade” in real estate as defined in the legislation.
Section 2(r) of The Real Estate Act defines “property management” to mean:

(i) negotiating or approving a lease or rental of a landlord’s real estate;

(ii) holding money received in connection with a lease or rental mentioned in sub clause (i); or

(iii) both of the things mentioned in subclasses (i) or (ii).

A “trade” in real estate as definted in clause 2(bb) of The Real Estate Act includes:

(iv) an offering, advertisement, listing or showing of real estate for sale, purchase, exchange, option, lease or otherwise; and

(v) the solicitation, negotiation or obtaining of a contract, agreement or any other arrangements to advertise real estate for sale, exchange, option, lease or other disposition of the real estate, either directly or indirectly, through any medium of advertising.

The Commission’s responsibilities include: maintenance of a Register of all persons registered to trade in real estate in Saskatchewan; auditing of brokerages’ trust accounts; conducting investigations and hearings with respect to registrants’ actions; setting and enforcing the standards of conduct for the industry; defining education standards and acting as a resource to consumers and registrants. The business operations of unregistered property managers are not subject to scrutiny or regulation by the Commission. Where it is alleged that a person or company is trading in real estate without being properly registered to do so, the Commission can only investigate to determine if there is any unregistered trading happening and, in the event there is evidence of the same, seek a Cease and Desist Order requiring the unregistered individual to stop the activities determined to be a “trade” in real estate. For further information or to verify that the property manager you are currently dealing with is registered, please do a “Public Inquiry”  of the person or company trading in real estate on your behalf.

For further information please contact the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission.