The Rules Roundup provides a monthly accounting of RMLS rules violations and courtesy notifications. Our Data Accuracy team manages all reports of property listing errors, tracking 27 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.
HIGHLIGHTS
This month, we saw an increase in the violation Remarks Indicate No Showings. This violation occurs when a property is listed as Active, but the remarks state that showings are not permitted.
Any property in Active status must be available for showing at the time it is marked as Active. If showings will not be available for a period, the property should remain in, or be put into, Withdrawn status.
The only exception to this rule is if a tenant is present and uncooperative regarding showings. In such cases, an Uncooperative Tenant form should be filled out and submitted to dataaccuracy@rmls.com to keep on file.
Phrases like “showings only after approved offer” violate this rule and are not allowed. However, wording such as “showings only to pre-approved buyers” is permitted and does not violate this rule.
FORMAL VIOLATIONS
The RMLS Rules and Regulations Committee reviews all formal complaints which allege a violation of the RMLS Rules and Regulations. The committee has the power to impose sanctions.
The committee reviewed no cases in April 2024.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
The chart below shows violations that generated at least 15 instances in the past month. Some notable gains and decreases are noted below.
- Duplicate Listings fell from 40 to 2.
- Conditions to Compensate fell from 22 to 6.
- Missing Owner Name fell from 207 to 9.
- HUD went from 38 to 125.
- Personal Promotion jumped from 130 to 175.
Data Accuracy Department Statistics
The gain or loss comparison displayed in the parenthesis is versus the previous month.
- Listings Reviewed: 26,351 (+3,618)
- Notices Sent: 2,067 (+53)
- Violation Notices Received: 356 (-104)
- Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,796 (+119)
- Phone Calls Received: 567 (-22)
How to Report Violations
Subscribers have multiple options to report violations, including a Report Issue button on every RMLSweb listing. Subscribers can email our Data Accuracy team at dataaccuracy@rmls.com or call them at 503.395.1916. When there are increases in specific violation types, we sometimes place notifications on RMLSweb.