RMLS™ Rules Roundup for May 2019

by RMLS Communication Department | Jun 20, 2019

The RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Committee has requested that periodic reports are given to subscribers about the number and types of formal rules violations, along with information about informal violations and courtesy notifications by type. Read “If a RMLS™ Rule is Broken, What Happens?” for a deeper explanation.

Have you ever spotted something wrong in a property listing on RMLSweb? The Data Accuracy team is responsible for sorting things out whenever a RMLS™ subscriber contacts us—whether that is via the “Report Issue” button on a listing, by email, or contacting us directly by phone. In May 2019 our team handled 293 phone calls.

We track 32 specific issues in Listing Data Checker (LDC), the software that helps us spot and correct issues proactively. Six of these are courtesy notifications, but the other 24 are informal violations of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations. In addition to our focus on education we also process formal violations throughout the year.

HOT TOPICS

Over the past few years unauthorized use of a lockbox has been a frequently seen formal violation. As a reminder—the potential penalties for this violation can include fines and possible suspension or expulsion from RMLS™. It is important to remember that you should not enter listings that are not active nor without following the showing instructions. You should also not generate codes and give them out to anyone if you are acting as a buyers’ agent. The sellers’ agent may generate a one day code, typically for use by someone doing work on behalf of their seller and always with the seller’s permission.

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.

In May 2019, four formal rules violation were filed. These will be reviewed at the June 2019 Rules Committee meeting. The committee reviewed three formal violations at their May meeting. Two were for unauthorized use of a lockbox and the third was for not changing a listing to PEN status for over 144 hours. A total of $1,700.00 in fines were levied by the committee.

• 5.1L Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox: Buyer’s agent entered a property that was in PEN status.
• 5.1L Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox: Buyer’s agent was provided an access code by another agent who was not present in order to enter a property.
• 5.1C Listing PEN Status Change greater than 144 hours: A listing with an accepted offer was not changed to PEN for more than 144 hours.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

In May 2019, RMLS™ Data Accuracy staff reviewed 28,829 listings in addition to the 606 notices sent through “Report Issue” button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 1,419 violation notices and 2,337 courtesy notices were sent out.

Following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS™ subscribers in May 2019:

When we notice an uptick in a specific type of violation (perhaps a rule recently changed or market conditions lead to an increase in a certain type of issue) we may also put a notification up on RMLSweb, educating subscribers before one of their listings gets flagged and we need to contact them.

RMLS™ Data Accuracy can be reached via email or by phone at (503) 236-7657 if you ever have questions about the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations, if you wonder whether a specific listing has inaccurate data, or if you want to chat with us more about the above information.