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
Recently, RMLS implemented a rule that prohibits numbers (either dollar amounts or percentages) from being attached to concessions, incentives, credits, and bonuses (or any similar promotional item) in the Remarks fields. We want to take a moment to clarify some of the considerations informing this decision.
The real estate industry continues to face intense scrutiny. Though the NAR-negotiated settlement provided a framework and direction for MLSs to continue to serve REALTOR® business needs, the legal protections provided by the settlement (which are still awaiting final approval from the courts) are contingent upon full compliance from participating MLSs and their subscribers. MLSs have worked diligently to adjust to this new framework, despite many uncertainties involved, while providing guidance to subscribers while we collectively figure out a path forward for all involved. New hazards to compliance have arisen though in the wake of process and rule changes.
Since the settlement on August 13, 2024, there have been reports of potential ‘workarounds’ being used by MLS participants across the country. We’ve also seen similar attempts. These workarounds constitute a violation of the terms of the settlement and thus pose a risk to the legal protections provided by it. Given the current landscape, it’s essential for all of us to remain mindful of the heightened attention on industry practices, and the associated risks that follow.
RMLS is committed to full and active participation in this settlement. Our goal is to demonstrate our dedication to the settlement terms through concrete changes and enforcement. For the long-term good of all involved, we ask our subscribers to join us in this goal, which includes discontinuing any attempts to communicate commissions or compensation. If you have questions, please always feel free to contact us.
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 one cases (Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox) in September 2024, resulting in fine of $1,500 that is currently being contested.
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.
HUD fell to 32 from 172
Personal Promotion fell to 130 from 170
Unauthorized Text in Photo fell to 26 from 74
Duplicate Listing Sold in Diff. Categories fell to 0 from 47
Incorrect Status rose from 9 to 17
First Photo Not Exterior of Home rose from 7 to 26
Data Accuracy Department Statistics
The gain or loss comparison displayed in the parenthesis is versus the previous month.
Listings Reviewed: 21,797 (-1,768)
Notices Sent: 2,295 (+672)
Violation Notices Received: 326 (-125)
Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,804 (+689)
Phone Calls Received: 448 (-125)
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.
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 34 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.
HIGHLIGHTS
Recently, there have been numerous requests seeking clarity regarding marketing practices prior to a listing being published in the MLS. It has become increasingly popular to promote new listings on social media as “Coming Soon.”
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), it is a mandatory requirement that any listing must be entered into the MLS for cooperation with constituents within 24 hours of its public marketing, including posts on Facebook or any other public site.
This policy aims to ensure fairness and transparency in the real estate industry. You are able to market new listings on social media as long as you are abiding by the 24-hour rule outlined by NAR’s “Clear Cooperation” rule.
Here is the NAR excerpt on the specific policy rule:
Section 1.01 Clear Cooperation Within one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants. Public marketing includes, but is not limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public. (Adopted 11/19)
Note: Exclusive listing information for required property types must be filed and distributed to other MLS Participants for cooperation under the Clear Cooperation Policy. This applies to listings filed under Section 1 and listings exempt from distribution under Section 1.3 of the NAR model MLS rules, and any other situation where the listing broker is publicly marketing an exclusive listing that is required to be filed with the service and is not currently available to other MLS Participants.
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 one case in May of 2023.
Case: Misuse of a Lockbox Fine: $500
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
Incomplete or Inaccurate Data violations have exceeded Personal Promotion ones for the month of May. This violation can occur for a variety of reasons, some of which include agent reported violations, incorrect mapping, and misrepresenting the property or sales terms.
The chart below shows the next three most frequent informal violations from May 2023.
This pie chart shows the remainder of the informal violations last month.
Data Accuracy Department Statistics
Listings Reviewed: 25,931 (+4,642)
Notices Sent: 2,150 (+253)
Violation Notices Received: 382 (-14)
Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,203 (+106)
Phone Calls Received: 280 (-120)
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.
In Part 1 of this series, we covered how to report issues and inaccuracies to our Data Accuracy department. In Part 2, we discussed how issues are reviewed and processed. In this edition, we’ll cover how issues are resolved and how to check on the status of a specific matter.
Step 3: Status & Resolution
Our subscribers are able to check the progress of the issue at any time through the RMLSweb dashboard.
Under ‘Back Office,’ look at the options below ‘Listing Issue.’ ‘Reported by Me’ provides status information on listings you reported, the current status of the report, and any available notes.
‘My Violations’ displays resolved violations for your listings, while ‘My Open Violations’ displays violations with your listings that are currently open. Both screens list the violation notes that have been reported. Principal Brokers can view this information for their agents as well.
The ‘My Notifications’ section tracks notices about your listing violations. You can see when the notifications were sent and to whom they were sent. If you click the link under ‘Sent Date’ you can read the notice that was sent.
Any issues that were discovered by our data checking software or staff will also appear in ‘My Notifications.’ The data is available for 18 months from the date the issue was closed. This does not mean that you cannot report an issue on a listing older than 18 months.
One factor that could affect whether an issue can be reported is if the Seller’s Agent or firm are no longer RMLS subscribers. In that event you would receive an error and to report the issue you would need to use one of the previously mentioned alternative methods.
Should you ever have a question about an issue that you submit or about a notice that you received on one of your own listings please reach out to us and we will be happy to answer any questions.
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 34 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy whether those are submitted via the “Report Issue” button on a listing, through email, or by phone. When there are increases in specific violation types, we often place notifications on RMLSweb in order to alert subscribers so that they can avoid violations.
MAY HIGHLIGHTS
We have seen a rise in the number of listings not being made available for showing. As a reminder, rule 3.27 of the RMLS Rules and Regulations states:
Availability for Showing. With the exception of Commercial Lease, Auction, and Coming Soon-No Showing listings, all active listings shall be available for showing immediately upon entry into the RMLS system, excluding listings which require all offers to be made contingent on interior inspection. Listings cannot restrict showing until a future date.
There are reasons your client may wish to restrict showings. Maybe there is a renter, or the house is unsafe. In cases like this you should add a statement to the remarks that explains that all offers are contingent upon an interior inspection. It may also be helpful to provide a brief explanation as to why showings are unavailable. If a home is simply not ready to be shown but you want to let people know it will available soon then publishing as CSN would be appropriate. This allows other RMLS subscribers the chance to know about your listing so that they can share it with their clients while still affording your client up to 21 days to finish getting their home ready for showings.
The committee did not review any cases in May 2021.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS & COURTESY NOTICES
In May 2021, the RMLS Data Accuracy staff reviewed 32,556 listings in addition to the 539 notices sent through the “Report Issue” button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 1,397 violation notices and 1,458 courtesy notices were sent out. In addition, our team handled 401 phone calls.
Category
May
Missing Tax ID
436
Missing School
168
Incorrect or Missing Information
141
Personal Promotion
135
No Showings
92
Duplicate Listing
75
Missing Owner Name
57
Property Condition
46
Incorrect Status
43
Listing Input in Incorrect MLS area
39
Is Property a Condo
32
Incorrect First Photo
28
Incorrect Property Type
21
Inaccurate Lot Size
19
Missing Condo Unit Number
14
Address Issues
14
Conditions to Compensation
13
Partial Bathrooms 5+
9
City Unknown
5
HUD
5
Missing SQFT by Level
4
Duplicate Listing in Different Categories
1
The following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS subscribers in May 2021:
Category
May
Listing Still Pending
622
Listing is Set to Expire
434
Multiple Owner Names in First Field
314
New Listing Input Over 24 Hours
62
Listing Still in OMS, Public Records Indicate SLD
25
Listing Status Changed from PEN to SLD > 24 hours
1
Questions about RMLS Rules and Regulations or the accuracy of specific listings can be directed to the RMLS Data Accuracy department at dataaccuracy@rmls.com or 503.395.1916.
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 an 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 an RMLS subscriber contacts us — whether that is via the “Report Issue” button on a listing, through email, or directly by phone.
We track 34 specific issues in Listing Data Checker (LDC), the software that helps us spot and correct issues proactively. Eight of these are courtesy notifications, but the other 26 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
Recently we’ve received quite a few notifications regarding incorrect or missing schools. You may have noticed that some of the school names you are used to seeing are now missing from RMLSweb. Recently several school districts have gone through a renaming process, with some schools changing names multiple times.
If you don’t see a school that you think should be on the list and want to know whether the school is missing or has a new name, here’s what to do: First, double check the area for your listing. It can be easy to be looking in the wrong area if the listing is near a county line or area boundary.
Next, check the local school district’s website for updated information. If you’re still not sure, you can always contact our Data Accuracy department at 503.395.1916 and we will help you determine what the new name of the school is.
The committee did not review any cases in April 2021.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
In April 2021, the RMLS Data Accuracy staff reviewed 31,851 listings in addition to the 574 notices sent through the “Report Issue” button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 1,327 violation notices and 1,564 courtesy notices were sent out. In addition our team handled 378 phone calls.
Category
April
Missing Tax ID
423
Missing School
157
Incorrect or Missing Information
127
No Showings
94
Duplicate Listing
92
Personal Promotion
86
Missing Owner Name
55
Property Condition
50
Incorrect Status
41
Is Property a Condo
38
Incorrect First Photo
36
Incorrect Property Type
33
Inaccurate Lot Size
23
Conditions to Compensation
13
Listing Input in Incorrect MLS area
12
Missing Condo Unit Number
12
Partial Bathrooms 5+
11
City Unknown
7
HUD
5
Missing SQFT by Level
4
Address Issues
4
Duplicate Listing in Different Categories
3
Is Listing a Short Sale
1
The following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS subscribers in April 2021:
Category
April
Listing Still Pending
632
Listing is Set to Expire
447
Multiple Owner Names in First Field
272
Listing Status Changed from PEN to SLD > 24 hours
104
New Listing Input Over 24 Hours
81
Listing Still in OMS, Public Records Indicate SLD
28
When we notice an uptick in a specific type of violation (perhaps a rule recently changed or market conditions leading 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 have questions about RMLS Rules and Regulations or the data accuracy of specific listings, or simply want to chat with us more about the above information.
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 an 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 an RMLS subscriber contacts us — whether that is via the “Report Issue” button on a listing, through email, or directly by phone.
We track 34 specific issues in Listing Data Checker (LDC), the software that helps us spot and correct issues proactively. Eight of these are courtesy notifications, but the other 26 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
Accurate data is very important to us at RMLS – ensuring accuracy is one of our core values. To that end, we use multiple checks and measures to ensure that accuracy. One such tool is the Report Issue button that can be found on every agent report listing in RMLSweb. The Report button enables you to alert our Data Accuracy department if you come across any listing data that may be inaccurate.
Why do we need your help with this? Given such a high volume of listings, It would be impossible for our staff to personally visit every property and verify each piece of data, so we are reliant on you, the RMLS community who are the experts in our local real estate markets, to alert us if you detect an issue. Those notifications allow us to follow up with the Seller’s Agent to get the data verified and corrected if need be.
The process is anonymous, meaning that we will never share the identity of anyone that alerts us to any issue. The verification and correction process can take some time to correct as we require permission from the Seller’s Agent before we can make any changes to a listing, so your patience is appreciated.
Accurate data is a benefit to all of us so please stay vigilant and let us know if you find any potential inaccuracies. If you have a question about your own listing or need us to help with any corrections, please contact our Help Desk.
TIP: Prior to scheduling a showing, it’s important to double-check the listing for any special showing accommodation requests or notes from the seller(s) and/or Seller’s Agent. Be safe out there!
The committee did not review any cases in January 2021.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
In January 2021, the RMLS Data Accuracy staff reviewed 24,663 listings in addition to the 478 notices sent through the “Report Issue” button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 896 violation notices and 2,341 courtesy notices were sent out. In addition our team handled 303 phone calls.
Category
January
Missing Tax ID
434
Incorrect or Missing Information
128
Personal Promotion
106
Missing Owner Name
74
Property Condition
60
No Showings
52
Missing School
48
Incorrect Status
46
Incorrect First Photo
41
Duplicate Listing
38
Is Property a Condo
31
Incorrect Property Type
27
Address Issues
27
Inaccurate Lot Size
13
Conditions to Compensation
10
Duplicate Listing in Different Categories
8
Listing Input in Incorrect MLS area
8
City Unknown
8
Partial Bathrooms 5+
6
Missing Condo Unit Number
3
Missing SQFT by Level
2
Fannie Mae/Homepath
1
The following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS subscribers in January 2021:
Category
January
Listing is Set to Expire
747
Listing Still Pending
545
Multiple Owner Names in First Field
200
New Listing Input Over 24 Hours
45
Listing Status Changed from PEN to SLD > 24 hours
12
When we notice an uptick in a specific type of violation (perhaps a rule recently changed or market conditions leading 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 have questions about RMLS Rules and Regulations or the data accuracy of specific listings, or simply want to chat with us more about the above information.
