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

Solicitation of a Listing Under Contract (section 9.4 RMLS Rules and Regulations) is a rule that was adapted from the Realtor Code of Ethics (Realtor Code of Ethics Article 16). The purpose of this rule is to allow constituents to submit their listings to the MLS without fear of client poaching from other agents. This also allows homeowners peace of mind that they can provide their information to the MLS without being inundated by solicitations.

The value that a combined database provides is immense and utilization of this relies on cooperation between constituents. The most common violation we see regarding this fine occurs when an agent does not check if an expired or cancelled listing has been relisted prior to sending out solicitations. General solicitations that are based on geographic area, occupation, organization, or group membership are permitted under this rule so long as they are not specifically marketed using information pulled from the MLS.

Be aware that any use of the MLS database for the purpose of solicitation to a listing that is currently under contract is a violation of this rule, even if you are unaware that the listing was under contract at the time of solicitation. This violation carries a potential fine of up to $2500.

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 did not review any casees in November 2023.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

The chart below shows violations that generated at least 15 instances in the past month. This month we saw some significant changes for certain categories.

• Missing School rose from 4 to 35
• HUD dropped from 28 to 9
• Missing Condo Unit Number dropped from 118 to 64
• Duplicate Listing fell from 150 to 105
• Missing Tax ID rose from 47 to 153

Data Accuracy Department Statistics

The gain or loss comparison displayed in the parenthesis is versus the previous month.

• Listings Reviewed: 17,139 (-4,122)
• Notices Sent: 2,726 (+22)
• Violation Notices Received: 368 (+77)
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,740 (-16)
• Phone Calls Received: 110 (-104)

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

Summer has arrived! Here are some cool topics you can use to refresh your knowledge and stay out of any hot water (rules violation-wise)!

• Anytime a listing is in Active status it must be available for showing. If there is any period that the home is not available for showing, it must be put into Withdrawn status for that period.
• Office exclusive listings cannot be advertised through email blasts or on social media. They can ONLY be advertised with your office.
• Websites that are used to host virtual tours must be free of any contacts or identifying information.

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 did not review a case in June 2023.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

Personal Promotion has exceeded Incomplete or Inaccurate Information for the month of June. This violation can occur for a variety of reasons, some of which are: visible signage in photos, contact information in virtual tours, and using a channel or website that has contact information to host pictures and videos.

The chart below shows the next three most frequent informal violations from June 2023. 

This pie chart shows the remainder of the informal violations last month.

Data Accuracy Department Statistics 

• Listings Reviewed: 27,492 (+1,561)
• Notices Sent: 2,335 (+185)
• Violation Notices Received: 351 (-61)
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,290 (+87)
• Phone Calls Received: 330 (+50)

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

We have received a number of inquiries regarding a specific NAR Model rule that was adopted this year.

Rules and Regulations 6.6: Display of Listing Broker’s Offer of Compensation. Participants and subscribers who share the listing broker’s offer of compensation for an active listing must display the following disclaimer or something similar.

  “The listing broker’s offer of compensation is made only to participants of the MLS where the listing is filed.”

This disclaimer does not need to be displayed when entering a listing in RMLSweb. This disclaimer only needs to be used in situations where the listing and the Broker’s Offer of Compensation is being shared publicly by you. That would include on a website, email blast, in your office, social media or any public forum where someone other than RMLS subscribers may see it.

This disclaimer aids in circumstances where a REALTOR who isn’t an RMLS subscriber brings a buyer for a property and the cooperative fee agreement does not apply. A compensation agreement must be implemented for these transactions.

The following forms are useful in this circumstance:

• WA Forms 41 Buyers Agency & 41C Buyer Brokerages Firm’s Compensation Addendum
• OR REALTOR Forms – 9.1 to 9.8 Agency & Fee Agreements – whichever is applicable.
• OREF Forms – 050 Buyers Representation Agreement, 090 Buyers Broker Compensation.

This information is intended to direct you to the proper forms for use when you intend to write and offer on listings outside the RMLS and its cooperative fee agreements – contact your principal broker to advise you on what is appropriate for your individual firm and the situation.

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 did not review any cases in March of 2023.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

Listings missing Tax ID information are typically the top informal violation within RMLSweb. Recently this rule has been edited to exclude Proposed and Under Construction property types. Because of this, there was a drop in the number of violations and now we are seeing Personal Promotion as the top violation for both February and March 2023.

The chart below shows the next three most frequent informal violations from March 2023. 

This pie chart shows the remainder of the informal violations last month.

Data Accuracy Department Statistics 

• Listings Reviewed: 21,349 (+5,403)
• Notices Sent: 2,063 (+509)
• Violation Notices Received: 411 (+101)
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 1127 (+416)
• Phone Calls Received: 479 (+152)

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

Our listing checker and violation software have received technological upgrades as part of our data feed move to a RESO-compliant Web API. As a result, a few changes have been made to the system and settings.

Missing Tax ID Violations: This type of violation will now exclude “proposed” and “Under Construction” property conditions, meaning that these property conditions will no longer receive a Missing Tax ID violation unnecessarily. This will also cause the stats for that violation to decrease significantly, as reflected in the November statistical data.

Artificial Intelligence: We’ve recently incorporated Restb.ai, which uses artificial intelligence to evaluate the metadata in property photos, into our process to check all uploaded photos for violations. This will add new statistical data on violations and greatly improve our reach and accuracy regarding photo violations.

The software is set up to look for violations regarding the first photo, personal promotion, people, unauthorized text, and unauthorized watermarks. This data will begin to be reflected in the December statistics.

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.

There were two formal violation cases in November. Both cases concerned the unauthorized use of a lockbox (rule 3.22 from the RMLS Rules and Regulations), with one case resulting in a fine of $250 and other resulting in a $500 fine with a mandatory SentriLock rules class.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

Listings missing Tax ID information are consistently the top informal violation within RMLSweb. Sometimes the missing tax information is due to an error of omission. Other times, it may be because the listing is a new construction property that does not yet have a tax ID number available. Data Accuracy sends courtesy notices out to remind agents of the need to provide the tax information (when available).

The chart below shows the next three most frequent informal violations from November 2022.

This pie chart shows the remainder of the informal violations last month.

Data Accuracy Department Statistics 

• Listings Reviewed: 9,969
• Notices Sent: 1,853
• Violation Notices Received: 280
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,327
• Phone Calls Received: 380

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

The holidays are upon us and the end of the year looms. Looking back at the formal violations the committee has addressed so far this year, it is interesting to note that they were all regarding misuse of a lockbox.

This is one of the most serious violations and carries a maximum fine of up to $15,000, as well as potential expulsion from RMLS. It’s critical to remember to only access a lockbox in accordance with showing instructions and that only a lockbox owner may grant access codes.

Useful Documents:

• RMLS SentriLock SentriKey Authorized User Agreement
• RMLS Rules and Regulations (Sections 3.2, 7.1, and 5.1 address associated topics)

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 did not review any cases in October of 2022.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

Listings missing Tax ID information are consistently the top informal violation within RMLSweb. Sometimes the missing tax information is due to an error of omission. Other times, it may be because the listing is a new construction property that does not yet have a tax ID number available. Data Accuracy sends courtesy notices out to remind agents of the need to provide the tax information (when available).

The chart below shows the next three most frequent informal violations from October 2022.

This pie chart shows the remainder of the informal violations last month.

Data Accuracy Department Statistics 

• Listings Reviewed: 15,383
• Notices Sent: 2,880
• Violation Notices Received: 299
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 2,302
• Phone Calls Received: 389

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.