License conditions have been imposed by the Real Estate Council of British Columbia on a Vancouver-based brokerage, following purported violations of B.C. housing regulations.
 
“In order to ensure the brokerage complies with the Real Estate Services Act, the council has imposed a number of licence conditions that will establish appropriate oversight,” the council announced in a statement, as quoted by CBC News.
 
New Coast Realty agreed to the licence conditions. Among these are quarterly audits by the council, training sessions handled by a council-appointed supervising broker, and the fulfillment of the firm’s contractual obligations.
 
“There are a significant number of buyers and sellers with transactions in progress at the brokerage. Those consumers have contractual obligations that they must meet, and the council does not wish to impede the transactions,” council executive officer Robert Fawcett stated.
 
“The conditions that have been agreed to with the brokerage will ensure that those transactions are able to proceed, and that the appropriate controls and oversight will be in place,” Fawcett assured, adding that New Coast Realty clients who have concerns about any transactions with the firm should get in touch with the council.
 
Other conditions specified by the council included a requirement for the managing broker to submit month-by-month reports on in-house and licensee transactions, trust accounts, and any further complaints. New Coast Realty is also obliged to maintain copies of every offer received for properties.
 
The council said that it could take further action if the firm is found to be non-compliant with the terms of the licence conditions.
 
The council did not specify the nature of New Coast Realty’s violations, only saying that these were “potentially serious” breaches that merited investigation. As of press time, the brokerage could not be reached for comment.