The Government of Alberta announced Wednesday it is strengthening the governance of the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) after an independent report cited major concerns with the regulator.

If passed, the Real Estate Amendment Act, 2020, will restructure and refocus RECA with a mandate on licensing and regulating Alberta’s real estate sector. These amendments are a continuation of actions that began last fall to address severe problems with RECA’s governance, said the government in a news release.

“Eight months ago, I began the work of cleaning up a dysfunctional real estate regulator by firing the Real Estate Council of Alberta. Today, I’m pleased to be taking another important step by bringing forward reforms to increase transparency, ensure accountability, and improve the governance of RECA and to restore the trust of Albertans and the real estate industry in the regulator,” said Nate Glubish, Minister of Service Alberta, in a statement.

The government said the proposed changes will restructure RECA to consist of a board of directors, as well as four new industry councils: residential real estate agents and brokers; commercial real estate agents and brokers, and commercial property managers; mortgage brokers; and residential property managers and condominium managers.

These new industry councils will be responsible for identifying and addressing emerging issues related to their parts of the real estate sector, setting standards and rules, and determining licensing requirements. The RECA board will be responsible for oversight of RECA’s strategic direction and staff, and help to facilitate coordination between the industry councils, it said.

The government said other proposed amendments include:

  • Services beyond the scope of RECA’s newly focused mandate will be removed from RECA’s purview, including education, professional advice beyond regulatory information, promotion of the real estate industry, and setting of standards beyond the minimum for licensing and transactions;
  • Real estate appraisers will be removed from RECA oversight as they are self-regulated through their own industry associations;
  • New business and financial reporting requirements to improve RECA’s transparency and accountability to industry, government and the public;
  • Mandatory governance training and dispute resolution procedures for all board of directors and industry council members to improve the identification and resolution of issues;
  • Improved intervention measures that will give the minister the tools needed to ensure RECA meets its commitments and delivers its duties; and 
  • Condominium managers will be added to the groups overseen by RECA when the new industry council model comes into force.