COVID-19: HOW TO CONTINUE TO OFFER ESSENTIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES
March 25, 2020
Dear Colleague,
Across Canada, our governments are taking action to help contain the coronavirus. By mid-March, every province and territory had declared a State of Emergency to deal with the health crisis. Each region is responding with measures that reflect the uniqueness of their situation. It is crucial that we respect directives from local public health authorities and adapt to serve the Canadians who rely on us.
This week, our two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec, moved to close all but essential businesses. In Ontario, real estate brokerage was deemed an essential service. In Quebec, where the COVID-19 disease has spread much more widely, the new regulations are more severe. Our Quebec team is restricted to only electronic communication with clients until April 13th.
In all provinces, with the exception of Quebec, I am directing you to conduct business as an essential service. As an essential service, it is our duty to serve the public, operating with the same public health agency protocols to maximize safety for our clients and ourselves that other essential services are being asked to comply with.
Please understand, no Royal LePage professional should feel pressured to work if they do not wish to, for health or any other reason. If you find yourself in that situation, please let your broker or manager know and they will find someone to help the consumer in need.
During this period, you are obligated to limit your interaction with consumer property and consumers themselves. This directive allows for limited access to homes to facilitate the listing process, including capturing the necessary imaging and details to professionally market the home in a way that minimizes the need for potential buyers to physically visit the property. You should ensure that the home is spotless and that you employ best-practice disinfection techniques.
If you are helping a purchaser, your home-search efforts should focus on electronic showings. We realize that it is unreasonable to expect that a family would make the largest financial commitment of their lives without physically visiting the home they intend to buy. To that end, and to help your buyers confirm that you have found them a suitable home, please begin immediately following the home-showing guidance contained in this communication.
We know how dedicated Royal LePage professionals are to serving their clients' homeownership needs. Today your concern and commitment extends to their health and welfare. Together, we can help contain COVID-19 and work to keep the communities we serve safe while providing the essential shelter-related service we have been called upon to provide.
Finally, we are not asking you to sit in moral judgement when approached to offer your services. In these difficult times, the shoppers and tire-kickers have disappeared. There are thousands of Canadians who find themselves in urgent need of shelter, and thousands more who must find a way to sell their property. If there ever was a time when the famous Royal LePage motto of 'Helping you is what we do' will resonate with our public, this is that time. I know that you will rise to the occasion.
Sincerely,
Phil Soper
President & CEO
Royal Lepage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage
If you are thinking of selling or buying due to your individual circumstances, please reach out and I will do my best to advise you of the best practices and assist you with your real estate transaction during these trying times.
YOUR SAFETY IS OUR TOP PRIORITY!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION LINKS:
Toronto Public Health
https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/
Ontario Public Heath
Health Canada website
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html
Ontario list of Essential Business
https://www.ontario.ca/page/list-essential-workplaces
Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
CIBC
https://www.cibc.com/en/personal-banking/advice-centre/covid-19/financial-assistance.html
Royal Bank
https://www.rbc.com/covid-19/index.html
Bank of Montreal
National Bank of Canada
http://www.nbc.ca/personal/notice.html
TD Bank
1-888-720-0075
Scotiabank
1-800-4-SCOTIA
HSBC
1-888-310-4722
Business Bank of Canada- support for entrepreneurs
https://www.bdc.ca/en/pages/special-support.aspx?special-initiative=covid19
Government of Canada- COVID-19 Updates
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html
Province of Ontario- COVID-19 Updates
Public Health Ontario
COVID-19 Self Assessment
https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/#q0
City of Hamilton
https://www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus
Halton Region
Niagara Region
https://www.niagararegion.ca/health/covid-19/default.aspx
City of Brantford
https://www.brantford.ca/en/living-here/covid-19-response.aspx
Ontario Real Estate Association
EI Benefits Canada
MARCH 23, 2020
RECO FINALLY PUTS A BAN ON OPEN HOUSES
Health authorities have provided important guidance to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, directing that people minimize opportunities for transmission of the virus through direct physical interaction.
Conventional open houses, which involve in-person viewing of the property and direct physical interaction with salespeople and other prospective buyers, are the types of activity health authorities are directing be ceased.
We strongly recommend that brokerages and salespeople follow the direction of health officials by declining to facilitate or participate in open houses, and by limiting showings to where they are absolutely necessary.
We support the many brokerages and salespeople who have adopted strategies that promote social distancing, by focusing on virtual, digital and paperless solutions that reduce direct physical interaction during real estate transactions, significantly reducing the risk of transmission. We greatly appreciate the efforts of real estate associations and boards who have, or will be, temporarily suppressing open houses on their MLS® Systems and on public facing websites.
These are extraordinary times, and everyone should do their part by following the expert direction of health authorities.
Please continue to closely monitor announcements from health authorities and to visit RECO's COVID-19 Notices page for additional information published by RECO.
Do I have to host an open house for my client?
No. As a registrant and business operator, you decide which services you are prepared to offer. You should make those decisions based on the most current guidance and direction of health authorities, which at present is to reduce or eliminate direct physical interaction that could promote transmission of the virus. Information from health authorities is evolving and changing based on current circumstances and facts. Please stay up to date.
Do I have to participate in showings?
No. As a registrant and business operator, you decide which services you are prepared to offer. You should make those decisions based on the most current guidance and direction of health authorities, which at present is to reduce or eliminate direct physical interaction that could promote transmission of the virus.
In-person meetings and showings should be limited to where they are absolutely necessary. Help your clients understand the importance of following current direction from health authorities and the risks that come with hosting or attending showings. If your client decides to allow showings of their property or to attend showings of other properties, you can decline to participate. As always, you should discuss with your clients the services you are prepared to offer and ways to minimize the risk of transmission of the virus.
If you do decide to participate in a showing, actively promote social distancing and follow recommendations of health authorities about handwashing and sanitizing to reduce the risk for yourself, buyers and sellers.
What are the alternatives to open houses and in-person showings?
Digital technologies offer possible buyers and sellers many ways to show and view a property, without setting foot in the home. Explore virtual marketing tools and strategies, such as video and virtual tours, in addition to conventional photos of the property. Though a buyer may want to see the home in-person before committing, they might be able to reduce the number of in-person showings required by assessing properties through virtual options first.
Why isn't RECO banning open houses and showings?
When it comes to issues of public health, RECO follows the direction of health authorities, namely the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, who continue to provide guidance to the public and businesses around minimizing the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus and other health related issues.
RECO strongly recommends that brokerages and salespeople decline to host or participate in open houses. Instead, RECO recommends alternative ways of delivering real estate services that minimize direct personal contact to help reduce the transmission of the virus.
A number of brokerages and salespeople have already adopted this approach, and associations and boards are urging their members to do the same. Some local boards have taken further steps to suspend the ability to have open houses appear on their MLS® systems.
If you need to know what these changes mean to you, or if you are thinking of selling or buying due to your individual circumstances, please reach out and I will do my best to advise you of the best practices and assist you with your real estate transaction during these trying times.
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*Image of Toronto - courtesy of Marco Manna.