Making homeowners’ info public: Canadian MLS showdown

Canadian real estate snafu

Canadian Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken is taking action to force consumers’ private information to published in the multiple listing service (MLS) which will all be online and made public, including sellers’ names and property access information which the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) has declared would put homeowners at risk of assaults and robberies. Aitken also seeks to publish information like mortgage details and negotiated sale prices, both of which could potentially harm the ability for homeowners to negotiate fairly when listed for sale.

TREB launched the “Protect Your Privacy website informing consumers of Aitken’s plans.

A third party survey commissioned by TREB revealed 75 percent of Ontarians believe that personal information such as name and final sale price should be kept confidential by REALTOR® professionals, 70 percent of homeowners do not want their personal contact information released to the public, and 67 percent of Ontarians oppose any measure to make personal contact information such as name and address available to others who are not subject to a professional code of conduct.

According to The Globe and Mail, since assuming her role in 2009, Aitken has taken on Visa and Air Canada, but this is the first of her targets launched offensively with no court case in play. “Ontarians clearly oppose what Commissioner Aitken is trying to do. They’ve said they want their personal and private information kept confidential,” Von Palmer, Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer and Chief Privacy Officer for TREB, said in a statement.

Homeowners, Realtors at risk, says TREB

“Easy access to information online is a huge safety issue,” Von Palmer told The Globe. “There is a real possibility of break-ins and assaults; you only have to read the headlines to imagine what might happen. You hear stories about realtors getting attacked and killed. Can you imagine if we put that information out there about consumers? You can only imagine the headlines.”

A spokesman for the Toronto Police Service said he wasn’t aware violence against real estate agents was a problem in the city. While AGBeat has not verified violence in Toronto, our 2011 Realtor Safety Report revealed a sharp increase of violence against American Realtors.

Bureau claims traditional model is being favored

Aitken’s office notes TREB is protecting the traditional real estate model, limiting competition from discount brokers or untraditional models that eliminate the middle man and asserts that information available to agents should be available to the public whether they have a Realtor representing them or not.

“TREB is trying to have it both ways as the identical information is routinely provided today by real estate agents to consumers, either by hand, mail, fax, or e-mail,” Competition Bureau spokesperson, Greg Scott told The Globe. “TREB has for years permitted member agents to share this same information with their customers and they continue to do so today,” further noting the association engages in “anti-competitive conduct.”

The Bureau notes that the information they seek to make public is not only available to people that visit an open house, but from land records, or even a phonebook.

A long battle ahead

TREB is focused on the safety of homeowners while The Bureau is focused on competition, citing arguments that were made nearly five years ago with the launch of American real estate media companies that sought to make housing sales data public. This case goes to a tribunal this fall, so the fight is far from over, and it is safe to assume both will continue lobbying and public relations pushes on both sides.