Licensees reporting potential misconduct

It’s important that you can identify behaviour that might be unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct, but you don’t need to decide which category it falls in.

It is also useful to know when a situation is out of the scope of REA.

What does misconduct look like?

Misconduct can be defined as conduct that would reasonably be regarded by licensees or members of the public of good standing as disgraceful or seriously incompetent or negligent.

Misconduct is a willful or reckless breach of a regulation or rule relating to real estate agency work. This can include a licensee’s conduct when they are carrying out real estate agency work or personal behaviour that may reflect on the licensee’s suitability to hold a licence.

Examples of misconduct are:

• Fraud.
• Falsifying documents or records. See an example Tribunal decision for falsifying documents or records(external link)
• Multiple serious issues within one transaction. See an example Tribunal decision with multiple serious issues within one transaction(external link)
• Trust account issues.
• Sexual harassment or assault (both inside and outside of real estate work).
  • Example sexual harassment Tribunal decision(external link)
  • Example assault Tribunal decision(external link)
• Addictive or prohibited behaviour that impairs a licensee’s ability to discharge their duties as a real estate professional.

What might unsatisfactory conduct look like?

Unsatisfactory conduct includes conduct that falls short of the standard of competence or diligence expected of a reasonably competent licensee. It might also include a breach of any relevant regulation or rule relating to conducting real estate agency work.

Examples of unsatisfactory conduct are:

• Not disclosing a known defect in a property to a potential purchaser.
• Providing incorrect information to a potential purchaser about a property.
• Breaching the conflict of interest provisions of the Act (sections 134—137).
  

What else can be reported?

You can report any other concerns you have regarding the conduct of another licensee or agency to REA.

This may include concerns about a licensee’s health or welfare that may be impacting on their ability to conduct real estate agency work or concerns about the operation of an agency and its employees.

We will consider whether any action is required to address the issue raised.

When we receive a misconduct report, our early resolution team will review it. If necessary, the report is then passed to our investigations team. If you provide your details, we will contact you to talk about our process for dealing with reports. 

Experiencing or witnessing unacceptable behaviour and the prospect of reporting another licensee’s conduct can be stressful and may cause anxiety.

It’s important to ensure you have support in place and know how to access help if needed. Talking to someone you trust and feel comfortable with can be a great help. You could consider talking confidentially to a senior member of your agency or your doctor. For serious or urgent matters, you may wish to contact Police.

You could also consider discussing the matter with someone at REINZ(external link) if you are a member before you submit a report. The team there has experience in ethical matters and may be able to assist.