Moving Away from the Delivery of Pre-Licensing Education

With the coming into force of the Real Estate Amendment Act 2020 on December 1, 2020 (Real Estate Act), RECA began the process to re-focus on its core regulatory functions of consumer protection, licensing, and enforcement. This means RECA will transition away from delivering licensee education, which the Real Estate Act Regulations require to be completed by December 1, 2022.

Third-party education providers will deliver all licensing education once the divestment process is complete. To be clear, while the amended Real Estate Act requires RECA to divest itself from the responsibility of the development and delivery of licensing education, RECA retains the full authority to develop real estate industry licensee competencies and course requirements. RECA will also retain all authority and processes for licensee examinations, including new licensees and renewing licensees.

The Board and Industry Councils have commenced discussions on education divestment priorities and will continue to meet over the coming months to develop a clear and cohesive plan to divest of education delivery while protecting the public interest.

Summary of Important Information

• RECA must divest itself from delivering license education by December 1, 2022
• Examinations will remain with RECA leading up to divestment and continue after divestment to ensure licensees are competent
• Until the divestment of education is complete, the current pre-licensing education prescribed by RECA continues to be in effect, and RECA will not accept any third-party education outside of its current education requirements

The Education Framework and Divestment Plan

The Board and Industry Councils are committed to meeting the December 1, 2022 deadline, and will work to ensure a new education framework and divestment plan is in place as soon as possible.

The Board and Industry Councils are committed to ensuring:

• the divestment process is fair to all potential course providers and allows for fair competition
• the process enables course providers to offer courses in multiple formats (e.g., online, classroom, etc.) to cater to a wide array of learner preferences
• the education creates competent licensees who can serve the public
• the education is available to everyone (i.e., course providers are not required to collaborate with industry associations in order to participate and RECA will not permit industry associations to require learners to become members of trade associations or offer differential pricing based on association membership)

Un-Authorized Real Estate Licensing Program

RECA recently became aware of an unauthorized real estate licensing pilot program launched before the effective date of the new Real Estate Act (Dec 1, 2020) and prior to the development and Ministerial approval of an education divestment plan. Please note that real estate education course developers are not permitted to assert that any program will lead to licensing in the interim period. As RECA takes its public interest responsibilities very seriously, RECA will work directly with the limited number of individuals who were registered in this pilot program on terms that can provide them a reasonable pathway to licensing. This is a one-time accommodation to address this unfortunate situation.

Ministerial Approval

All major decisions concerning education divestment are subject to the approval of the Minister of Service Alberta, including the education framework, divestment plan and the pre-licensing competency requirements set by each Industry Council. No third-party education providers will be recognized until the Minister approves the education divestment transition plan and a proposed effective date for full divestiture of the delivery of education by RECA.

We expect involved Industry Councils will be seeking any required stakeholder input for course competencies in due course.

Condominium Management Education

Condominium managers are scheduled to first become licensed under the Real Estate Act on December 1, 2021, one year before the divestment deadline. RECA does not currently offer condominium management education. The Board and the Residential Property Manager Industry Council will ensure an education plan for condominium management is in place and communicated to all stakeholders prior to condominium managers first becoming licensed.

Communicating Decisions and Timelines

The Board and Industry Councils will communicate any decisions relating to education divestment as they are made. You can also check the Board and Industry Council webpages anytime at reca.ca for the most up-to-date decisions.