The Real Estate Council of Alberta is the independent governing authority that sets, regulates, and enforces standards for residential real estate, commercial real estate, property management, condominium management, and mortgage brokerage licensees in Alberta.
RECA’s Board of Directors is composed of three members of the public appointed by the Minister of Service Alberta, and four licensees, one appointed from each of the four Industry Councils from among their members. The purposes of the Board are to set the strategic direction and ensure the effective operation of Council, to protect against, investigate, detect and suppress fraud as it relates to the business of licensees and to protect consumers, to provide, or support the provision of, services and other things that facilitate the business of licensees, as provided for in the Real Estate Act Regulations, and to administer the Real Estate Act, the Regulations, the Bylaws, and the Rules. An administrative staff, led by the chief executive officer, assists council in fulfilling its duties.
There are four Industry Councils, one for each of the specific sectors within the industry. These are:
Each Industry Council is comprised of two members of the public appointed by the Minister of Service Alberta, and three licensees from that particular sector, elected by other licensees from that sector. The purpose of each Industry Council is to set and enforce standards of conduct for licensees and the business of licensees in order to protect consumers and promote the integrity of the industry, and to administer the Real Estate Act, the Regulations, the Bylaws, and the Rules. Each Industry Council may establish rules setting out the conditions for a person to become and remain a licensee of their particular industry sector, including the minimum standards for conduct and education requirements.
Under the Registrar, the Office of the Registrar has primary responsibility for RECA’s regulatory functions. The Office of the Registrar sets and enforces the standards of competency, knowledge, and character for licensees and learners.
RECA remains committed to facilitating a greater choice in education while ensuring all licensees are competent and can protect the public. The Credentialing Programs team:
Licensing is the foundation for much of RECA’s Regulatory work. The Registration Services team facilitates the licensing and relicensing processes by providing administration of:
In addition, Registration Services staff:
One of the fundamental responsibilities of any regulatory body is to conduct investigations and take disciplinary action when necessary. RECA investigates unauthorized activity and the conduct of licensees.
RECA’s Investigations unit includes staff with both investigative and industry experience who review all complaints, conducts investigations, and reports their findings to the Registrar.
Professional Conduct Proceedings staff present cases to hearing panels based on a referral from the Registrar to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of conduct deserving of sanction to recommend that the Registrar refer the matter to a Hearing Panel.
Each year, Conduct Proceedings lawyers close 80 to 100 disciplinary files. When this is not possible, the matter proceeds to a contested hearing. Appeals and other court action may follow.
RECA’s Practice Review Program provides positive, constructive assistance to licensees with respect to accounting and legislative requirements by:
RECA’s Practice Review Program also helps:
Practice Review also develop practice guides and interpretation guidelines.
RECA’s Operations division supports the Office of the Registrar, the RECA Executive, and General Counsel, both behind the scenes and on the frontline, to ensure that systems and infrastructure are in place for RECA to fulfil its mandate and has the capacity to achieve its vision of excellence in self-regulation.
The Chief Operating Officer oversees this varied group of professionals.
Behind the scenes, operations employees are responsible for:
Finance and administration—preparing RECA’s operating budget, financial reporting, investment of the assurance and operating funds, payroll and benefits administration, risk management, and office administration, including the management of RECA’s office building and the leased spaces.
Human resources—recruiting and supporting employees to contribute to RECA’s overall effectiveness.
Information technology—managing RECA’s IT infrastructure, including the development and maintenance of the myRECA licensing system.
Projects, planning, and policy—ensuring organizational and industry resilience by researching, planning, and other strategic initiatives.
Operations staff on the frontline focus on building and strengthening stakeholder relationships and partnerships:
Communications—ensuring internal and external stakeholders have access to, and understand, information important to the industry through online resources, email communications, social media, and other channels.
Information services—acting as the primary source of information for licensees and consumers who contact RECA, providing initial analysis of consumer complaints and offering guidance for resolving issues.
Reception—assisting visitors and callers as the first point of contact with RECA, , and ensuring information is passed to and from the appropriate departments and contacts.
Regulatory compliance advice—responding to broker and broker delegate questions with practical, timely information, guidance and advisory services that support them in their regulatory responsibilities and duties.
The General Counsel and Corporate Secretary oversees RECA’s General Counsel team, which provides legal support to the corporation. The areas of corporate responsibility include: corporate legal issues (e.g. advice on human resource legal issues), management of corporate litigation, legislative and regulatory policy, management of provincial and federal regulatory issues (e.g. OIPC files), Real Estate Assurance Fund claims, and serves as RECA’s Privacy Officer.
General Counsel is also responsible for RECA Hearings & Appeals Policies and Procedures, training hearing and appeal panel members, and RECA’s hearings and appeals support services.
The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) recognizes that achieving its mandate is dependent on outstanding administration and business practices. With a view to nurturing organizational excellence, these Service Excellence Principles will help guide the RECA community. Our community is comprised of the RECA Board and Industry Councils, staff, consumers and dedicated licensees. We are committed to serving our community with enthusiasm and professionalism. Service Excellence helps to define RECA.
The goal of Service Excellence Principles is to set a frame of reference for an everyday, distinctive, consistent, quality “service for success” mind-set. These three words mean we can all make significant contributions to RECA, one another, consumers, and to the industry as a whole.
Embedded in the Service Excellence Principles are transparency, information sharing, and work collaboration values. Together, these values reflect and support organizational openness.
RECA encourages each employee to commit to these Service Excellence Principles, to be an ambassador for service excellence, and to seek ways to further service excellence at RECA.
PRINCIPLE ONE: We Are Professionals
PRINCIPLE TWO: We Are Reliable and Courteous
PRINCIPLE THREE: We Are Responsive
PRINCIPLE FOUR: We Care
PRINCIPLE FIVE: We Treat Everyone as an Individual
In November 2015, RECA engaged Field Law to conduct a third-party review of its regulatory performance as part of its commitment to ongoing performance improvement, and to help ensure continued fulfillment of its consumer protection mandate. A third-party review is a rigorous, in-depth assessment by an outside body, and Field Law is a leader in professional regulation and administrative law. Below are the results from Field Law’s review.
