A joint RAHB/NAR MLS® committee reviewed the Access Agreement which existed prior to the shared MLS® database. The Access Agreement was no longer necessary with the shared database, but there was a provision in the agreement which was not covered by either association’s MLS® Rules and Regulations or Policies, namely which association’s rules and regulations or policies were to be followed when a member takes a listing in the other association’s market area.
To address the situation, the following policy has been adopted by both RAHB and NAR and is now in effect:
When a member from either RAHB or the Niagara Association places a listing located in the other association’s jurisdictional boundary, the member must adhere to that association’s MLS® Rules & Regulations and MLS® policies including, but not limited to, completion of all mandatory areas on the property information form (PIF), the reporting of conditional and firm sales, etc.
The most notable items for RAHB members to remember when listing properties in the Niagara area are that square footage is a mandatory field in the NAR area and that accurate zoning codes are required – it is not sufficient to put just “commercial” when there is a more specific, municipal code.
[MLS® Rules and Regulations and Policies for each association can be found on MLXchange and Fusion under “Resources”.]