The short answer is no, but you may have to make changes to your existing contract depending on what type of brokerage you’re working with: common law or designated agency.
In a common law brokerage, your service agreement (contract) is with the brokerage, which means that essentially, you’re agreeing to work with any or all licensees at the brokerage. Because the agreement you signed is with the brokerage, any licensee from that brokerage can work with you under your existing agreement. The individual or individuals you have been working with are working with you on behalf of the brokerage.
In a designated agency brokerage, your service agreement is still with the brokerage, but only the individual (or individuals) named on the agreement are designated to work with you on behalf of the brokerage. If this is the case, and the individual your real estate agent wants you to work with for a couple of weeks isn’t specifically named on the agreement, the brokerage will have to designate, in writing, the other individual to work with you. You and the brokerage can amend your original agreement to include this new person as another designated agent for you.
Another option that is available when you’re working with a designated agency brokerage is that at the outset of your agreement, the brokerage designates more than one individual to work with you on behalf of the brokerage. This is completely acceptable, and will save you from having to amend the original agreement in the event the primary individual you’re working with becomes unavailable during the term of your agreement. When you’re signing your agreement, talk to your agent about their availability, vacation plans, and whether there are other agents within the brokerage that they sometimes partner with.
More than fifty percent of real estate professionals in Alberta are registered with a designated agency brokerage. Your agent should have explained whether their brokerage operates under common law or designated agency when you first started working together, and should have explained the differences.
“Ask Charles” is a question and answer column by Charles Stevenson, Director of Professional Standards with the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA), www.reca.ca. RECA is the independent, non-government agency responsible for the regulation of Alberta’s real estate industry. We license, govern, and set the standards of practice for all real estate, mortgage brokerage, and real estate appraisal professionals in Alberta. To submit a question, email askcharles@reca.ca.
