TORONTO, Aug. 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following last week’s Supreme Court of Canada’s decision not to grant leave to hear its appeal, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) is making data available to Members for use on their Virtual Office Websites (VOWs) and will not preclude or restrict the use of this information on a VOW as required by the Order.

TREB is also providing its Members with information and guidelines on how to comply with the Order. TREB is prepared to revoke the membership and TREB MLS® System access for Members who do not comply with all applicable laws and rules and will pursue legal action against non-compliant individuals and service providers.

“We are working with our Members to ensure TREB is in full compliance with the Order. TREB has issued a document to our membership on the decision and what it means,” said TREB President Garry Bhaura.

The Order allows Members to publish additional information on their password-protected VOWs for informational purposes and in the context of providing residential real estate brokerage services. It does not require that TREB make the data in its MLS® System free for resale, nor does it authorize the mining, scraping or monetization of the data.

In addition to complying with the VOW Agreement, which provides Members access to the data, Members still have to comply with privacy laws such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act , the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 administered by the Real Estate Council of Ontario (statement here ), as well as provisions related to the Do Not Call List and Canada’s Anti-Spam Law as they pertain to the marketing and distribution of information.

“We will continue to listen to the feedback from Members, and their clients, home buyers and sellers, regarding their personal information and will take the necessary steps within our power to ensure that privacy laws and TREB rules and regulations are followed,” said TREB CEO John DiMichele.

TREB is also reviewing the VOW Agreement, Buyer Representation and Listing Agreements in light of its obligations related to the Order and privacy laws, and will announce any updates to these agreements in due course.

Media Inquiries:   Mary Gallagher, Senior Manager Public Affairs maryg@trebnet.com

TREB is Canada’s largest real estate board. Over 50,000 residential and commercial TREB Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area.  Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They are governed by a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service®.

www.TREBhome.com

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