BC MLS Rules of Cooperation

The cooperation framework rests on two things: the Real Estate Services Rules (BC Reg 209/2021) and the Standards of Conduct published by the BC Financial Services Authority. The cooperation rule requires a listing licensee to offer the listing to every cooperating licensee at the published commission split — a listing brokerage cannot privately steer a listing to in-house buyers in a way that excludes member-board cooperation. Since June 15, 2018, BC has operated under designated agency: the agency relationship is between the client and the individual licensee, not the brokerage. Dual agency was prohibited the same day by section 63 of those Rules, with a single exception in section 64 for a property in a remote location under-served by licensees. The brokerage judges that itself; there is no application and no approval, and the disclosure reaches the superintendent only after the parties have signed.

The listing agent cannot write your offer for you. They cannot. Even when buyer and seller are both clients at the same brokerage, each must be served by a separately designated licensee. The Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services (DORT) must be signed before any substantive trading services are provided — which is earlier than most consumers expect, typically before the first showing or pricing analysis.