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* 1. Complainant:  Your Contact Information

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* 2. To include additional party(s) as Complainant(s), enter their contact information here:

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* 3. Ethics complaints submitted to the Minnesota Association of REALTORS® must name a Respondent who was an active REALTOR® member at the time of the alleged violation. Please enter the REALTOR®'s contact information below. (If you need assistance locating this information, please contact us by Email or phone: 952.935.8313.)

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* 4. To enter additional party(s) as Respondent(s), enter their contact information here:

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* 5. If you are alleging a violation of NAR's Code of Ethics, specify by selecting "Yes" under the specific article(s) and explain the violation in the corresponding comment box. If you need more space than is provided, you can include your explanation(s) with your documentation upload. For violations other than the Code of Ethics, move to question 7: (The entire Code, including all Standards of Practice, can be accessed here: NAR Code of Ethics)

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Article 1: When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client. This obligation to the client is primary, but it does not relieve REALTORS® of their obligation to treat all parties honestly. When serving a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant or other party in a non-agency capacity, REALTORS® remain obligated to treat all parties honestly.

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* 6. Article 2: REALTORS® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction. REALTORS® shall not, however, be obligated to discover latent defects in the property, to advise on matters outside the scope of their real estate license, or to disclose facts which are confidential under the scope of agency or non-agency relationships as defined by state law.

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* 7. Article 3: REALTORS® shall cooperate with other brokers except when cooperation is not in the client’s best interest. The obligation to cooperate does not include the obligation to share commissions, fees, or to otherwise compensate another broker.

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* 8. Article 4: REALTORS® shall not acquire an interest in or buy or present offers from themselves, any member of their immediate families, their firms or any member thereof, or any entities in which they have any ownership interest, any real property without making their true position known to the owner or the owner’s agent or broker. In selling property they own, or in which they have any interest, REALTORS® shall reveal their ownership or interest in writing to the purchaser or the purchaser’s representative.

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* 9. Article 5: REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide professional services concerning a property or its value where they have a present or contemplated interest unless such interest is specifically disclosed to all affected parties.

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* 10. Article 6: REALTORS® shall not accept any commission, rebate, or profit on expenditures made for their client, without the client’s knowledge and consent.

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* 11. Article 7: In a transaction, REALTORS® shall not accept compensation from more than one party, even if permitted by law, without disclosure to all parties and the informed consent of the REALTOR®’s client or clients.

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* 12. Article 8: REALTORS® shall keep in a special account in an appropriate financial institution, separated from their own funds, monies coming into their possession in trust for other persons, such as escrows, trust funds, clients’ monies, and other like items.

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* 13. Article 9: REALTORS®, for the protection of all parties, shall assure whenever possible that all agreements related to real estate transactions including, but not limited to, listing and representation agreements, purchase contracts, and leases are in writing in clear and understandable language expressing the specific terms, conditions, obligations and commitments of the parties. A copy of each agreement shall be furnished to each party to such agreements upon their signing or initialing.

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* 14. Article 10: REALTORS® shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. REALTORS® shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

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* 15. Article 11: The services which REALTORS® provide to their clients and customers shall conform to the standards of practice and competence which are reasonably expected in the specific real estate disciplines in which they engage; specifically, residential real estate brokerage, real property management, commercial and industrial real estate brokerage, land brokerage, real estate appraisal, real estate counseling, real estate syndication, real estate auction, and international real estate.

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* 16. Article 12: REALTORS® shall be honest and truthful in their real estate communications and shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations. REALTORS® shall ensure that their status as real estate professionals is readily apparent in their advertising, marketing, and other representations, and that the recipients of all real estate communications are, or have been, notified that those communications are from a real estate professional.

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* 17. Article 13: REALTORS® shall not engage in activities that constitute the unauthorized practice of law and shall recommend that legal counsel be obtained when the interest of any party to the transaction requires it.

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* 18. Article 14: If charged with unethical practice or asked to present evidence or to cooperate in any other way, in any professional standards proceeding or investigation, REALTORS® shall place all pertinent facts before the proper tribunals of the Member Board or affiliated institute, society, or council in which membership is held and shall take no action to disrupt or obstruct such processes.

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* 19. Article 15: REALTORS® shall not knowingly or recklessly make false or misleading statements about other real estate professionals, their businesses, or their business practices.

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* 20. Article 16: REALTORS® shall not engage in any practice or take any action inconsistent with exclusive representation or exclusive brokerage relationship agreements that other REALTORS® have with clients.

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* 21. Article 17: In the event of contractual disputes or specific non-contractual disputes as defined in Standard of Practice 17-4 between REALTORS® (principals) associated with different firms, arising out of their relationship as REALTORS®, the REALTORS® shall mediate the dispute if the Board requires its members to mediate. If the dispute is not resolved through mediation, or if mediation is not required, REALTORS® shall submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the policies of their Board rather than litigate the matter.

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* 22. If you are alleging violation of membership duty as set forth in the bylaws of the Minnesota Association of REALTORS®, list the Article(s) and Section(s) below (our bylaws can be found here: MNAR Bylaws)

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* 23. For each MNAR bylaw Article and Section listed for question 22, explain why you believe the Respondent is in violation:

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* 24. Enter the date the alleged violation(s) took place:

Date

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* 25. On what date did you became aware of the facts on which the alleged violation(s) are based:

Date

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* 26. To submit documentation supporting your complaint, please do so now using our secure file upload site (link below).

You will be sent a copy of your complaint and all evidence submitted for your confirmation.

Please note that we will not click on hyperlinks to obtain evidence. Please save any contents of the hyperlinked pages that you wish to submit as part of your uploaded evidence file.

Secure File Upload (site will open in new window)

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* 27. Are the circumstances giving rise to this ethics complaint involved in civil or criminal litigation or in any proceeding before the state real estate licensing authority or any other state or federal regulatory or administrative agency?

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* 28. You may file an ethics complaint in any jurisdiction where a REALTOR®is a member or MLS participant. Note that the REALTORS® Code of Ethics, Standard of Practice 14-1 provides, in relevant part, “REALTORS®shall not be subject to disciplinary proceeding in more than one Board of REALTORS® . . . with respect to alleged violations of the Code of Ethics relating to the same transaction or event.”

Have you filed, or do you intend to file, a similar or related complaint with another Association(s) of REALTORS®?

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* 29. By submitting this ethics complaint, you must agree to the statements below:

I (we) allege that the above charge(s) (is/are) supported by the statements and files submitted with this complaint form, and states when the alleged violation(s) occurred and, if a different date, when the I(we) first knew about the alleged violations.

This complaint is true and correct to the best of my (our) knowledge and belief and is submitted within one hundred eighty (180) days of the time that the alleged offense and facts relating to it could have been known by the complainant in the exercise of reasonable diligence or within one hundred eighty (180) days after the conclusion of the transaction or event, whichever is later.

I (we) declare that to the best of my (our) knowledge and belief, my (our) allegations in this complaint are true.

I understand that should the Grievance Review Panel dismiss this ethics complaint in part or in total, that I have twenty (20) days from transmittal of the dismissal notice to appeal the dismissal to the Minnesota Association of REALTORS® Appeal Tribunal. I understand and agree that all communication pertaining to this complaint may be sent to the e-mail address entered for question 1 above and I am solely responsible for ensuring such emails are not blocked.

I (we) agree to the statements above by entry of our name(s) below as electronic signature. 

I AGREE TO ACCEPT ALL COMMUNICATIONS AND NOTICES REGARDING THIS MATTER VIA THE EMAIL PROVIDED ABOVE.  I UNDERSTAND THAT EMAILS MAY COME VIA LEAPFILE FOR SECURITY REASONS AND I MAY NEED TO CHECK MY MAIL FILTERING (SPAM) SYSTEM TO FIND THEM.

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