The Competition Bureau announced today that it has entered into a consent agreement with the Yukon Real Estate Association (YREA) to address concerns with its membership practices in the real estate sector.
A Bureau investigation found that the YREA engaged in anti-competitive conduct by adopting a requirement that certain prospective members must live in the Yukon for a year before they can become a member of the YREA.
The Bureau concluded that the YREA's conduct was contrary to the abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act. Implementing and enforcing a residency requirement creates barriers to new forms of competition, especially for services offering consumers choices and fee structures that differ from traditional full-service real estate brokerage services.
As part of this agreement, the YREA will not adopt or enforce residency requirements and will ensure non-discriminatory access to the market for future competitors.
The Bureau acknowledges the YREA's cooperation during its investigation.
The Bureau also recently signed a consent agreement with the Northwest Territories Association of Realtors addressing similar conduct.
