What is the primary fiduciary duty that a real estate agent owes to their client?
Correct Answer
C) To always act in the client's best interests
The fundamental fiduciary duty requires agents to act in their client's best interests, putting the client's needs above their own. This duty forms the foundation of the agency relationship and is enshrined in real estate legislation across Canada.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option C correctly identifies the core fiduciary duty established under Canadian real estate legislation. TRESA Section 21, RESA, and provincial regulations all mandate that registrants act in their client's best interests. This duty of loyalty requires agents to prioritize client welfare above personal gain, provide honest advice, maintain confidentiality, and exercise reasonable care and skill. The phrase 'at all times' emphasizes the continuous nature of this obligation throughout the entire representation period.
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More Agency & Professional Ethics Questions
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- → Which of the following best describes the duty of confidentiality owed by a real estate agent?
- → What information must an agent disclose to a buyer client about a property's condition?
- → A real estate agent discovers that a property they are showing has a known foundation issue that the seller has not disclosed. What should the agent do?
- → In a complex commercial transaction, a real estate professional discovers information that creates competing duties between their fiduciary obligation to their client and their duty to disclose material facts to other parties. How should this conflict be resolved?
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- → A listing agent learns that the home was once used as a marijuana grow operation and has since been fully remediated. The seller's lawyer confirms the seller has no legal obligation to disclose this, and the seller does not want it disclosed. What should the listing agent do?
- → An Ontario salesperson represents a seller who receives two identical offers, one of them from the salesperson's spouse. The seller does not know about the relationship. What does the Code of Ethics require if the salesperson is to keep acting for the seller?
- → What is 'designated agency' in the context of Alberta real estate?
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