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1st Session, 43rd Legislature

This HTML version is provided for ease of use and is based on the bilingual version that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.

Bill 210

THE HOMEOWNER PROTECTION FROM UNSOLICITED PURCHASE OFFERS ACT


Table of Contents Bilingual version (PDF) Explanatory Note

(Assented to                                         )

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1(1)   The following definitions apply in this Act.

"disclosure statement" means the statement provided to a homeowner under section 3. (« document d'information »)

"homeowner" means a person who is the registered owner of a residential property and includes a person who is the joint owner of a residential property. (« propriétaire »)

"realtor" means a person who provides real estate services as a registrant under The Real Estate Services Act. (« agent immobilier »)

"residential property" means a residential dwelling that is a person's primary residence and includes a condominium unit and a mobile home. (« immeuble résidentiel »)

"unsolicited purchase offer" means an offer to purchase a residential property that is made when the homeowner has not

(a) listed their residential property for sale; or

(b) previously indicated to the person making the offer that they are considering selling their residential property. (« offre d'achat non sollicitée »)

Interpretation — unsolicited purchase offers

1(2)   For the purpose of this Act, a person who makes an unsolicited purchase offer is not required to set out a specific purchase price in their offer so long as they indicate to the homeowner that they are willing to purchase their residential property. The offer may be made in person or by telephone, e-mail, letter or any other type of notice delivered to the homeowner.

STOPPING UNSOLICITED PURCHASE OFFERS

Request to stop unsolicited purchase offers

2(1)   A homeowner may notify in writing a person who made an unsolicited purchase offer that they do not want to receive any further unsolicited purchase offers.

Serving request

2(2)   The request to stop unsolicited purchase offers may be served by

(a) personally delivering the request to the person; or

(b) sending the request to the person by registered mail or e-mail.

Unsolicited purchase offers prohibited

2(3)   Once the request to stop unsolicited purchase offers has been served, the person who received the notice and any persons associated with the person must not make any further unsolicited purchase offers to the homeowner.

Exception

2(4)   This section does not apply to a realtor.

Meaning of associated persons

2(5)   For the purpose of this section, the following persons are associated with the person who made an unsolicited purchase offer:

(a) a person who is related by birth or adoption to the person who made the offer;

(b) a spouse or common-law partner of the person who made the offer;

(c) a person who is employed by the person who made the offer or who is employed by a corporation in which the person who made the offer is an officer or director;

(d) a person who is employed by the same employer as the person who made the offer.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Disclosure statement

3(1)   If a homeowner who is not represented by a realtor indicates that they are willing to sell their residential property to a person who made an unsolicited purchase offer, the person who made the offer must give the homeowner a disclosure statement in accordance with this section.

Required content

3(2)   The disclosure statement must include the following:

(a) information about how to contact the municipality or local government district in which the residential property is located to obtain information about the assessed value of the property;

(b) a statement that if the homeowner sells their residential property to the person who made the unsolicited purchase offer, the homeowner must retain the services of a realtor to provide advice on the current market value of the property and the person who made the offer must reimburse the homeowner for the realtor's fees;

(c) a statement that the homeowner may cancel the sale of their residential property within 30 days after the agreement of purchase and sale is executed by sending a written notice of cancellation of the sale to one of the addresses set out in the disclosure statement;

(d) the mailing address and e-mail address to which a written notice of cancellation of the sale may be sent.

When disclosure statement provided

3(3)   The disclosure statement must be provided to the homeowner not less than 72 hours before the agreement of purchase and sale of the residential property is executed by the homeowner.

Form of disclosure statement

3(4)   All information on the disclosure statement must be typed in a font not smaller than 12 points in size with the words "IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DETERMINING THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME AND YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL THE SALE" printed in bold at the top of the page.

HOMEOWNER MUST BE REPRESENTED BY REALTOR

Homeowner must be represented by realtor

4   If a homeowner indicates that they are prepared to sell their residential property to a person who made an unsolicited purchase offer, the agreement of purchase and sale must not be executed until

(a) the homeowner has retained the services of a realtor to act on their behalf with respect to the sale of the property; and

(b) the realtor has inspected the property and provided advice to the homeowner on the current market value of the property.

Reimbursement of realtor's fees

5(1)   A person who purchases a residential property after making an unsolicited purchase offer to a homeowner must reimburse the homeowner for the fees of the realtor who is acting on behalf of the homeowner.

Reimbursement based on statement of account

5(2)   The reimbursement is based on a written statement of account that must be provided by the realtor retained by the homeowner.

Timing of reimbursement

5(3)   The reimbursement must be provided to the homeowner at the time that the agreement of purchase and sale is executed by the homeowner.

RIGHT TO CANCEL SALE AND UNENFORCEABLE SALES

Right to cancel sale

6(1)   A homeowner who sells their residential property to a person who made an unsolicited purchase offer may cancel the sale for any reason within 30 days after the agreement of purchase and sale is executed by the homeowner.

Method of serving notice

6(2)   The homeowner may serve the notice of cancellation of the sale on the person who made the unsolicited purchase offer by personal delivery or by registered mail, e-mail or any other method by which the homeowner can provide evidence of the date of cancellation.

Adequacy of wording

6(3)   The notice of cancellation is adequate if, however expressed, it indicates the intention of the homeowner to cancel the sale of their residential property.

When agreement of purchase and sale unenforceable

7   An agreement of purchase and sale that is executed after an unsolicited purchase offer is made by the purchaser is not enforceable against the homeowner who sold their residential property if

(a) the purchaser failed to provide a disclosure statement to the homeowner when required under section 3;

(b) the homeowner was not represented by a realtor in accordance with section 4; or

(c) the homeowner was not reimbursed for their realtor's fees in accordance with section 5.

Delaying registration and assignment

8   A person who purchases a residential property after making an unsolicited purchase offer must not, until 31 days after the agreement of purchase and sale is executed by the homeowner, do either of the following:

(a) submit a transfer of land in respect of the residential property for registration under The Real Property Act;

(b) assign any rights under the agreement of purchase and sale to another party.

OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

Offences and penalties

9(1)   A person who contravenes a provision of this Act is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of not more than $25,000; and

(b) in the case of a corporation, to a fine of not more than $100,000.

Offence and penalty — directors and officers

9(2)   If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, an officer, director, employee or agent of the corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the commission of the offence is also guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to the penalty set out in clause (1)(a), whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

C.C.S.M. REFERENCE AND COMING INTO FORCE

C.C.S.M. reference

10   This Act may be referred to as chapter H77 of the Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba.

Coming into force

11   This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

Explanatory Note

The Homeowner Protection from Unsolicited Purchase Offers Act is established.

A homeowner who does not want to receive any more unsolicited purchase offers may give written notice to the person who made the offer requesting that they stop making offers. It is an offence to make any further purchase offers to the homeowner after the notice has been provided.

If a homeowner who is not represented by a realtor is willing to sell their home to a person who made an unsolicited purchase offer, the person who made the offer must give the homeowner a disclosure statement. The disclosure statement provides information to a homeowner about how to determine the value of their home and their rights under the Act.

A homeowner who is willing to sell their home to a person who made an unsolicited purchase offer must be represented by a realtor in the sale. The purchaser must reimburse the homeowner for the fees of their realtor.

The homeowner may cancel the sale of their home within 30 days after the agreement of purchase and sale is executed. Any sale to a person who made an unsolicited purchase offer is not enforceable if the homeowner did not receive the required disclosure statement or if the homeowner was not represented by a realtor or was not reimbursed for the fees of their realtor.