Agency in Saskatchewan: Who Represents Whom
Agency questions test whether you can say precisely who represents whom, and what that representation obliges the brokerage to do. In Saskatchewan the agency relationship is between the brokerage and the client - the individual salesperson acts for the brokerage and does not become the client’s agent personally.
How agency is created
- In practice, agency begins with a written service agreement: a listing contract for a seller, a buyer service agreement for a buyer. Sign it before providing services, not after.
- Agency is not created by showing a home, sending listings, or being helpful. Acting as though you represent someone, however, can create an implied agency carrying all the same duties.
- The scope, term and compensation belong in the agreement, together with disclosure of who the brokerage represents.
The fiduciary duties
Loyalty; confidentiality, which continues after the relationship ends; full disclosure of everything known that is relevant to the client; obedience to lawful instructions; accounting for money and documents; and reasonable care and skill. Overlaid on these is the duty to disclose material facts in writing.
Clients versus customers
A customer is a party the brokerage deals with but does not represent - typically a buyer at an open house on the brokerage’s own listing. Customers are owed honest dealing, accurate answers, disclosure of known material facts about the property, and no misleading conduct. They are not owed loyalty, confidentiality or advocacy. Say clearly which one you are.
Worked example
A salesperson holds a seller’s listing. A buyer asks, “Would the seller take less?” and the salesperson replies, “Honestly, they’re desperate - offer 10% under and I’ll push them.” That breaches loyalty and confidentiality, and it misleads the buyer about whose side the salesperson is on. The correct answer is neutral: “Make your best written offer; I represent the seller and must present it.”
Traps
- Assuming duties attach to the salesperson rather than the brokerage - knowledge held by any registrant in the brokerage can bind it.
- Believing confidentiality stops at closing.
- Treating a customer as a client because they are “your buyer”.
- Letting an agency relationship drift into existence by accident.