Share
In early June, the National Association of REALTORS® Professional Standards Committee will debate and vote on recommendations to amend Standard of Practice 10-5 and Professional Standards Policy Statement 29. The recommendations are designed to clear up confusion and uncertainty around enforcement of Article 10 of NAR’s Code of Ethics.
Article 10 prohibits REALTORS® from denying equal professional services and employment opportunities based on protected characteristics. There is no recommendation to change the language of Article 10 itself.
Keeping the Code Relevant
Ensuring that the Code remains up to date—and that its language and intent are clear and can be enforced fairly and consistently—is an ongoing effort. NAR’s Professional Standards Committee is charged with that work.
The recommendations coming before the committee this spring were developed and approved by the committee’s Interpretations and Procedures Advisory Board. They call for clarifications to SOP 10-5, which prohibits members of NAR from using harassing speech, hate speech, epithets or slurs against any of the protected groups, and a change to NAR’s Professional Standards Policy Statement 29, which guides local and state associations on application of the Code’s 17 Articles and Standard of Practices.
If the Professional Standards Committee advances the recommendations on June 3, NAR’s Board of Directors will vote on the change to SOP 10-5 at its June 5 meeting.
“The Code of Ethics is part of what distinguishes REALTORS® from mere real estate professionals,” NAR President Kevin Sears said in a letter to key stakeholders Wednesday. “It is the foundation of our ability to earn and maintain consumers’ trust as we fulfill our mission to preserve, protect and advance the right to real property for all.”
SOP 10-5’s Origin Story
Standard of Practice 10-5 came about against the backdrop of racial unrest following the May 25, 2020, killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and broad reports of housing discrimination in the U.S. NAR leaders were examining how to respond to the national conversation and strengthen the association’s fair housing commitment.
In a series of meetings, NAR’s Professional Standards Committee and its Interpretations and Procedures Advisory Board debated the need to preserve freedom of expression while upholding the ethical standard required under Article 10. Their proposal was to add a standard under Article 10—SOP 10-5—and to ensure it was enforceable by altering Policy Statement 29.
The Board of Directors approved both recommendations Nov. 13, 2020. Regarding case interpretations and other guidance offered by the Professional Standards Committee and its Interpretations and Procedures Advisory Board, NAR specifically said "hate speech, harassing speech, epithets and slurs" as defined by 10-5 did not include political or religious expression.
Addressing Challenges, Maintaining a Commitment to Fairness
Since 2020, the policies have been the subject of several challenges, including court cases in Arizona and Montana. Challengers have questioned both the substance and enforcement of the policies, saying they are overbroad and threaten a member’s ability to earn a living in real estate. This year’s recommendations address those challenges by:
- Creating a more specific definition of “harassment,” which aligns with the definition in the NAR Member Code of Conduct and clearly ties to Article 10’s prohibition on the denial of equal professional services.
- Focusing Article 10’s application on instances in which REALTORS® are operating in their professional capacity. This change restores Policy Statement 29 to the pre-2021 standard with some modifications.
The exact language of the recommendations remains to be debated by members of NAR’s Professional Standards Committee in June, but their overarching goal is two-fold: to provide needed clarity to members so they can better understand and comply with Article 10 and to reduce the risk to state and local associations and their volunteer leadership who administer and enforce Article 10.
“We take any changes to the Code of Ethics very seriously, and the amendment process is thoughtful and rigorous,” NAR President Kevin Sears said in his letter, adding that “NAR is deeply committed to upholding principles of fair housing and equal treatment for all consumers, and these proposed changes do not change that.”
Article 10 states, “REALTORS® shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, disability, 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, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.”
