BC privacy laws require that anyone collecting another person's personal information must have a reasonable purpose for doing so. This purpose must be disclosed and explicit consent must be obtained before collecting, using and sharing another person's personal information. Personal information means any identifiable information about a person, and may include his/her name, address, phone number or financial information. When it comes to real estate, personal information may also include information about someone's property (such as listing and selling price, lease rate, listing term, etc.).
BCREA developed the Privacy Notice and Consent form as a tool to make it easier for REALTORS® to disclose why and how they will gather personal information from a consumer. Since privacy laws dictate that consumers must be told - and consent to - how their personal information will be used before this information is collected, REALTORS® should provide the Privacy Notice and Consent form in advance of receiving/collecting personal information through other forms like a Multiple Listing Contract or Contract of Purchase and Sale.