Professional Standards

1. Read Before You File a Complaint from the NAR's Code of Ethics & Arbitration Manual.
2. Fill out the Ethics Complaint Form and submit to [email protected].
3. Once your complaint has been received, the Professional Standards Administrator will contact you regarding next steps.
4. Your complaint will be evaluated by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors® Grievance Committee.
5. An Ethics Hearing may be scheduled per the Grievance Committee’s recommendation. Please be aware that you will be asked to attend the Ethics Hearing.

Mediation is a facilitated negotiation. It is a method of resolving disputes by bringing the disputing parties together with a neutral third party (the mediator) and negotiating through the mediator to come to a mutually acceptable resolution. The Board will mediate any dispute that could also be arbitrated under Article 17 of the Code of Ethics, mainly contractual disputes between opposing brokers, which arose out of their relationship as Realtors®. The Board will also arbitrate certain non-contractual disputes between opposing brokers (procuring cause disputes). When the parties come to an agreement, they will put the terms of that agreement into a contract with the help of the mediator. The contract then becomes legally enforceable. The Board does not mediate disputes between buyers and sellers. If a buyer and seller would like to mediate, or their contract dictates that they “shall” mediate, they can find a list of potential mediators on the Utah Courts website. They can also contact the Board for referrals.

If the parties do not come to a resolution during mediation, then the matter could be taken to arbitration. Mediation is often preferred to arbitration because involved parties may walk away at any time, should they be unsatisfied with the mediation proceedings. Arbitration, on the other hand, is a formal hearing. The decision reached by the hearing panel cannot typically be overturned or appealed. All Realtor® members are required to arbitrate under Article 17 of the Code of Ethics. Frequently, when a request to arbitrate is received by the Board, and both parties involved agree, mediation is attempted before the case goes to formal arbitration. Again, mediation for members is optional, while arbitration is not.
ARBITRATION REQUEST FORM