COVID-19 Health Directives

The COVID-19 orders, directives, and guidelines we all have to follow are being continuously updated by the provincial and federal governments. View the latest information here:

Government of Nova Scotia
Government of Canada

State of Emergency Bylaw

On April 16, 2020, the Commission Board of Directors passed a state-of-emergency bylaw (238(b)). This bylaw provides the Commission with the overriding authority to extend or vary time limits for carrying out of any requirements of the Bylaw, such as postponing the annual general meeting, temporary changes to fees, extending renewal deadlines, and the manner by which those requirements are fulfilled, like waiving immediate notarization of some documents, and auditors working electronically instead of with paper. The text of the Bylaw is as follows:

Probate Court, Residential Tenancies, Health Directives, Criminal Record Checks, Scammer Alert, Election Nominees

Probate Court Alert

Licensees with potential listings or a transaction involving an estate should check to see if a Grant of Probate or Grant of Administration has been issued. Unless deemed an emergency by a judge, Probate Courts are not accepting new applications at this time. Without a grant being recorded in the land registry, the executor/administrator will not be able sign off on the documents necessary to sell the property, because they will not have proof of their authority to act.

Residential Tenancies

The Commission has received calls from residential tenants who said that they were instructed by licensees to sanitize their rental unit for showings. Residential tenancies are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, not the Real Estate Trading Act. Licensees are reminded that they may only relay the lawful instructions of their client. This means following the terms of specified in the lease and the Residential Tenancies Act in terms of what a tenant can be asked to do.

A Message from the Office of Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health
The Commission reached out to the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Strang, asking what advice they would convey to the real estate industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was recommended that licensees use the self-assessment tool, and review and comply with the following information:

• Social distancing, travelling in separate vehicles and not showing houses of those in self-isolation.
• Frequent hand hygiene. Real estate licensees and buyers will be going into homes where the risk may be unknown. It is extremely important for these individuals to touch as little as possible during the viewings and practice hand hygiene before entering and after leaving the premise.
• Practice cough etiquette (cough into your sleeve or a tissue and discard the tissue immediately)
• Social distance – maintain a 2 metre/6 foot distance between the real estate licensee and buyer/seller at all times
• Those in self-isolation cannot have their house shown to potential buyers as visitors are not allowed and they are not permitted to leave their home during their isolation period. If the real estate licensee themselves is in self-isolation they will not be able to conduct viewings. If the buyer is in self-isolation they are not able to leave their house and cannot view properties at this time. If the licensee or buyer are experiencing flu-like symptoms, they should not conduct business.
• Frequent environmental cleaning. If real estate licensees are required to have a face-to-face meeting, ensure frequent environmental cleaning is occurring (pay extra attention to high-tough surfaces like door handles, arms of chairs, pens, etc).
• For continually updated information, go to www.novascotia.ca/coronavirus for more information.

This year, we have two candidates for election to our Board of Directors. Meet the candidates by reading their bios below:

COVID-19 Q&A