On Friday, November 13, NAR’s Board of Directors voted in favor of a motion presented by the Professional Standards Committee to make it a violation for REALTORS® to use harassing or hate speech toward any of the protected classes. This change will take effect immediately.
This is a change to Article 10 of the Code of Ethics. Article 10 prohibits REALTORS® from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity in the provision of professional services and in employment practices. The Board approved a new Standard of Practice under the Article, 10-5, which states, “REALTORS® must not use harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs” against members of those protected classes.
The Board also approved a change to professional standards policy, expanding the Code of Ethics’ applicability to all of a REALTOR®’s activities, and added guidance to the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual to help professional standards hearing panels apply the new standard.
Finally, Directors approved a revision to the NAR Bylaws, expanding the definition of “public trust” to include all discrimination against the protected classes under Article 10 along with all fraud.