Realtors® have an ethical obligation not to knowingly or recklessly make false or misleading statements about their competitors, their businesses, or their business practices. This is spelled out in Article 15 of the Realtor® Code of Ethics, a code which applies to all those real estate licensees who have chosen to be members of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

It's worth noting that this obligation has to do with false or misleading statements, not necessarily disparaging ones. It would not, for example, be a violation of the Code of Ethics to disparage someone's business practice as long as what was said was true. Conversely, it would be a violation to say something that was complimentary but false.

In 2007, NAR adopted Standard of Practice 15-2 (Standards of Practice provide more specific elaborations of the Code's Articles) which made it clear that the obligation not to make false or misleading statements about a competitor's business included the duty "to not knowingly or recklessly repeat, retransmit, or republish false or misleading statements made by others." Moreover, that duty applies whether the statements are repeated "in person, in writing, by technological means (e.g. the Internet), or by any other means."

Now, in 2009, upon recommendation of the Professional Standards Committee, the Board of Directors of NAR has seen fit to elaborate even further. A new standard of practice, clearly aimed at blogs, will be adopted as follows:

The obligation to refrain from making false or misleading statements about competitors, competitors' businesses and competitors' business practices includes the duty to publish a clarification about or to remove statements made by others on electronic media the REALTOR® controls once the REALTOR® knows the statement is false or misleading.

Arguably, a new Standard of Practice was not needed here; it would seem to have already been covered. (If you shouldn't knowingly repeat or republish a false or misleading statement, you shouldn't need to be told to remove or clarify one, once you know it is false or misleading.) Nonetheless, the prevailing view was that it would be important to have this new Standard in order to make clear that, in these cases, the Realtor® is obliged to take some action, not just refrain from doing something.

Arguments about the applications of Standards of Practice 15-2 and (presumably) 15-3 aren't going to be about whether they apply to a blog or an electronic bulletin board or whatever else comes along. If there are disputes, they are going to be about what is meant by "knowingly" or "once the REALTOR® knows the statement is false or misleading."

It can be a bit of a tricky business determining whether or not a person knows something. (As opposed to just believing it, or even believing on the basis of some reason(s))

Suppose that, for some reason or other, the name of an occasional local competitor, Roland Realtor, gets introduced onto my blog. One person writes, "Roland was once convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude." Another writes, "Roland has sold more homes in the Happy Homes tract than anyone else."

Further, just for the sake of argument, let's assume that both statements are false, but that I don't know that. I have no idea what the truth or falsity of either statement is.

First, let us note that I have no affirmative duty to investigate these claims. Second, the Code itself gives no further standards by which to assess my obligations.

Suppose that Roland calls and tells me, "It's not true about the crime, but it is true about the sales." What do I know now that I didn't know before? I know what Roland says; but that's all.

And if one of Roland's close competitors in the Happy Homes tract calls and says "It's true about the crime, but false about the sales," I still don't know anything. To be sure, it might be easier for me to verify the facts about the sales, than to find out about the crime; but, remember, that's not my job.

NAR's desire to make clear our ethical obligations with respect to the sorts of postings that appear on blogs is laudable. But what is needed next is to have some examples (they are called Case Interpretations) to show more precisely what is intended.

Published: June 16, 2009

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Bob Hunt is a director of the National Association of Realtors and is author of the recently published book, "Real Estate the Ethical Way." A graduate of Princeton with a master's degree from UCLA in philosophy, Hunt has served as a U.S. Marine, Realtor association president in South Orange County, and director of the California Association of Realtors, and is an award-winning Realtor. Contact Bob at .