A Halifax-based real estate agent has had his licence suspended after he showed a home to an individual who he knew to have not self-isolated for a 14-day period as required by the Nova Scotia government to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The decision from the Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission was released on Monday.
In July 2020, Adam Scott of HaliPad Real Estate Inc. showed a home still under construction to a prospective buyer.
At the time, the Atlantic bubble was in effect and permitted residents of another province in the region to travel to another without any self-isolation requirements.
But the Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission found that the unnamed individual who was shown the home was from outside of Atlantic Canada and didn’t self-isolate for the full 14-day period.
When the house was shown a third person, a builder, was at the home.
Chris Perkins, the owner of HaliPad, told Global News in a statement that no one had a positive case of COVID-19 and it was not transmitted during the showing.
“This is the first time we experienced COVID-19 protocols not being strictly followed and the agent has taken full accountability for his poor judgement,” he wrote.
The real estate commission says it repeatedly informed its members through a number of various methods that they were required to follow the federal and provincial COVID-19 health regulations.
In this case, Scott did not, and the commission found that his actions violated the professional conduct standards of a real estate agent.
As a result, Scott’s licence has been suspended for a month or until Feb. 17 and he has been ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
Perkins says the company is deeply disappointed by the event and it served to underscore the importance of complying with COVID-19 regulations.
“We will continue to enforce our strict policy that agents will not attend (in-person) appointments with anyone who has not completed their mandatory isolation period.”
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