In September 2024 the NorthstarMLS Board of Directors voted to remove the requirement that MLS subscribers be REALTOR® members effective January 1, 2025. This provides participating NorthstarMLS associations the option to remove that rule for their organization and provide MLS access to licensed real estate professionals who do not have the REALTOR® designation.

The following are rules and rule changes (shown in red) NorthstarMLS has made in accordance with nonmember participation. All MLS Participants, whether REALTOR® Participants or Nonmember Participants, must purchase access to the Service through a board or association of REALTORS® affiliated with the Service.

Section 2.6 NONMEMBER PARTICIPANTS AND “REALTOR®” MARK

A Nonmember Participant is not permitted to use the “REALTOR®” word mark or logo, including any MLS logo that integrates the word “REALTOR®”. The NorthstarMLS logo is permitted for use by all Participants and their affiliated subscribers subject to any brand guidelines promulgated by the Service.

The following section reflects NAR’s Standard of Conduct 16.14:

Section 4.1 SHOWINGS AND NEGOTIATIONS

Appointments for showings and negotiations with the seller for the purchase of listed property filed with the Service shall be conducted through the listing broker, except when the listing broker gives the cooperating broker specific authority to show and/or negotiate directly with the property owner; such authority must clearly be indicated on the Property Data Form.

No Participant shall provide to any person, except another Participant, whether intentionally or through negligence, information providing a means for that person to enter a property listed with the Service unless the listing broker has given specific permission for such access. If, upon showing a property, a Participant finds that the property’s key is missing from a lock box, or that the property is unlocked or damaged, the Participant shall notify the listing broker immediately. As used in the previous two sentences, “broker” and “Participant” include any agent or employee of a broker or Participant.

The cooperating broker must disclose his/her agency status [or lack thereof] at first contact with the listing broker, representative and/or seller in person, by telephone, or in writing. A Participant, acting as a buyer’s or tenant’s representative or broker, shall disclose that relationship to the seller/landlord’s representative or broker at first contact and shall provide written confirmation of that disclosure to the seller/landlord’s representative or broker not later than execution of a purchase agreement or lease.

The following section reflects NAR’s Standard of Conduct 16.1:

Section 5.5 SOLICITATION OF LISTING FILED WITH THE SERVICE

Participants shall not solicit a listing on property filed with the Service if doing so is inconsistent with exclusive representation or exclusive brokerage relationship agreements that other MLS participants have with clients.

Section 8.3 COMPLAINTS OF UNETHICAL CONDUCT

All complaints of unethical conduct or requests for arbitration against any REALTOR® Participant shall be referred to the association/board with which the Participant holds REALTOR® membership.

The following section reflects NAR’s Standards of Conduct 16.6 and 16.10:

Section 11.9. Solicitation and Client Contacts

No Participant may use information obtained from listing brokers’ offers to cooperate in the MLS Compilation to refer listing brokers’ clients to other brokers or to create buyer/tenant relationships with listing brokers’ clients, unless such use is authorized by listing brokers. When a Participants is contacted by the client of another Participant regarding the creation of an exclusive relationship to provide the same type of service, and the Participant contacted has not directly or indirectly initiated such discussions, the Participant contacted may discuss the terms upon which they might enter into a future agreement or, alternatively, may enter into an agreement which becomes effective upon expiration of any existing exclusive agreement.

Participants are not precluded from making general announcements to prospects describing their services and the terms of their availability even though some recipients may have entered into agency agreements or other exclusive relationships with another Participant. A general telephone canvass, general mailing, or distribution addressed to all prospects in a given geographical area or in a given profession, business, club, or organization, or other classification or group is deemed general for purposes of this rule.

The following types of solicitations are prohibited: Telephone or personal solicitations of property owners who have been identified by a real estate sign, the MLS Compilation, or other information service as having exclusively listed their property with another Participant; and mail or other forms of written solicitations of prospects whose properties are exclusively listed with another MLS participant when such solicitations are not part of a general mailing but are directed specifically to property owners identified through the MLS Compilation.

NorthstarMLS will enforce these policies for all subscribers. Complainants can still file Code of Ethics complaints for all REALTOR® Member Participants with the state association or the local association where the agent holds membership. For known ethics violations by Nonmember Participants that don’t fall under NorthstarMLS rules, the complainant could file with Ecommerce.