Code of Ethics

Key Takeaways

• The Code of Ethics is a private trade association standard adopted by the National Association of REALTORS. It binds REALTOR members through membership, not through Washington law.
• Article 10 of the REALTOR Code of Ethics prohibits denying equal professional services or discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
• RCW 18.85.361(15) makes discrimination in real estate brokerage service activity, under any local, county, state, or federal antidiscrimination law, a ground for discipline against a Washington license.
• RCW 49.60.222 lists classes that Article 10 never names, including marital status, creed, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, and use of a trained dog guide or service animal.

What It Means

The Code of Ethics is the conduct standard the National Association of REALTORS adopted for its own members. It is a membership agreement, not a statute. A Washington licensee who joins a local association and uses the REALTOR trademark agrees to be bound by the Code and can be taken before a professional standards hearing panel for breaking it. A licensee who never joins is outside that system entirely, and no association panel can reach a state license either way.

That does not make ethical conduct optional in Washington. The license law carries its own floor and it applies to every broker in the state. RCW 18.86.030 makes reasonable skill and care, honest and good faith dealing, timely presentation of all written offers, and disclosure of known material facts duties that a broker owes to every party and cannot waive. Article 10, the fair housing article of the Code, tracks principles the state already enforces through the Washington Law Against Discrimination. The useful way to read the Code is as a compact summary of standards a Washington licensee owes anyway, with a private enforcement track added on top for members.

How It Works in Washington

Washington does not enforce the REALTOR Code of Ethics. What the state enforces is chapter 18.85 RCW. RCW 18.85.361 lets the director take disciplinary action and impose the sanctions and fines specified in RCW 18.235.110 against a broker, managing broker, designated broker, or firm on a list of grounds that reads like an ethics code with teeth. Subsection (15) covers discrimination against any person in hiring or in real estate brokerage service activity on the basis of any local, county, state, or federal antidiscrimination law. Subsection (23) reaches any conduct in a real estate transaction which demonstrates bad faith, dishonesty, untrustworthiness, or incompetence. Subsection (14) is the one licensees forget: misrepresentation of membership in any state or national real estate association is itself a ground for discipline, so using the REALTOR name after the dues lapse is a license problem, not a marketing slip. Complaints against a license go to the Washington State Department of Licensing, never to an association.

On fair housing the controlling state rule is RCW 49.60.222. It makes it an unfair practice to refuse to engage in a real estate transaction, to refuse to receive or fail to transmit a bona fide offer, to refuse to negotiate, or to represent that property is unavailable when it is available, because of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, disability, or use of a trained dog guide or service animal. That list is not the same as Article 10's. A broker who has memorized only the Code has memorized the wrong Protected Class set for Washington. Our breakdown of Washington fair housing continuing education explains how the state keeps this in front of licensees every renewal cycle.

Example

Priya Raman is a broker at a Tacoma firm that never joined the REALTOR association, so no Code of Ethics applies to her. She lists a house in the North End at $585,000. A buyer's broker brings a full price offer from the Osei family, and the seller tells Priya not to bring him offers from people with accents because he wants a buyer who fits the neighborhood.

Priya has two problems and Article 10 is not either of them. Refusing to transmit the Osei offer would be an unfair practice under RCW 49.60.222(1)(c), which covers refusing to receive or failing to transmit a bona fide offer because of national origin. Following the instruction would also breach RCW 18.86.030(1)(c), the unwaivable duty to present all written offers in a timely manner, and would expose her license under RCW 18.85.361(15). Quietly pointing the Oseis toward a different neighborhood instead would be Steering, which RCW 49.60.222(1)(e) reaches as failing to bring a property listing to a person's attention.

Priya presents the $585,000 offer, writes down what the seller said and when, and tells the seller she cannot take that instruction. Her firm's decision to stay out of the association changes nothing about the outcome. The Code, the federal Fair Housing Act history, and the Washington statutes all point the same direction here, but only the statutes can cost Priya her license.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• The Code of Ethics binds REALTOR members through their association. A Washington license is issued and disciplined by the state, and no association hearing panel can suspend one.
• Article 10's class list is not Washington's class list. RCW 49.60.222 also covers marital status, creed, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, and use of a trained dog guide or service animal.
• REALTOR is a membership term, not a license level. Washington licenses brokers, managing brokers, and designated brokers, and RCW 18.85.361(14) makes misrepresenting association membership a ground for discipline.
• RCW 18.85.361(23) reaches conduct in a real estate transaction that demonstrates bad faith, dishonesty, untrustworthiness, or incompetence, so incompetence by itself is a disciplinary ground.