As a client
The professional represents you and owes you the full duties of an agent: loyalty, confidentiality, full disclosure of anything relevant, avoiding conflicts of interest, and acting in your best interests rather than their own.
Working with a REALTOR® in BC
Before a real estate professional in British Columbia discusses anything confidential with you — what you can afford, why you are moving, what you would really accept — they are required to show you a form called the Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services. You may hear it called the DORT.
It exists to answer one question before you answer any of theirs: is this person working for you, or not? Both are legitimate. They are just very different, and you are entitled to know which one you are in before you say anything you would not want passed on.
The distinction the form is really about
As a non-client
They can still help you — show you a property, answer factual questions, prepare documents — but they do not represent you. Nothing you tell them is confidential. If they represent the seller, they are obliged to pass your information on to that seller.
BCFSA changed the wording on the form from "unrepresented party" to "non-client" precisely because the old term confused people. You can receive real services from a real estate professional without being their client — but in that case you are not owed the duties a client is owed, and the confidentiality you might assume is not there.
Common questions about the disclosure
No. Initialling the form to acknowledge you received it is optional. If you would rather not, the professional can simply note that it was provided. Being shown it is the requirement — signing it is not.
At 88 West Realty we provide this disclosure at the first real conversation, not at the signing table. If you are not sure which relationship you are in with anyone you are dealing with — us or another brokerage — ask, and ask for the form. A professional who is doing their job properly will be glad you did.
This page explains the disclosure in plain language and reflects the BC Financial Services Authority's published guidance. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the form itself, which your real estate professional must provide.