Who’s In Charge?

Most Licensees in real estate think that the Arizona Real Estate Department (ADRE) is in “charge” over everything in our real estate lives. Well, that is not “exactly” the case. Now, it is true that the ADRE is the major protector of the “Buying Public” and are dedicated “to promote and protect the interest of the public.” They also are in charge of maintaining and administering most matters relating to our Real Estate Licenses, but not all matters.

While the statistics are interesting...78,000 licensees in Arizona, (57,000 are active, and of those, 43,000 are REALTORS®)! However, the ADRE does not control everything that we do in our various real estate activities. Let me remind you that there are others who are responsible for some of our other real estate activities. I do not suggest that this article will address everything either, but just to get the “juices flowing,” please realize that we have others with whom we must deal.

Home Owners Associations (HOAs) -- While the ADRE receives a significant number of HOA complaints, they are now able to funnel them to another agency. In 2011, the Arizona Legislature passed legislation providing Arizona homeowners and condominium and planned community associations (HOA’s) a venue for resolving disputes. Therefore, the ADRE forwards all HOA problems to the Department of Fire, Building and Life Safety or the Attorney General’s Office, depending on the context of the issue. This actually relieves the ADRE of a lot of issues from the buying public. I do not recall ever being called on by either of these Departments, except for a few discrimination alleged complaints a few years ago. (All were dismissed By-The-Way).

Landlord-Tenant -- Landlord and tenant issues also aren’t totally under the ADRE’s jurisdiction, so those issues may also be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office. Of course, most of the Landlord-Tenant issues are outlined under the Landlord-Tenant Act and can be read on-line or in the Tenant Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.

Property Management -- Property Management has been a focus of both the ADRE and AAR for several years. Property Management Trust accounting has improved as AAR has started the PM boot camp. Currently, AAR is working on a Property Management certification program to further these improvement efforts. In regards to property management, and specifically continuing education (C/E) courses that pertain to property management, AAR provides many educational opportunities for property managers.