30-second summary
- The risk: a "too-marketing" site ("sold in 7 days guaranteed", "the best broker") can put you in breach. Our job is to avoid that trap.
- The frame: broker advertising is governed by the OACIQ — your name and brokerage must appear, information must be accurate, no guaranteed results.
- The good news: a compliant site converts better. In real estate, trust sells more than a slogan.
- The other half: Law 25 — your forms collect addresses and financial information, sensitive data.
- Our role: build the compliant structure and flag risky wording. Final validation stays yours (and your brokerage's).
Disclaimer: NEXTIWEB is a web agency, not the OACIQ. This article describes how we design sites that respect the profession's practices — it is not regulatory advice. The reference on advertising remains the OACIQ and your brokerage.
The "too-marketing" site that can cost you
When a broker hands their site to an agency that doesn't know real estate, the result is often the same: a homepage shouting "The best broker in Montreal", "Sold in 7 days, guaranteed", "Best price assured"… and nowhere the name of the brokerage.
Those lines may sell an ordinary product. For a broker, they are a problem. Real estate advertising is regulated: a result promise, an unverifiable claim of superiority, or missing mandatory mentions expose you to a breach — and damage your credibility with serious clients.
The right move is not to build a bland site "to be safe". It is to build one that is persuasive and compliant. That is exactly our job: knowing the line, and building right next to it.
What the OACIQ governs, plainly
The OACIQ (the body that governs real estate brokerage in Quebec) sets simple principles for any public communication, websites included. Without entering regulatory interpretation — that's not our role — here are the four markers we apply when designing:
- Your mandatory mentions. Your name and your brokerage's name must clearly appear in your public representation — site, ads, Google profile.
- Accuracy. Information must be true and not misleading. No title, distinction or figure you could not justify.
- No guaranteed results. We never promise an outcome ("sold in 7 days", "best price guaranteed"). We describe an approach and a way of supporting the client.
- No unverifiable superiority. "The best", "number one": to avoid, unless backed by objective, verifiable proof, and without disparaging a colleague.
Persuasive without promising: the rewrite
Most "risky" sentences have a compliant version that is more convincing, because it leans on facts rather than air. Here's how we translate:
| Avoid | What we write instead |
|---|---|
| "The best broker in Montreal" | Facts: "Residential real estate broker on the Plateau since [year], [Name], affiliated with [Brokerage], services in English and French." |
| "Sold in 7 days, guaranteed" | Approach: "A clear marketing strategy: valuation, professional photos, targeted exposure, regular updates." |
| "Best price assured" | Posture: "A rigorous negotiation of your interests, with full transparency." |
| Page with no name or brokerage | Compliance: broker name and brokerage clearly displayed, on every key page. |
The finding is always the same: the compliant version is more credible. A seller entrusting the biggest transaction of their life is not looking for a braggart — they're looking for someone solid, transparent and reassuring. Compliance works for you.
Want a site that converts without exposing you? That's precisely what we build for brokers.
Explore our services for brokers →Reviews and testimonials: the zone to handle with care
Social proof is powerful, but it's also where many sites slip. Two rules we apply:
- No testimonial that promises an outcome. A review like "he sold my house over asking, he'll sell yours too" implies a guarantee: we don't feature it.
- Authentic reviews. We display real reviews, without embellishing or fabricating them. The full, compliant method is detailed in Google reviews and broker reputation.
As always, if a specific wording feels borderline to you, you (and your brokerage) are the ones who decide.
Confidentiality: the other half of compliance
A broker's site doesn't only speak: it collects. As soon as a visitor fills in your form — their name, their email, the address of their property, sometimes their financial situation (valuation request, pre-qualification) — you're handling often sensitive personal information.
In Quebec, Law 25 governs that collection: clear consent, an accessible privacy policy, reasonable security measures. A poorly secured valuation form is a breach of trust before the very first meeting.
Concretely, we plan for: encrypted connection (HTTPS), a protected form, a consent notice, an up-to-date privacy policy and reliable hosting. The detail of the framework is in our guide Quebec Law 25: what your SME needs to know.
Who is responsible for what
Let's be clear on the split, because it's what separates an agency that understands real estate from one that improvises:
- Our role (NEXTIWEB). Design a site structure built for compliance, correctly display your mentions (name + brokerage), propose factual rather than promotional wording, secure the forms, set up confidentiality, and flag any risky element.
- Your role (the broker and brokerage). Validate the published content against the OACIQ's rules, settle interpretation calls, and remain the final authority over what appears in your name.
This split is not a disclaimer: it's a collaboration. Our web expertise meets your knowledge of the framework. From that meeting comes a site that is both effective and beyond reproach.
FAQ: broker websites and OACIQ compliance
Yes. A broker is allowed to be known and to promote their services. The advertising simply has to respect the OACIQ's rules: your name and your brokerage's name must appear, the information must be accurate and not misleading, and you cannot promise a result you don't control. A well-designed website attracts clients while staying within that frame.
At a minimum, your name as registered and the name of the brokerage you are attached to. The OACIQ governs a broker's public representation: we make sure those mentions are present and legible on the site, in ads and on the Google profile. Final validation of the exact wording rests with you and your brokerage.
Result promises ("sold in 7 days guaranteed", "best price assured"), unverifiable superlatives ("the best broker in Montreal"), disparaging comparisons, and any claim you could not substantiate. We replace them with verifiable facts: areas, years of experience, languages, marketing approach.
We are a web agency, not the OACIQ. Our role: build a site designed to stay within the known limits of the rules (mentions, tone, factual wording) and flag risky elements to you. Final responsibility for compliance rests with the broker and their brokerage, who validate what is published. It's teamwork.
Yes. As soon as a form collects a name, an email, a property address or financial information (valuation request, pre-qualification), you are handling personal information. Quebec's Law 25 requires consent, a clear privacy policy and reasonable security measures.
No, quite the opposite. In real estate, trust is the real conversion engine. A measured tone, verifiable facts, your clear mentions and visible confidentiality reassure far more than a flashy slogan. Compliance and performance pull in the same direction: being credible.
Your next step
A broker's site doesn't have to choose between attracting clients and respecting the profession — it has to do both. That's the whole point of an agency that understands your work. In 30 minutes, we can review your current site, check your mandatory mentions, spot risky wording and the confidentiality points to fix.
Free audit — 30 min, your site reviewed for compliance, trust and visibility, report within 48 h.
Get My Free Audit →We don't sell you anything on the phone — we start by helping you see clearly.
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