How broad is Standard of Practice 10-5’s prohibition on “hate speech”?

QUESTION: Standard of Practice 10-5 of the Code of Ethics bars REALTORS® from harassing “any person or persons based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” Does SOP 10-5 apply to speech by a REALTOR® that is not directly related to real estate services? Does it apply to more than just verbal and written statements?

ANSWER: SOP 10-5 is limited to real estate-related activities and it does extend to images and symbols, not just verbal and written statements.

It is important to note that a REALTOR® cannot be found in violation of SOP 10-5. When a Code of Ethics complaint is filed, the complainant must show a violation of an Article of the Code, not a Standard of Practice. This means that SOP 10-5 must be viewed through the lens of Article 10, which says:

Article 10

REALTORS® shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. REALTORS® shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. (Amended 1/23)

REALTORS®, in their real estate employment practices, shall not discriminate against any person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. (Amended 1/23)

If a complainant cannot establish a violation of Article 10, then there can be no violation of SOP 10-5. Standards of Practice can only assist in understanding the Articles of the Code of Ethics. Standards of Practice cannot support a violation by themselves.

With that context, SOP 10-5 has two main purposes.

First, and in response to your first question, SOP 10-5 states that “REALTORS®, in their capacity as real estate professionals, in association with their real estate businesses, or in their real estate-related activities shall not harass any person or persons based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” This means that if a REALTOR® engages in harassment during real estate-related activities, they may be in violation of Article 10.

Second, SOP 10-5 provides a definition of “harassment.” It says that “harassment” is defined as “unwelcome behavior directed at an individual or group based on one or more of the above protected characteristics where the purpose or effect of the behavior is to create a hostile, abusive, or intimidating environment which adversely affects their ability to access equal professional services or employment opportunity.”

The term “unwelcome behavior” in SOP 10-5 is not limited simply to verbal and written statements. This means, as to your second question, that if a member were to use images and symbols instead of a statement, then they may be engaging in the kind of harassment Article 10 prohibits.

Release Date: 3/3/2022; Revised 6/19/2025

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