Yes, it is old news for many, but recent news to me. This is what happens when you stay away too long from news sites and relevant industry blogs.
So what’s the scoop?
The company owner of DuPropio.com site, was fined for registering under the section of Real Estate agents/Brokers in the yellow pages. Thus violating the Real Estate Brokerage act, according to the association of brokers and real estate agents of Québec (ACAIQ).
La Presse issue an article with the details of the story. I found out about it through Louis Sabourin (author of Le Blogue Immobilier) who wrote two very intense posts on the matter. And if I am not mistaken, he was the first one to blog about it. His first article: DuProprio et la malhonnêteté created a response (through comments) from one of the team members of DuPropio.com. To their defense, their reply was:
“If we announced in this section of the Yellow Pages is simply because, for a real estate service such as ours, there were no other places”
In addition to that, on their DuPropio Blog, there is a post where they explain further:
“Our intent was certainly not to impersonate officers”
(..) “le genre de service que nous offrons est relativement nouveau et unique. Nous sommes pratiquement les seuls à évoluer dans ce créneau. C’est pourquoi les Pages Jaunes n’avaient pas d’autres endroits pertinents à nous offrir pour nous afficher.”
It goes to show us all that the sole suggestion of being authorized to perform broker/real estate agent activities without a certificate from the ACAIQ has its consequences, and this case is the perfect example. And even if their intention was not to appear as real estate agents, nor they have carried out real estate brokerage activity, the courts decided that the inclusion of the company under Brokers and Real Estate agents was indeed sufficient to find it guilty. Facts rules over intention.
And there is more: the second article by Le Blogue Immobilier titled “DuProprio: allergique à la critique” opens up a new dialogue between the parties.
The moral of this story? Be careful when advertising real estate services. There are rules and regulations, that even if we’re unaware of, they can come and nip you in the (proverbial) derrière.
Posted by: Deya Bautista - Real Estate Broker working as part of the McGill Immobilier team. Specializing in high end condos in downtown and Old Montreal. For buying or selling contact Deya at: 514.917.7889 
Wow, those folks at the real estate board take things seriously. I had not heard of that before now either. I wonder how they are about going after what is put online. The number of FSBO websites that post under realtors. brokers or agents in online directories is pretty substantial.