Our office will close at noon on Friday, March 29th in observance of Good Friday. Due to emergency repairs, the GLAR office in Culver City is temporarily closed to foot traffic until further notice. We are available to assist members through email ([email protected]) & by phone (310-967-8800) - Monday - Friday from 9am - 12pm & 1pm - 4pm
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In-Person Open Houses are Prohibited - GLAR Now Issuing Fines for Non-Compliance
Monday, Oct 5, 2020 @ 04:00 PM

In response to repeated complaints from GLAR members and members of the general public, GLAR will begin fining members who advertise and host in-person open houses in defiance of local and state ordinances.


Members have received multiple emails from GLAR and C.A.R. reminding them of the COVID-19 prohibition against open houses. The county health department and the state DRE have already indicated that they will be stepping up enforcement of open house violations and, due to the high level of violations, GLAR will begin tracking infractions and will be fining agents who violate the ordinance.


If you see a suspected violation of the ban on in-person open
houses, text a picture of the open house sign or address to
310-967-8800 to report the violation, or you can text the
word VIOLATION to the same number to fill out a violation
form. Either way, GLAR will review the submission. 


After you text the number, you have two choices. You will be
prompted to fill out a violation webform if you would like to submit more information about the violation for GLAR to review. Submissions may be made
anonymously. If you choose to complete a violation form, you may be contacted by GLAR
staff or the grievance committee to review your submission.


We understand the hardship the lack of open houses presents. However, we all have to
follow guidelines in order to continue to be considered an essential business and allowed to
operate. We as an association are working with state and local governments to provide
business opportunities for our members including the opportunity to hold safe open houses.
We hope to have more information for you as the State Dept. of Health, the CDC and County
officials work to revise guidelines. 


We strongly urge GLAR members to comply with the prohibition against open houses.


Background Information:


In-person open houses are PROHIBITED under city, county and state coronavirus regulations, and are strongly recommended against by C.A.R.s COVID-19 best practices. The Los Angeles County safer-at-home order specifically states There can be no open houses to show properties. All residential viewings must only occur virtually or, if a virtual viewing is not feasible, by appointment. Showings should be limited to serious potential buyers who are either pre-approved or have submitted a contingent offer. The in-person showing may only include the real estate agent and no more than two (2) visitors, who reside within the same household or living unit, at a time.”


Agents should not be advertising in-person open houses - anywhere. Since hosting open houses is currently prohibited, advertising of in-person open houses is currently prohibited as well. Traditional open houses are generally understood to be on a walk-in basis without needing an appointment. Appointment-based showings are not “open houses” in the general understanding of the industry and the public. Therefore, to present a true picture under Article 12 of the Code of Ethics, REALTORS® should conform to the normal understanding of the term - and should not be advertising open houses.


This means in-person open houses cannot be advertised on social media, in advertising, and NO posting of open house signs.


How to Report Violations to Local Authorities:

If you see someone violating the ban on open houses, you may report the violation to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health by calling (888) 700-9995, via email at [email protected] or online via the county’s online reporting portal. Should DRE discover a violation by a licensee, the licensee may be contacted by DRE and egregious or rampant violations may be forwarded to the relevant authorities by DRE for further action.


Violations of the open house orders in the City of Los Angeles can be reported here. Violations in Culver City can be reported to the City’s Coronavirus Hotline at (310) 253-6890 or via email at [email protected].




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