By Miriam J. Baer, Assistant Director, Legal Services

Have you ever been involved in a transaction where one of the parties spoke little or no English?

As North Carolina's population grows, so too grows the number of people here from other nations, some of whom could benefit from the use of translators.

Licensees have inquired whether they are required to hire translators and if they do so, whether they will be responsible for the accuracy of the translation.

Licensees are forbidden from discriminating against persons based upon national origin under both the State and Federal Fair Housing Acts. For example, it is against the law to do any of the following based upon a party's country of origin, color or race:

1. refuse to engage in a real estate transaction;
2. refuse to rent or sell housing;
3. discriminate in the terms or conditions of a sale or rental;
4. refuse to receive or fail to transmit a bona fide offer;
5. indicate that housing is not available when it actually is;
6. refuse to negotiate;
7. steer a person toward or away from a particular residential property;
8. threaten, intimidate, retaliate against or otherwise interfere with the use and enjoyment of housing;
9. advertise or make statements directly or indirectly indicating an intent to discriminate; or
10. engage in "blockbusting," i.e., scare a person into moving out of a neighborhood by representing that persons from other countries are moving in.

This does not mean that licensees are required to hire a translator in the event that a non-English speaking person seeks assistance from the licensee in a real estate transaction. The Real Estate Commission does not require its licensees to bear this expense.

But, if a prospective party to a real estate transaction brings his or her own translator to the licensee, the licensee should work with that prospect and the translator. A licensee who chooses not to work with a prospect from another country must be certain that he or she has only a non-discriminatory basis for that decision, and that the non-discriminatory basis is applied uniformly, regardless of a prospect's country of origin.

What happens if the translator makes a critical mistake? Will the licensee be responsible for that error? Under the Real Estate License Law, the licensee is held to an ordinary standard of care - the same standard to which the licensee is held with regard to the use of inspectors, surveyors and other professionals involved in real estate transactions.

This means that unless the licensee knows of the translator's error, or has reason to know of it, and fails to bring it the parties' attention promptly, the licensee will not be held responsible. Because most licensees are not fluent in languages other than English, it generally is reasonable for them to rely on the expertise of the translator unless some sort of "red flag" exists which calls the translator's ability into question.

In an effort to assist the rising Hispanic community in North Carolina, the Real Estate Commission has recently had certain of its informational brochures translated into Spanish. These are:

1. Working With Real Estate Agents (Trato Con Agentes Bienes Raices);
2. Questions and Answers on: Fair Housing (Preguntas Y Respuestas sobre: Vivienda Justa)
3. Questions and Answers on: Tenant Security Deposits (Preguntas Y Respuestas sobre: El Deposito de Securidad del Inquilino)
4. Questions and Answers on: Renting Residential Real Estate (Preguntas Y Respuestas sobre: Alquiler de Inmuebles para Viviendo).

You can order these free brochures by using the Publications Order Form on page 7 of this Bulletin or printing it out from the Commission's web site at www.ncrec.state.nc.us. Click on Forms. Please allow two weeks for delivery.