Disciplinary Regulation

Artigo 1.º — Purpose

This Regulation defines:

a) the disciplinary infractions;

b) the applicable sanctions;

c) the competence of the bodies involved;

d) the disciplinary procedure and its time limits;

e) the rights and safeguards of defence of the accused member;

f) the regime of appeal, enforcement and closure of the proceedings.

Artigo 2.º — Scope of application

1. This Regulation applies to all members of APMLS, whatever their category, and to the representatives, users, staff and other persons acting in the MLS system on behalf of a member entity, to the extent that the relevant facts may have disciplinary significance for that entity or for the responsible member.

2. Disciplinary liability is independent of any civil, administrative-offence, regulatory or criminal liability that may apply.

3. This Regulation covers acts carried out within the associative activity, the use of the MLS, cooperation between professionals, the use of the APMLS Seal and any acts that materially affect the image, the proper functioning or the purposes of the Association.

Artigo 3.º — Relationship with the Articles of Association and other regulations

1. This Regulation gives effect to the statutory regime of APMLS in disciplinary matters, in particular the provisions on members’ duties, disciplinary sanctions, the competence of the associative bodies and the loss of membership.

2. In the event of conflict between this Regulation and the Articles of Association of APMLS, the Articles of Association prevail.

3. Technical, operational, accreditation, platform-access, APMLS Seal or compliance consequences may also arise from other APMLS regulations, where legally and statutorily permissible.

Artigo 4.º — Guiding principles

The disciplinary procedure observes in particular the principles of legality, sufficient definition of infractions, proportionality, impartiality, the right to be heard, presumption of innocence, reasoned decisions, confidentiality, good faith, reasonableness, promptness and consumer protection.

Artigo 5.º — Liability of members

1. Members are subject to disciplinary liability for any act or omission that breaches the Articles of Association, this Regulation, the Code of Ethics, the internal regulations, the resolutions of the General Assembly or the operational rules applicable to the MLS.

2. Member companies are disciplinarily liable, under the Articles of Association, for the acts of their staff, representatives and users acting under their licence, authorisation, control or organisational sphere, without prejudice to individual liability that may be established elsewhere.

3. Ignorance of the applicable rules does not exclude disciplinary liability, save in the case of excusable error duly demonstrated.

Artigo 6.º — Definition of disciplinary infraction

A disciplinary infraction is any act or omission, intentional or negligent, that breaches the statutory and regulatory duties of APMLS, harms good faith and cooperation within the MLS, calls into question the truthfulness of the information shared, affects consumer confidence or compromises the image, efficiency, discipline and standing of the Association.

Artigo 7.º — Classification of infractions

Disciplinary infractions are classified as minor, serious and very serious, having regard in particular to the nature of the duty breached, the degree of fault, repetition, the harm caused, the risk created for consumers and professionals, the impact on the MLS and the effect on the institutional credibility of APMLS.

Artigo 8.º — Minor infractions

The following, in particular, constitute minor infractions:

a) isolated failures of communication or response between professionals, without material impact;

b) non-repeated delays in updating statuses, fields or documentary items in the MLS;

c) formal or operational lapses without material impact on the truthfulness of the data or on the rights of the parties;

d) lack of courtesy in a context that is neither offensive nor repeated;

e) non-repeated failure to comply with low-impact internal procedures;

f) simple, occasional negligence without material harm to third parties, to APMLS or to the market.

Artigo 9.º — Serious infractions

The following, in particular, constitute serious infractions:

a) failure to cooperate within the MLS or unjustified refusal to share information professionally due;

b) unjustified refusal of viewings, showings or appointments, or blocking of access in breach of the applicable rules;

c) publication, maintenance or omission of incomplete, incorrect or out-of-date data with material impact on the decision of the client or of the cooperating professional;

d) failure to comply with previously agreed commission-sharing rules or with other economic obligations assumed within MLS cooperation;

e) repeated disrespect towards colleagues, consumers, bodies of the Association or the operational rules of the system;

f) non-payment of quotas, fees, contributions or amounts due after formal demand, where such default has disciplinary significance under the applicable regulations;

g) improper use of APMLS resources, access, credentials, data or features for unauthorised purposes;

h) misleading commercial practices or conduct liable to mislead consumers;

i) material breach of the statutory duties of supervision, updating, secrecy, confidentiality or data protection;

j) acts or omissions that seriously affect the discipline, efficiency or standing of APMLS.

Artigo 10.º — Very serious infractions

The following, in particular, constitute very serious infractions:

a) deliberate entry of false data, serious manipulation of information or knowing concealment of essential elements concerning the listing, proposal, offer, condition of the property or terms of the transaction;

b) documentary fraud, forgery, tampering with records, price manipulation, intentional duplication of listings or creation of misleading MLS records;

c) misappropriation of commissions, economic advantages or opportunities obtained through unfair or abusive conduct;

d) concealment of proposals, offers, communications or facts relevant to the consumer or to the cooperating counterparty;

e) acquisition of clients or listings through misleading, fraudulent or abusive conduct;

f) serious and intentional breach of rules on confidentiality, data protection, access security or the integrity of the MLS system;

g) intentional sharing of credentials or knowing facilitation of improper access by third parties outside the Association;

h) acts that seriously harm the reputation of APMLS, the credibility of the APMLS Seal or confidence in the MLS ecosystem;

i) repetition of serious infractions, where it reveals serious disregard for associative duties;

j) criminal conduct related to the professional activity or to the use of the MLS, where it calls into question the member’s continued membership of the Association.

Artigo 11.º — Aggravating and mitigating circumstances, repetition and concurrence

1. Aggravating circumstances include, among others: premeditation, intense intent, concealment of evidence, exploitation of a position of control or trust, harm to vulnerable consumers, material reputational damage, multiple injured parties and repetition of the conduct.

2. Mitigating circumstances include, among others: the absence of disciplinary antecedents, spontaneous admission, effective cooperation in establishing the truth, voluntary remedy of the harm, immediate correction of the irregularity and action under excusable error or negligence of low intensity.

3. There is repetition where the member commits a further infraction of the same nature or of comparable seriousness before the period for cancelling the corresponding internal disciplinary record has elapsed.

4. Where the same act constitutes several infractions, or where different acts fall to be assessed in the same proceedings, the disciplinary response corresponding to the most serious infraction is applied, weighed in the light of the conduct as a whole.

Artigo 12.º — Disciplinary sanctions

1. The disciplinary sanctions applicable to members are exclusively those provided for in the Articles of Association of APMLS:

a) recorded reprimand;

b) suspension of up to one hundred and eighty days;

c) expulsion.

2. The sanction of suspension may cover, according to the decision and within the time limit referred to in the preceding paragraph, the suspension of associative rights, benefits of the Association, MLS access, operational features and other prerogatives attached to membership status.

3. The sanction of expulsion entails the loss of membership, under the Articles of Association.

4. Expulsion may be proposed only in the case of a very serious infraction or of repeated serious infractions constituting a serious breach of statutory duties and rendering the member’s continued membership of APMLS untenable.

Artigo 13.º — Criteria for determining the sanction

In determining the sanction, the following must be specially weighed: the objective and subjective seriousness of the infraction, the degree of fault, the harm caused to the consumer, to third parties, to APMLS or to the market, repetition, subsequent conduct, procedural cooperation, voluntary remedy, the need for prevention and the preservation of institutional confidence in the MLS system.

Artigo 14.º — Competence of the bodies

1. The Disciplinary Board exercises the powers in disciplinary and deontological matters, and is responsible for receiving complaints, assessing the facts preliminarily, opening proceedings, appointing a rapporteur or investigator, conducting the investigation, deliberating on the final proposal and sending a written and reasoned proposal to the body statutorily competent to apply the sanction.

2. The application of the sanctions of recorded reprimand and suspension falls to the Board, on a written and reasoned proposal resolved by the Disciplinary Board.

3. The application of the sanction of expulsion falls exclusively to the General Assembly, on a written and reasoned proposal resolved by the Disciplinary Board.

4. The Ethics Committee may receive reports, produce reports, carry out audits, make recommendations and refer complaints to the Disciplinary Board, under the Articles of Association, without prejudice to the latter’s decision-making autonomy.

Artigo 15.º — Effects of the sanctions and associated consequences

1. The recorded reprimand entails the formal recording of the disciplinary censure in the member’s internal file.

2. Suspension produces the effects defined in the resolution, and may entail the temporary inability to use, consult, enter, edit, validate, export or benefit from the MLS features covered by the decision.

3. Expulsion entails the cessation of associative rights and of access to the APMLS ecosystem, without prejudice to outstanding obligations and to the consequences provided for in the Articles of Association.

4. The application of suspension or expulsion may further entail, under the specific applicable regulations, the suspension or cessation of the right to use the APMLS Seal, the deactivation of credentials, the removal of institutional identifiers and the updating of internal accreditation or compliance records.

5. For the purposes of the APMLS Accreditation System, the final application of a sanction for a serious or very serious infringement prevents accreditation from being obtained or renewed for twenty-four months from the final decision, under the Accreditation System Regulation.

6. A pending complaint or disciplinary case is not, on its own, grounds for refusing accreditation.

Artigo 16.º — Limitation

1. Disciplinary infractions become time-barred after:

a) one year, in the case of minor infractions;

b) three years, in the case of serious infractions;

c) five years, in the case of very serious infractions.

2. The limitation period is interrupted by the opening of the disciplinary proceedings, the notification of the charges or the carrying out of an investigative step duly communicated to the accused member.

3. Disciplinary sanctions become time-barred if they are not enforced within one year of the final decision, unless their enforcement is suspended for a legal reason or by a fact attributable to the accused member.

Artigo 17.º — Commencement of the procedure

Disciplinary proceedings may be commenced on a consumer report or complaint, a member’s complaint, a communication from a public authority, information from the Ethics Committee, an audit, internal detection by APMLS, technical monitoring, log analysis, automatic system alerts, data-integrity reports or any other appropriate means of becoming aware of the facts.

Artigo 18.º — Preliminary assessment and opening of proceedings

1. Once the complaint is received, the Disciplinary Board carries out a preliminary assessment to verify competence, the minimum sufficiency of evidence and the admissibility of the procedure.

2. At this stage, the Disciplinary Board may:

a) dismiss the complaint outright where it is manifestly unfounded, anonymous without minimum corroboration or legally irrelevant;

b) request additional information from the complainant, from the Ethics Committee, from the internal services or from related entities;

c) resolve to open disciplinary proceedings and appoint a rapporteur or investigator.

3. The opening decision must briefly identify the facts under examination and the member concerned, without prejudice to the subsequent statement of charges.

Artigo 19.º — Disqualification, withdrawal and challenge

1. No person may take part in the proceedings who has a direct or indirect interest in their outcome, a particularly close personal or professional relationship with the complainant or the accused member, prior involvement liable to compromise impartiality, or any other circumstance objectively apt to give rise to serious doubt as to their independence.

2. Members of the Disciplinary Board must declare their disqualification or ask to withdraw as soon as they become aware of a fact liable to affect their impartiality.

3. The accused member may raise a reasoned challenge within five working days of becoming aware of the composition of the body or of the fact giving rise to the challenge.

4. The matter is decided by the remaining members of the Disciplinary Board; if the situation affects the majority of its members, the decision falls to the Chair of the General Assembly, without any involvement in the merits of the disciplinary case.

Artigo 20.º — Investigation

1. The investigation seeks to establish the material truth, the authorship, the degree of fault, the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the harm caused and the appropriateness of the disciplinary response.

2. The rapporteur or investigator may, in particular:

a) hear the complainant, the accused member and any witnesses considered relevant;

b) request documents, contracts, messages, receipts, reports, images, screenshots and other material items;

c) examine activity records, MLS logs, audit trails, historical versions, timestamps, technical reports, metadata, appointment records and other digital evidence;

d) carry out further steps, including data audits, documentary verification, comparison of accounts or requests for clarification;

e) seek specialist technical or legal support where necessary.

3. The investigation stage is, as a rule, confidential until the statement of charges or the dismissal, without prejudice to the exercise of the right to be heard and to the taking of steps necessary to the investigation.

Artigo 21.º — Statement of charges and notification

1. Once the preliminary investigation is concluded with sufficient evidence, the rapporteur draws up a statement of charges, which must contain at least:

a) the identification of the accused member;

b) a clear and detailed description of the facts alleged;

c) an indication, wherever possible, of the time, manner and place of the occurrence;

d) the statutory and regulatory rules allegedly breached;

e) the provisional disciplinary classification of the facts and the sanctions applicable in the abstract;

f) an indication of the principal means of evidence;

g) the time limit for submitting the defence.

2. The statement of charges is notified in writing to the accused member, with a copy of the essential items already available, subject to the protection of third-party data and the integrity of the investigation.

Artigo 22.º — Right of defence

1. The accused member has fifteen working days to submit a written defence, unless a longer period is granted on account of the complexity of the case.

2. In the defence, the accused member may:

a) set out the facts and arguments they consider appropriate;

b) submit documents and other means of evidence;

c) name up to five witnesses, save where a reasoned authorisation for a greater number is given;

d) request steps relevant to establishing the truth;

e) be represented or assisted by a duly appointed lawyer or agent.

3. Failure to submit a defence is not equivalent to an admission and does not dispense with a reasoned decision based on the material in the file.

Artigo 23.º — Evidence

1. All means of evidence legally permitted and suitable for establishing the facts are admissible, including documentary, witness, technical, expert, digital and circumstantial evidence.

2. The following may in particular be taken into account: written communications, electronic mail, messages, system logs, change history, metadata, audits, automatic reports, appointment records, access records, commercial documentation, lawfully obtained recordings and blockchain records, where these exist.

3. Indications generated by automatic systems, artificial intelligence, validation rules or technical monitoring do not dispense with human assessment, factual contextualisation and full respect for the safeguards of defence.

4. Evidence is assessed according to criteria of reasonableness, coherence, authenticity, integrity, reliability and reasoned free conviction.

Artigo 24.º — Final report and proposal

1. Once the investigation is concluded and the defence examined, the rapporteur draws up a final report containing at least:

a) the identification of the parties;

b) the subject matter of the proceedings;

c) the facts proven and not proven;

d) a list of the relevant evidence;

e) the statutory and regulatory framework;

f) the analysis of fault and of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances;

g) a reasoned proposal for dismissal or for a sanction.

2. The final report is submitted to the Disciplinary Board for resolution.

Artigo 25.º — Resolution of the Disciplinary Board

1. The Disciplinary Board resolves on the final report, and may:

a) agree with the proposal submitted;

b) order further investigative steps;

c) alter, with reasons, the legal classification or the proposed sanction, provided the right to be heard is observed;

d) resolve to dismiss the proceedings.

2. The resolution of the Disciplinary Board must be in writing, reasoned, and contain at least the identification of the parties, the subject matter of the proceedings, the facts proven, the reasoning in fact and in law and the specific proposal to be sent to the competent body.

3. If the proposed sanction is a recorded reprimand or suspension, the resolution is sent to the Board for final decision.

4. If the proposed sanction is expulsion, the resolution is sent to the General Assembly, through the Chair, for final decision.

Artigo 26.º — Final decision, notification and enforcement

1. The Board or the General Assembly, as the case may be, decides on the basis of the reasoned proposal of the Disciplinary Board and of the material in the file.

2. The final decision must be in writing, reasoned and notified to the accused member, and must state the facts proven, the applicable rules, the sanction applied, the date on which it takes effect and, where applicable, the appeal regime.

3. It falls to the bodies and services of APMLS to enforce the disciplinary decision, carrying out all acts necessary to give it effect, including the blocking or restriction of access, the removal of seals, the updating of internal records, compliance communications and monitoring of compliance with the obligations imposed.

4. Save where expressly provided otherwise, sanctions take effect on the first working day following notification of the final decision.

Artigo 27.º — Disciplinary record

1. APMLS keeps an internal record of disciplinary decisions, observing the principle of minimisation, confidentiality and retention periods appropriate to the disciplinary and compliance purpose.

2. Save where legally, statutorily or otherwise required, internal records are cancelled two years after a recorded reprimand has been served and five years after a suspension has been served, provided that no further disciplinary infraction occurs in that period.

Artigo 28.º — Appeal

1. An appeal lies to the General Assembly against a decision of the Board applying a recorded reprimand or suspension, within ten working days of notification.

2. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Chair of the General Assembly, stating the decision appealed against and the corresponding grounds in fact and in law.

3. The appeal has, as a rule, devolutive effect and does not automatically suspend enforcement of the decision, save where expressly resolved otherwise on exceptional and duly reasoned grounds.

4. No internal appeal lies against a decision of the General Assembly applying expulsion, without prejudice to the legally available external remedies.

Artigo 29.º — Dismissal

The proceedings are dismissed where the facts alleged are not proven, where there is insufficient material to continue, where a ground excluding unlawfulness or fault relevant to the case is established, or where disciplinary liability is extinguished.

Artigo 30.º — Preventive MLS security measures

1. Whenever there are serious indications of improper use of the MLS liable to compromise data security, the integrity of the system, operational continuity or the protection of consumers, the Board may order strictly technical and proportionate preventive measures, which are not disciplinary sanctions.

2. The measures referred to in the preceding paragraph may include, in particular, the forced resetting of credentials, temporary blocking of a session, precautionary suspension of specific technical permissions, reinforced data validation or temporary limitation of features strictly necessary to contain the risk.

3. The adoption of the measure must be communicated immediately to the Disciplinary Board and to the member concerned, with a brief statement of the grounds and the expected duration.

4. Maintaining the measure for a period longer than ten working days depends on a reasoned reassessment by the Board, after hearing the member concerned wherever this does not compromise the preventive purpose.

Artigo 31.º — Omitted cases, interpretation and entry into force

1. Omitted cases and doubts of interpretation shall be resolved in accordance with the Articles of Association of APMLS, the applicable law, the general principles of associative law and the resolutions validly approved by the competent bodies.

2. This Regulation enters into force on the date of its approval by the General Assembly of APMLS.