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Industry News, Legal IssuesWhen Census workers come knocking…
Every 10 years, the U.S. attempts to count all of its residents. It seems like it should be fairly simple; they mail you a 
form, you fill it out and mail it back. The Census Bureau tallies up the information and we know how many people live in our town. But like everything else, there are always exceptions.
U.S. Census workers now are knocking on doors, recording information about people who failed to return their census forms earlier this year. But what happens when nobody is home?
PAR has received calls from members who’ve been asked by Census enumerators to verify who, if anyone, lives in their listings. During a recent session at the PAR Business Meetings in Harrisburg, nearly 80 percent of those attending said they had already been contacted by a Census worker about their listed properties.
Hank Lerner, PAR Member and Legal Services director, said REALTORS® generally aren’t legally required to provide any information about the property owners of properties they’ve listed. “After consulting with NAR legal staff, we’ve been advising REALTORS® to explain to the Census employee that you’re going to contact the property owner to ask if you can provide the requested information or pass the contact information to the owner, rather than to immediately provide information,” he said.
NAR confirms that after contacting the Census Bureau, it appears that listing agents aren’t obligated by law to provide information. NAR has provided additional information on its Census Bureau research.
Property owners and manager of multi-unit buildings are, however, expected to cooperate with Census takers. “If you manage or own an apartment complex or multi-unit properties, you do need to provide the Census with the names of residents, and you need to provide access to the buildings if asked,” Lerner said.
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Kim Shindle is the Manager of Media Relations at the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. |
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Confidentiality to my client prohibits me from giving information about my listings to a Census taker. It bothers me that they even call me and then they get mad. They must get paid based on how many complete forms they complete. It’s back to the money as usual. I haven’t a clue who is talking to me on the phone.
I received a call from a census worker about one of my listings too. I was not comfortable answering the questions she asked. And the census worker was very aggressive, not polite, as she pressured me to respond. I wish I had read this article before that call.
If it’s vacant…it’s vacant. Why not tell ‘em. If it’s occupied, refer to Seller. No conspiracy here.
I have recieved this type of call on my vacant listings, Use caution you really dont know whos calling could be a scammer just trying to find out about property.
I received a call from a census worker last month asking if a listing was occupied and if so by how many. Since there are tax implications to residency status, it does not seem like this is information a realtor should provide. I gave the phone number of the census worker to the property owners and let them decide how to proceed.
Why would they need access? I’m a PM I don’t think I have ever been asked for access from a Census worker?