The Saskatchewan Realtors Association announced last week that open houses will once again be able to resume.

In their most recent release from late May, the SRA noted 'now that the government of Saskatchewan has set a date for phase three of The Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan, the SRA feels confident that open houses can begin again'.

Though open houses are once again a go, they notably come with a checklist of sanitation and precautionary measures:

  • All visitors will be required to conduct a verbal health waiver and provide their contact information to the attending realtor;
  • This will allow for contract tracing should someone who attended an open house report back after the showing that they have tested positive for COVID-19 or are ill;
  • All homeowners will be required to sanitize their home before an open house;
  • Incidences of touch will be reduced in the home by the realtor - lights turned on, doors opened, and guests instructed to ask the realtor to open things like drawers, closets, and cupboards;
  • Guests will not be allowed to use washrooms;
  • Guests will be required to sanitize before entering the home;
  • Guests will be asked to wear disposable booties on their feet when inside the home;
  • Only two guests will be allowed in at a time;
  • Social distancing will be practiced both inside the home and outside for waiting guests; and,
  • Guests will be asked to report to the attending realtor if they become ill in a two-week time frame after the showing.

The SRA had initially issued a press release in late March calling for a 'No Open House' rule amid the coronavirus pandemic.