The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) will be replacing the term “master” bedroom from all of its databases and its multiple listing service with the more politically correct term “primary” bedroom.
According to a news release by TRREB, the change was introduced by the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force as an attempt to better align with Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) practices.
“It will also address the negative connotations surrounding “master” bedroom, which many Members, others in the industry, and the public at large associate with terminology rooted in slavery and/or sexism. We also heard some of your concerns about the offensive undertones associated with this term,” claimed the news release.
“We know that words matter, and this is a step forward in rethinking outdated terms and modernizing the language used in the real estate industry.”
Among the bodies to be impacted by the change include Stratus, Collaborate, Matrix, TRREB.ca and any WEBForms® used by agents in the region.
“The real estate industry across North America is starting to come together around primary as a more appropriate term and to ensure ongoing productive communication between real estate professionals and their communities,” said the news release.
Since 2020, the CREA has removed the term “master” bedroom from its own platforms citing its relationship to slavery and male centricity.
“There is no definitive historical proof showing the term ‘master,’ when used in real estate to describe rooms of a home, is associated with slavery; however, the term’s relationship to slavery and its male centricity has caused concern,” wrote a CREA blog post on the change.
