TRREB has dropped the term “master” bedroom – here's why

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) recently announced that it will be following the lead of realty groups in the U.S. and stop using “master bedroom” due to the term’s sexist and racist connotations. Instead, the word “primary” will now be used to describe the principal or main bedroom in homes on the market, upon the recommendation from the Real Estate Standards Organization.

Dropping the “master”: taking the lead from our neighbours to the south

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests resulting from George Floyd’s death, the U.S. has experienced a reckoning on this and many other issues over the past year. In July 2020, the Houston Association of Realtors announced that it would instead use the terms “primary bedroom” and “primary bathroom,” a change coming several years after an initial review was prompted by members of the association.

Despite several U.S. realty groups adopting the change, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has yet to make any formal changes to policy, determining in 1995 that the term didn’t violate any fair housing laws.

In a recent statement, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said, “While we have seen no evidence of any historical connection of this phrase to slavery or other forms of discrimination, we have no objection to individual MLS and Realtor associations making decisions to use other terminology.”

The New York Times reported that the Real Estate Board of New York is also considering whether to remove the word from use on its online platform and city listings data.

What this means for you

For Toronto, the change will apply to all TRREB.ca, where realtors share information and forms with clients, as well as listings on the organization’s MLS (Multiple Listing Service).

It's a simple change, but one that will take time and care to uphold after a lifetime of using the old terminology. Realtors, buyers, sellers and investors alike will have to be careful to stick to the new guidelines and revise listings and autofill information.

Changing from the term “master” to “primary” may seem inconsequential to some, but to others, it symbolizes a fundamental shift in the collective consciousness of equality. It may take a little effort to adjust to the new term, but it is one small change that we can easily make to support the movement.