OTTAWA — The Competition Bureau says it’s challenging rules imposed by the Canadian Real Estate Association, a body that represents more than 98,000 real estate brokers, agents and salespeople.

The federal agency says the association’s rules limit choices for consumers and force them to pay for services they don’t want, also stifling innovation in the market for residential real estate services.

The Competition Bureau is challenging association rules imposed on agents who list properties on the association’s Multiple Listing Service, also known as MLS.

The agency says most real estate transactions in Canada make use of the MLS system, which includes information available only to association members.

But under association rules, according to the Competition Bureau, agents are forbidden from offering consumers the option of simply paying a fee to list a home on MLS.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board declined to comment on the competition bureau’s decision. Representatives of the Real Estate Board of Cambridge were not available for comment.