The Ontario government has introduced a bill outlining new rules for the province’s real estate profession that centre on discipline and enforcement, improving professional standards and consumer protection as well as providing greater autonomy for real estate professionals as to how they manage their businesses.

The bill would give the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) more powers to fine realtors and suspend licences for unprofessional conduct and unethical behaviour, as well as allow it to consider a broad range of factors including the public interest when considering registration eligibility.

It also gives realtors more independence in how they conduct business with the ability to incorporate and to be paid through the corporation. This provides them with tax write-offs and new ways to manage their flow of income.

For real estate consumers, the bill allows realtors the discretion as to whether or not they disclose competing offers in a bidding war scenario. Currently, purchasers in a multiple buyer situation are not privy to the monetary value or conditions of competing offers.

“This bill has been a long time coming and we’re thrilled to see the Ontario government is determined to put buyers and sellers first, while ensuring realtors have the tools and training needed to do the best job for their clients in today’s modern marketplace,” Ontario Real Estate Association president Karen Cox told REM online.

It has been nearly 20 years since the province updated its rules around the real estate industry. The 2002 Real Estate Business Brokers Act (REBBA) is being renamed The Trust in Real Estate Services Act.

The bill comes on the heels of public consultations in early 2019 and closely follows what the Ontario Real Estate Association had been campaigning for.

Ontario is home to more than 86,000 registered real estate salespeople, brokers, and brokerages in Ontario.

The real estate industry in Ontario has undergone dramatic changes since the act was initially passed two decades ago, Government and Consumer Services Minister Lisa Thompson told the Toronto Star. “Economically real estate is booming. Between 2005 and 2015, the total value of all residential properties more than doubled in Ontario.”

Sources: www.torontostar.com, www.remonline.com, www.chroniclejournal.com