OREA Statement on CBC Marketplace Story

Real estate agents who break the law and violate the trust of Ontario consumers should be thrown out of the business.

Buying or selling a home is the largest financial transaction most of us will ever make, so Ontarians expect that the professionals they hire to help them navigate that process will be well-educated and held to the highest professional standards.

OREA has consistently argued that it is too easy to get a real estate license in Ontario and too hard to lose it. That has to change.

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (“RECO”) needs additional tools to investigate bad behaviour, levy heavier fines and suspend or remove licenses for egregious rule breakers. Ontario also needs to introduce higher standards and more rigorous education for students looking to get a real estate license.

Thankfully, the Ontario Government has listened and is currently updating the laws which govern the real estate sector. Through that process, OREA is working with the Ministry of Public and Business Services to increase professional standards in real estate and send a strong signal to any agent who is breaking the rules, that they are not welcome in the real estate profession.

- Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association