Real Insight - Strengthening Consumer Protection

TREB participating in major review of the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act

Realtors in Ontario are governed by the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (REBBA). For the first time in over 15 years, REBBA is being reviewed with the goal of making major updates and the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) is participating in this process by advocating for changes to help modernize the legislation, improve industry practices and strengthen consumer protection.In order to help inform the review process, TREB tapped into the opinions of both its 50,000 members and the public through a combination of focus groups, information sessions and an online survey. TREB’s board of directors was then able to rally around positions that are reflective of the thinking of our broader membership.

The industry is now shifting into the second phase of the review process and is looking to address issues surrounding professional development, the Code of Ethics, enforcement and the regulator, registration matters, and more.

Enforcement of REBBA is the responsibility of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). When it comes to enforcement, member realtors believe the current process must be reviewed, streamlined and made more transparent.These moves are critical to ensuring complaints can be assessed faster, that fines are proportional to the level of the infraction and that the inefficient system whereby RECO can only issue proposals to suspend or revoke the license of a real estate professional is enhanced.Along with a review of RECO’s enforcement role, the need for an industry ombudsman is also being called for by TREB. An ombudsman would help to increase oversight and avoid situations that call for RECO to serve as both judge and enforcer.TREB believes that adopting a proactive approach to investigating violations, rather than reacting to complaints, would be a more efficient way to ensure best practices in terms of rule compliance.INCORPORATION Unlike other regulated professions, real estate professionals (other than the brokerage owner) in Ontario are not allowed to incorporate under current REBBA rules and, as a matter of fairness, TREB is seeking to have that changed. Furthermore, allowing Ontario realtors to incorporate will put them on a level playing field with other professionals who can invest more money into their business, allow for better retirement planning and support the economy as small businesses through hiring.CONTINUING EDUCATION TREB and its members are advocating for the addition of in-class options and tougher courses for continuing realtor education to replace the online-only curriculum currently in place.Additionally, members believe that non-licensees operating in the industry (such as real estate consultants, auctioneers, etc.) should be captured under REBBA if they provide similar services to those who trade in real estate. Consumer protection will be enhanced if all who trade in real estate are held to the same standard.REGISTRATION AS A NEW REALTOR While a post-secondary degree may help individuals succeed in their real estate career, our membership doesn’t believe that possessing such a degree should be a requirement in order to register as a newly licensed realtor.Rather, it’s our members’ belief that implementing tougher standardized exams focused on practical real-life experiences, as well as promoting better communication and comprehension skills, could be more effective avenues to strengthening professionalism.There is not a clear consensus whether increasing the rigour of the current education system for aspiring real estate professionals requires simply adding courses or creating a new full-time diploma program. However, there is clear consensus around the fact that the standards of new realtor education must be elevated.INDUSTRY ACTION NEEDEDI would be remiss not to mention that TREB serves on the Ontario Real Estate Association’s (OREA) REBBA Review Task Force to ensure we coordinate efforts as an industry and get it right. We are looking forward to continuing to work with OREA, the Real Estate Council of Ontario and the ministry on all aspects of the review, including raising educational standards and requirements.Tim Syrianos is president of the Toronto Real Estate Board, a professional association that represents 48,000 professional realtor members in the Greater Toronto Area. You can contact him at TREBpres@trebnet.com. For updates on the real estate market, visit TREBhome.com. If commercial property is what interests you, contact a TREB realtor by visiting TREBcommercial.com.