Rule-breaking realtors should face stiffer penalties, says OREA

The Ontario Real Estate Association is recommending doubling potential fines for realtors who violate the code of ethics.

Thestar.com
Aug. 22, 2017
By Tess Kalinowski

Fines for rule-breaking realtors should be double what they are now so the potential penalties keep pace with the province's rising housing market, says the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA).

Last year, realtors found guilty of violating the code of ethics faced an average fine of less than $6,000 from the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), the industry regulator.

The existing penalties were set when the average resale Ontario home cost $211,000. That has now increased to $619,000. It is $759,000 in the Toronto area.

"For those who willingly break the rules, these fines are 'the cost of doing business,'" said OREA.

In a discussion paper published Tuesday, OREA recommended fines be doubled for violating the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act (REBBA) Code of Ethics. That would put the maximum penalty for salespeople at $50,000, while brokers and brokerages would face fines of up to $100,000.

The discussion paper is meant to elicit feedback from OREA's 70,000 members to the Ontario Liberal government's two-part review of the real estate act.

New rules are expected in the fall for agents who represent both a buyer and seller in a single transaction. But a more comprehensive review will continue next year.

"The act is 15 years old. A lot has changed since 2002," said Matthew Thornton, OREA vice-president of public affairs and communications.

He said the review is an opportunity to look at how the industry can "make sure it's representing best practices that are in place in other provinces, that it is strengthening consumer protection and really just modernizing it."

In addition to the higher fines, OREA says RECO needs to be able to order realtors to return profits made through breaches of the act.

"Fines may not cover the entire fee earned as a result of unethical activity. In other words, even under a system of higher fines registrants could still profit from unethical behaviour," said the OREA paper.

It also wants RECO to have the authority to revoke or suspend a realtor's registration to practise, a finding that can be overturned by an appeals tribunal under the current system.

In an emailed statement from RECO registrar Joseph Richer, the regulator also supports higher fines and the ability to make realtors repay profits achieved by unethical practices. It also agrees with the need to have the authority to revoke registrations.

There were 70,284 registered realtors in Ontario in 2014 and 73,751 in 2015. But that number shot up to 78,780 last year, according to OREA. Of those, 48,117 were real estate salespeople.

The number of inquiries (for information) was down last year to 25,497 from 26,346 in 2015.

Earlier this month, OREA officials held an online town hall pledging to hold RECO to account for industry standards and pactice.

The Ontario association is rebranding itself since RECO awarded its core mission as an industry education provider to Humber College.

OREA will issue three more white papers before the end of the year on education and realtor ethics.

Continuing education is a particular concern, said Thornton. Agents have to take a $44 online course every two years to maintain their registration.

"The sentiment in the industry about continuing education is that the process that RECO is offering is not where it should be," he said.

Most registered realtors pay a $390 annual fee to RECO and $110 annually to OREA.