OREA and major boards urge Ontario to act on regulator reform
Ontario’s real estate industry has ramped up its demand for independent oversight of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), with nearly 100,000 realtors now backing calls for the Ontario Ombudsman to supervise the regulator.
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) and its nine largest Member Boards have formally urged the government to prioritize consumer protection and restore trust in the wake of recent scandals.
“Ontario realtors have been clear: protecting consumer deposits and restoring trust in our regulator must be the government’s top priority,” said OREA in a statement.
“Trust accounts are sacred, consumer protection is non-negotiable, and RECO cannot be left to police itself. It’s time for independent oversight of RECO through the Ontario Ombudsman.”
Majority of boards support RECO reform
OREA’s latest letter, endorsed by the majority of the province’s 23 local real estate boards, signals unprecedented unity within the profession.
“When realtors from every corner of Ontario stand together, the Government will listen,” OREA said.
The association is urging the province to move forward with Phase 3 of the Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA) and implement ombudsperson oversight for RECO.
RECO/iPro Realty scandal
The push for reform follows a high-profile scandal involving iPro Realty and RECO, where consumer trust accounts were allegedly mismanaged, putting client deposits at risk.
The iPro Realty, home to 2,400 agents across 17 offices, shut its doors in August following the disappearance of $10.5 million from its trust accounts. RECO later revised the missing amount to $8 million and announced that iPro’s co-founders, Rui Alves and Fedele Colucci, would not face charges.
The incident has heightened concerns about RECO’s ability to effectively police the industry and protect consumers, prompting renewed scrutiny from both professionals and the public.
Calls for independent oversight have intensified as a result, with industry leaders arguing that current self-regulation is insufficient.
The call for ombudsperson oversight reflects a broader shift across Canada’s financial and professional services sectors toward greater transparency and accountability. Similar steps have already been taken in fields such as insurance and mortgage brokering, which fall under the oversight of bodies like the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario and the Mortgage Broker Regulators’ Council of Canada, with the goal of strengthening consumer protection.
“Consumers deserve confidence that their life savings are safe. Realtors deserve a regulator that enforces the highest standards of accountability and integrity. Ontario deserves action,” OREA said.
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