Today, the Province released new regulations under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2020 (“TRESA”) which impact REALTORS® and the business of real estate.
The new regulations are part of the government’s process to implement TRESA and are a culmination of years of lobbying by OREA and other industry players.
In the coming weeks, OREA will host a webinar briefing for Members on what the new changes mean to you, your clients, and your business. In the meantime, we’ve reviewed the regulations and prepared the below summary. Please note – the new changes don’t take effect until April 1st, 2023.
New TRESA Regulations – What do they mean for REALTORS®?
The new regulations cover a few key areas impacting REALTORS®. Specifically, the new regulations:
Rename REBBA
- Formally rename the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 to the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002
Principle Based Code of Ethics
- Provide for a new, updated Code of Ethics to enhance professionalism by focusing on ethical obligations that real estate registrants have toward clients and the public and moving technical and procedural requirements to other regulations under REBBA.
New Options for Interacting with Registrants
- Provide additional options for interacting with a registrant. Specifically, the ministry is proposing that a person would have two options. One option is to become a ‘client’ of brokerage under a representation agreement. The second option is for the person to become a ‘self-represented party’ and not enter into a representation agreement with a brokerage. The option of become a ‘customer’ would be eliminated from the Act/regulations.
New Consumer Information Guide
- Registrants will be required to give buyers and sellers a new consumer information guide that outlines key information about the home buying and selling process. The guide will be developed by RECO in consultation with OREA and other partners.
More Consumer Choice in the Real Estate Offer Process
- Give the public more choice in the real estate offer process by allowing a registrant to conduct an open offer process and disclose the details of competing offers at the seller’s direction. Registrants could not disclose personal or identifying information through this process.
- The choice of how to sell a home would continue to rest with the seller. A seller who is the client of a brokerage would be able to direct that brokerage to sell the real estate through either an open or a closed (traditional) process. OREA lobbied for this change, in part, to avoid a ban on the traditional offer process.
Stronger RECO Powers to Enhance Professionalism
- Broaden RECO’s Discipline Committee powers to suspend or revoke registrations.
- Strengthen the registrant search tool on RECO’s website to include information about past disciplinary action.
- Permit RECO to collect specific transactional data to better target enforcement actions, subject to regulatory requirements.
- Allow RECO to investigate a registrant’s conduct whether or not there is a formal complaint.
When do these changes come into force?
Not immediately.
The new regulations would come into force on April 1, 2023, to allow adequate time for Members to prepare for these changes.
What are the next steps for TRESA?
OREA is continuing its advocacy on key issues as part of the TRESA regulation development process including:
Limiting or eliminating exemption under the Act for auctioneers and lawyers.
Lobbying for a RECO Ombudsperson to investigate issues and complaints from registrants/consumers.
Creating of supporting regulations for specialty certifications for REALTORS®.
The Ministry is expected to begin work on these new provisions in the Summer of 2022.