by Jason Murphy | Nov 29, 2013
The Ontario legislature has unanimously passed new consumer protection laws, placing new requirements on realtors, debt settlement services and door-to-door water heater salespeople.

Of note to realtors and home buyers, “The Stronger Protection for Ontario Consumers Act” amends the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 in two significant ways:

  1. Realtors may now charge a fee, a commission, or a combination of both for the services they offer. The goal is to allow consumers and realtors greater flexibility in establishing realtor compensation.
  2. Realtors will only be able to present written offers to their clients, will not be allowed to indicate that they have other offers on a property unless those offers are in writing, and will be required to keep records of all written offers, which will be producible to the Real Estate Council of Ontario (“RECO”). Anyone will be able to verify with the RECO the number of offers received on a property. The goal here is to prevent false bidding wars with the attending inflation of prices.

For a broader summary of the Act visit here. Read the Act itself here.
Jason Murphy practices family, civil and estates litigation at the law firm of Christie/Cummings in Collingwood. Please note that this article is only an overview and is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer before taking any action.