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Ontario Realtor Leaders Urge Ombudsman Oversight of RECO After iPro Trust Shortfall

The push follows RECO’s handling of iPro Realty’s multi‑million‑dollar trust shortfall.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in October rose 30 per cent compared with a year ago, marking a shift from the national market's holding pattern that the association has previously described.Real estate sale signage is shown on a street in Oakville, Ont., west of Toronto, on Thursday, Nov.7, 2024.

Overview

  • Ontario’s nine largest Realtor boards and associations, representing more than 95,000 Realtors, sent a joint letter to Minister Stephen Crawford urging that RECO be placed under Ontario Ombudsman oversight.
  • The letter describes the iPro case as part of a "troubling pattern" and notes that RECO is currently exempt from independent ombudsperson review.
  • The associations also endorsed the minister’s stated readiness to intervene directly if the regulator fails to meet its mandate.
  • OREA president Cathy Polan applauded the provincial review of RECO and criticized the regulator for hiring a crisis communications firm with no charges laid or meaningful actions under TRESA.
  • RECO has reported that the $10.5 million shortfall in iPro’s trust accounts has declined to under $8 million, and OREA says the brokerage’s closure disrupted more than 2,400 real estate professionals and their clients.