What is REBBA and what does it mean for how agents must treat me as a seller?

REBBA — the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act — is the Ontario statute that governs the real estate brokerage industry, together with its regulations including the Code of Ethics. Anyone who trades in real estate professionally in Ontario must be registered under REBBA.

For you as a seller, REBBA and the Code of Ethics impose legally enforceable standards on your agent. These include: a duty to act in your best interests, an obligation to disclose conflicts of interest in writing, a duty to explain the terms of any agreement before you sign it, a requirement to maintain confidentiality of your personal information, and a prohibition on making false or misleading representations about you or your property.

If your agent violates the Code of Ethics, RECO can investigate and discipline them. The Code also sets out disclosure obligations specific to multiple representation (when the agent also represents the buyer) and limits on the agent's ability to purchase your property for themselves. Understanding your rights under REBBA helps you recognize when an agent is not meeting the required standard and what you can do about it.