You are on a designated representation agreement. Over coffee you mention to the agent across from you that your buyers have room to go higher than their offer suggests. That is a disclosure of confidential information to a third party. RECO's wording is that under designated representation, only the designated representative or representatives named in the agreement are permitted to have access to confidential information about the clients they represent.
Same brokerage. Same office. Still a third party. Below is RECO's Bulletin 2.5, read on September 19, 2026.
What is confidential is broader than you would guess
Not just the number. All information obtained while representing a client is confidential client information and has to be protected - the file, the personal details, whatever you learned along the way because they trusted you with it.
That framing matters, because agents tend to protect the negotiating position and treat everything else as small talk. The motivation for the move, the separation, the health issue, the job that may or may not come through: all of it was obtained while representing them.
Two models, two very different answers
| Brokerage representation | Designated representation | |
|---|---|---|
| Who represents the client | The brokerage | The named individual or individuals |
| Who may access confidential information | Agents and employees of the brokerage | Only the designated representatives named in the agreement |
| Colleague at the same brokerage | Inside the circle | Outside it |
Under brokerage representation the whole brokerage represents the client, so information moving within it is not a breach. Under designated representation the circle shrinks to the names on the agreement, and the designated representative must not disclose confidential information to other agents at the same brokerage, or to anyone else, without authorisation.
So the answer to "can I ask my colleague what they think about this file?" depends on a form, and most agents do not check which one they signed before they start talking.
The office is not a safe space for client information
The practical consequences of that second column:
- the sales meeting where files get workshopped
- the group chat where somebody asks what the buyers are really at
- the mentor you run everything past
- the desk neighbour who overhears the call
Under designated representation, none of those people are inside the circle by default. Being on the same team does not put them there; being named on the agreement does.
This is not an argument for working in silence. It is an argument for asking your question without the identifying detail, which is almost always possible and almost never done.
The duty outlives the relationship
RECO is unambiguous: "The duty of confidentiality is ongoing. Even after the client relationship ends, brokerages and agents must continue to protect and safeguard clients' information."
The deal closing does not release it. Neither does the listing expiring, the client going to another brokerage, or five years passing. What someone told you in 2019 is still theirs.
That has an edge most agents have never considered: the war story. The anecdote about the seller who would not budge, told years later with enough detail to identify the house, is a disclosure of confidential information about a former client.
The two exceptions, and how narrow they are
Confidential information may be disclosed in two circumstances only.
Written consent from the client. Not a verbal okay, and not a general permission. The consent specifies what information will be shared, who receives it, the purpose, and who benefits. Four components. "They said it was fine" has none of them.
Where disclosure is required by law. Required, not permitted or convenient.
Everything else - it would help the deal, the other agent already suspects, it is common knowledge in the office - is not on the list.
Administration is inside the rule too
Under designated representation the brokerage keeps administrative access to client files, which it needs in order to function. But administrative staff cannot pass a designated client's information to agents who do not have representation authority.
So the deal secretary who answers a colleague's question about your file, helpfully and without thinking, is the brokerage's problem and not only theirs. This is a systems question as much as a conduct one, and it belongs in the brokerage's own policies rather than in each agent's judgment.
What to do this week
Check which representation model your current files are on. That single fact decides who you may talk to about them, and most agents could not answer it from memory for every active client.
Strip the identifiers before you ask for help. "A buyer with a financing condition and a nervous co-signer" gets you the same advice as naming them, and it is the version you are allowed to say.
Look at where the file lives. If designated-client information sits in a shared drive or a team inbox that non-designated agents can open, the breach is structural and waiting rather than hypothetical.
Retire the war stories, or sand them down. The duty is ongoing. A story with enough detail to identify the property is still a disclosure, however long ago it happened.
Frequently asked questions
Can I discuss a client with another agent at my own brokerage? It depends on the model. Under brokerage representation the brokerage represents the client and its agents and employees may access the information. Under designated representation only the representatives named in the agreement may, and a colleague at the same brokerage is outside that circle.
What counts as confidential information? All information obtained while representing the client, including the file and personal details gathered during the relationship - not only their price position.
Does confidentiality end when the deal closes? No. RECO states the duty is ongoing and that brokerages and agents must continue to protect client information even after the relationship ends.
Is a verbal okay from the client enough to share something? No. The consent exception requires written consent specifying what will be shared, who receives it, the purpose, and who benefits. A verbal agreement covers none of those four.
Can administrative staff answer another agent's question about my client? Not under designated representation. The brokerage keeps administrative access, but staff cannot disclose a designated client's information to agents who lack representation authority.
What if the law requires me to disclose something? That is the second exception, and it is narrow: disclosure required by law. Convenient, helpful or expected does not qualify.
Can I use a former client's situation as an example? Only with enough detail removed that it is no longer their information. The duty does not expire, so an anecdote identifiable to a property or a person is still a disclosure.
Where is the authoritative version? RECO's Bulletin 2.5. Bulletins explain duties under TRESA and its regulations rather than creating them, and RECO revises them. This is a practice summary, not legal advice.
The full map is our plain-English index of every RECO bulletin. Closest neighbours: dealing with a self-represented party, where you must warn people their information goes to your client, and material facts.