What actually gets an Ontario realtor fined
RECO published 497 regulatory actions between January 2, 2025 and September 15, 2026. We counted every one of them - what the outcome was, what it cost, and which duty was in play. No names: those are RECO's to publish, and this page is about the pattern.
A median of $7,000, and it rarely comes alone
Median fine ordered
The full range across the period
Fines that also ordered education
Total ordered in the period
The most common single amount was $5,000, ordered 27 times. Half of all fines fell between $5,500 and $10,000. Of the 142 actions ordering a fine, 141 named the amount.
What happened, across all 497
| Outcome | Actions |
|---|---|
|
Referred to the Discipline Committee
|
170 |
|
Ordered to pay a fine
|
142 |
|
Registration revoked, or revocation proposed
|
78 |
|
Charged with offences under TRESA
|
34 |
|
Registration refused, or renewal refused
|
28 |
|
Convicted under TRESA or REBBA
|
20 |
|
Other outcomes
|
13 |
| Registration suspended | 6 |
|
Freeze order
|
6 |
A referral is not a finding. It means the Registrar sent alleged contraventions to a hearing, and the Discipline Committee decides - which is why referrals are counted separately here instead of being added to the fines.
Which duties actually generate enforcement
Reconciliations not prepared, records not maintained, money not accounted for. The single largest category, and largely a brokerage-level failure.
The annual financial filing →A lockbox code handed to an inspector or a buyer, an arrival before the booked time, a viewing that ran past its window. No dishonesty required and no money involved - which is exactly why it keeps happening.
Ontario lockbox rules →Deposits not delivered, not held where they belong, or disbursed outside the terms of the trust.
Fabricated preapproval letters, altered agreements, false statements on registration applications.
Material facts and what you must verify →Financial obligations not disclosed to RECO, benefits not disclosed to clients, facts not disclosed to the other side.
Referral fees, gifts and what must be disclosed →Promised rebates not honoured, referral arrangements not disclosed.
Disclosing financial benefits →Inaccurate or misleading claims, identification missing, sold posts without the consent behind them.
Check your own ad copy →A change in information - address, brokerage, a charge laid - has a five-day clock on it, and it is the easiest one on this list to miss by accident.
The five-day notice rule →One action often carries more than one of these, so they do not add up to 497 and none of them is a percentage of anything. Read them as how often a duty appears, not as a share.
What this data is, and what it is not
Not of everything that happened. Matters are added as they are assessed for publication, and complaints resolved without a regulatory action never appear at all.
Ontario has roughly a hundred thousand registrants. Nothing here tells you the odds of anything; it tells you which duties are the ones enforcement lands on.
RECO writes each action in prose. We grouped them by what the prose describes, so a borderline case could sit in a different row than you would put it. The outcome counts are read straight off the headings and are not a judgment call.
This is a practice summary, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the source. For an individual registrant, search the public register.
RECO recent regulatory actions →Questions about RECO discipline
Does this page name the agents who were disciplined?
No, and it will not. RECO publishes the names, and so does the public register; this page counts what happened and why, so a registrant can see which duties actually generate enforcement. If you need to look up a specific person, RECO is the place to do it.
What does a RECO fine usually cost?
Across the 142 actions in this period that ordered one, the median was $7,000. The most common single amount was $5,000, ordered 27 times. The range ran from $1,500 to $35,000, and the total ordered across the period was $1,285,500.
Is a fine the usual outcome?
It is the second most common. A referral to the Discipline Committee is the most common single outcome at 170 of 497 actions, and a referral is an allegation being sent to a hearing rather than a finding. Fines account for 142. Revocation or proposed revocation appears 78 times, which is the outcome worth reading twice.
Does a fine come with anything else?
Usually. 90 of the 142 fine orders also required the registrant to complete additional education. The money is the part that gets quoted; the education requirement is the part that takes your time.
What conduct comes up most?
Trust accounts and record-keeping, in 105 actions. Second is getting someone into a property without the authority to do it - a lockbox code handed over, an early arrival, a viewing that ran past its window - in 99. That second one is the surprise: it needs no dishonesty and no money to go wrong, only a helpful impulse on an ordinary Tuesday.
How current is this?
It covers every regulatory action RECO had published between January 2, 2025 and September 15, 2026, read on September 20, 2026. RECO adds to that page as matters are assessed for publication, so treat these as the shape of enforcement rather than a live count.
Does a referral mean the agent did it?
No. A referral to the Discipline Committee means the Registrar has sent alleged contraventions to a hearing. The Committee decides, and its decisions become public once finalised. That distinction is why this page counts referrals separately from findings instead of adding them together.
Where is the authoritative version?
RECO's own recent regulatory actions page, and the public register for any individual registrant. This page is a count of what RECO published, not a substitute for it, and RECO is the source that governs.