RECO Discipline
This time there are numerous offences. The real estate agent acting for a husband and wife as prospective Buyers, provides them with the lockbox codes and they go on their own to see several properties.
Apparently, on several occasions, the agent provided lockbox codes to the Buyers for the purpose of allowing the Buyers to attend, on their own, at property showings that had been arranged.
The RECO summary does not indicate how many houses or how many times.
In any event, we end up with:
$7,000.00 fine and two Courses to take. The decision was released July 29, 2022 and the agent was given until 31 October 2022 to pay the fine and take the Courses
This is against the Code of Ethics:
Fairness, honesty, etc.
3. A registrant shall treat every person the registrant deals with in the course of a trade in real estate fairly, honestly, and with integrity.
Error, misrepresentation, fraud, etc.
38. A registrant shall use the registrant’s best efforts to prevent error, misrepresentation, fraud or any unethical practice in respect of a trade in real estate.
Unprofessional conduct, etc.
39. A registrant shall not, in the course of trading in real estate, engage in any act or omission that, having regard to all of the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded as disgraceful, dishonourable, unprofessional or unbecoming.
COMMENT
So there were numerous occasions. Not just one break and enter but “many”. I don’t know why RECO doesn’t know the answer to this question. They could have asked the question or investigated. But, no mention of that was noted in the summary,
There is the low end fine today at $3,500.00. The result is simple. We have a calculator. No, actually, it’s even simpler. We can do the math in our heads. The new fine will be double. Just multiple by two! That takes us to $7,000.00.
What a great way to encourage this fraudulent behavior!
Let’s give them a further incentive to participate in many more “breaks and enters”. This time all the offences over the second one are free. No fine, no penalty. Let’s just “laugh off” the rest.
This is serious! You saw s. 38 dealing with “fraud”.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker