Recent RECO discipline decisions have delivered a clear message to Ontario real estate professionals: property taxes are not a detail that can be guessed, assumed, or simply repeated from another source. They must be verified.
Several recent decisions illustrate that RECO is treating inaccurate tax information as a serious professional issue. Although the cases involved listing representatives, the principles should be of equal interest to buyer representatives.
The Recent Discipline Cases
The Francis Decision
In Francis (2026), a salesperson listed a newly constructed home and entered annual property taxes of approximately $1,800 in the MLS® listing.
The problem was that the property had not yet received its final municipal assessment. The actual annual taxes were approximately $5,500.
RECO found that the registrant had failed to verify the tax information before advertising it. Rather than confirming the amount through reliable documentation or clearly indicating that the taxes were unassessed, an inaccurate figure was published.
The result was a $7,500 administrative penalty together with mandatory education.
The lesson is straightforward: if the taxes cannot be verified, they should not be represented as though they have been.
The Gyles Decision
In Jeffery W. Gyles (2025), the seller advised that the annual property taxes were approximately $5,480.
The salesperson accepted the seller’s statement without independent verification and entered that amount in the listing.
The actual municipal taxes exceeded $8,700.
Again, RECO concluded that the registrant had failed to exercise reasonable diligence by relying solely upon the seller’s verbal information. The registrant received an $8,000 administrative penalty and was required to complete additional education.
The Courts Support RECO’s Position
The principles behind these discipline decisions received judicial support in Smith v. RECO (Divisional Court, 2024).
The Court upheld RECO’s expectation that registrants should obtain property tax information from reliable documentary sources, such as current municipal tax bills or municipal records, rather than estimates or assumptions.
The message is becoming increasingly clear:
- Do not guess.
- Do not estimate.
- Do not calculate.
- Do not simply repeat what someone else says.
- Verify the information before representing it as accurate.
Does This Apply Only to Listing Agents?
The recent discipline cases involved listing representatives because they were responsible for publishing the MLS® information. However, the underlying professional principles extend much further.
A buyer’s representative owes independent duties of competence, reasonable care, honesty, and protection of the client’s interests.
If a buyer asks:
“Are these property taxes correct?”
and the buyer’s representative simply replies,
“Yes, that’s what the listing says,”
without making any effort to verify the information where verification would be reasonable, the buyer’s representative may also face significant risk.
Why Buyer Representatives Should Care
Property taxes directly affect affordability.
They influence:
- monthly carrying costs;
- mortgage qualification;
- debt-service ratios;
- investment returns; and
- a purchaser’s decision whether to proceed.
There are many situations where caution should immediately arise, including:
- newly constructed homes;
- recently severed properties;
- substantial renovations or additions;
- recently converted properties;
- unusually low taxes compared with neighbouring homes; and
- properties that have recently changed use.
In these circumstances, simply relying on the MLS® listing may not satisfy the standard of reasonable care expected of a professional registrant.
A Growing Theme in RECO Decisions
These tax cases are part of a broader regulatory trend.
RECO has repeatedly emphasized that registrants must take reasonable steps to verify material information before communicating it to clients or advertising it to the public.
That same principle has appeared in recent cases involving parking rights, legal descriptions, ownership interests, property characteristics, and other material facts.
The profession is moving away from accepting information at face value and toward independent verification wherever it is reasonably possible.
Considerations
Whenever property taxes are important to the transaction:
- Obtain a current municipal tax bill whenever possible.
- Confirm whether the property has recently been reassessed.
- Determine whether the property is newly constructed or recently altered.
- Contact the municipality if the information appears questionable.
- If the taxes cannot be verified, tell your client exactly that.
- Avoid representing estimates as confirmed facts.
A few minutes spent verifying tax information may prevent years of litigation or regulatory proceedings.
The recent RECO decisions should not be viewed simply as discipline cases against individual registrants. They represent a broader statement about professional standards in Ontario real estate.
While listing representatives bear primary responsibility for the accuracy of information they publish, buyer representatives should not assume that every MLS® entry is correct. Buyers rely upon professional advice when making one of the largest financial decisions of their lives.
The safest approach is also the simplest:
- Verify first.
- Advise second.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker
www.OntarioRealEstateSource.com