RECO
The BrokerFold Team — Product + Engineering
Last reviewed
RECO is the Real Estate Council of Ontario, the body that regulates the province’s real estate profession. It registers every salesperson, broker and brokerage legally allowed to trade in real estate in Ontario, and it administers and enforces TRESA — the Trust in Real Estate Services Act — on behalf of the provincial government. If someone is selling houses in Ontario without appearing in RECO’s registrant search, that is itself the red flag.
What RECO actually does
Four jobs cover most of it. Registration: vetting who may enter the profession and renewing who may stay, including the education requirements at entry and the continuing education that follows. Conduct: enforcing the code of ethics — handling complaints, conducting inspections, and disciplining registrants through fines, conditions, suspensions and revocations, with outcomes published. Consumer protection: administering the insurance program that backs registrants, including coverage that protects consumer deposits held in trust. Guidance: publishing the interpretations, bulletins and advertising guidelines that translate the act into day-to-day rules registrants can actually follow.
Why agents deal with RECO constantly
Beyond renewal paperwork, RECO’s rules shape daily practice more than most registrants notice. Advertising is the sharpest edge for anyone building an online presence: names must appear exactly as registered, the brokerage must be identified, and claims must be accurate and substantiated — the practical checklist lives in our advertising rules for websites answer. Incorporated agents add another layer, since a PREC has its own naming and disclosure requirements. And because TRESA’s 2023 changes rewrote how representation and offers work, RECO’s guidance is where “what does this mean on Tuesday” questions get answered.
Ontario only — with provincial twins
RECO’s writ ends at the Ontario border. Every province runs its own regulator under its own statute — BC’s equivalent, for instance, is BCFSA, with rules that differ in ways that matter (down to how long a website’s VOW passwords may live). An agent licensed in more than one province answers to each regulator separately, and a platform serving agents across Canada has to speak each province’s compliance dialect — which is precisely why the regulatory layer belongs baked into the website platform rather than left as homework.
Frequently asked questions
Is RECO a government agency?
It's a delegated administrative authority — a not-for-profit corporation the Ontario government has tasked with administering TRESA. It isn't a ministry, but its registration, inspection and discipline powers come from provincial law and it answers to the province.
Does RECO regulate real estate websites?
Yes, through its advertising rules. Anything that promotes a registrant — websites included — must carry the registered name and brokerage identification, avoid misleading claims, and follow the code of ethics. The details are worth knowing before your site goes live.
Keep reading
- TRESA TRESA is Ontario's Trust in Real Estate Services Act — the law governing agents and brokerages, whose 2023 phase rewrote representation and offer rules.
- PREC A PREC — personal real estate corporation — lets a Canadian agent run commissions through a corporation for tax planning, under strict regulator rules.
- RECO advertising rules for websites The audit checklist: registered name with the right descriptor, brokerage clearly and prominently identified, nothing misleading — on site and socials alike.