November 11th - 2006

REALTORS® avoid Law Society regulation

OREA has succeeded in its push to amend legislation that would have made Ontario REALTORS® subject to regulation by the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC).

OREA has succeeded in its push to amend legislation that would have made Ontario REALTORS® subject to regulation by the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC). The Access to Justice Act, 2006, will include an exemption for all individuals registered under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, thanks to OREA’s lobbying effort.

The act will regulate paralegals in Ontario by the LSUC. The act originally stated that an individual who “drafts, completes or revises a document that affects a person’s interests or rights to or in real or personal property” is considered to be providing legal services, which would have come under LSUC regulation.

“This is an important victory,” said President Tim Lee. “REALTORS® are already well-regulated, and more regulation would only cause confusion in the minds of consumers, increase red tape for real estate businesses and impose a new tax on the profession in the form of LSUC license fees.”

OREA also took the position that not only was extra regulation unnecessary, regulation by members of the Law Society posed a potential for abuse by the legal profession. Allowing lawyers, some of whom work in the real estate industry, the authority to impose restrictions on what REALTORS® may or may not do, would have given them the power to reserve work for themselves and shut REALTORS® out of work they currently perform.

The amended legislation passed third and final reading in October, and is expected to receive Royal Assent shortly.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Senior Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.

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