Legal corner: Inaccurate listing information leads to $10,000 fine

Case summary

When representing a seller, Ontario agents are required to take steps to verify information they publish to promote a property, including details relating to property upgrades or renovations. If an agent is unable to confirm the age of any particular element or feature of a property, then dates should not be advertised to avoid providing inaccurate information to prospective buyers. It is expected that an agent would seek copies of receipts or documentation to confirm the work done to understand the scope of the work, when it was done and whether necessary permits were acquired.

In a recent disciplinary matter, an agent promoted that the property had recent upgrades to the kitchen, windows, roof, pool liner, pool heater and pool pump.

Although it was true that the features of the property had previously been upgraded, the upgrades were not “new,” but rather they had been completed several years prior.

The sellers’ agent failed to verify the age of the upgrades and advertised inaccurate information. This caused the buyers to believe that items were newer than they actually were.

Discipline

The discipline panel found that the seller’s agent failed to conduct appropriate due diligence to confirm the correct age of the upgrades thereby providing inaccurate information to the buyers. For the failure on the part of the seller’s agent, the panel ordered a fine of $10,000 and a requirement to complete two education courses. The panel found that the agent had breached s. 4, 5, 6(1), 21(1) and 38 of the Code of Ethics.

Learning opportunity

This is one of several discipline cases that reaffirm an agent’s obligation to do necessary due diligence before advertising information about a property.