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Home News RECO Sector Advisory

June 17, 2025

RECO Sector Advisory

As Ontario’s real estate regulator, RECO’s role is to protect consumers by ensuring agents and brokerages understand and follow the law. All real estate agents must complete an accredited real estate program before they can be considered for registration by RECO. Real estate agents are unable to operate in Ontario unless they are registered with RECO.

RECO is at the final stages of a lengthy investigation into alleged academic misconduct (cheating) related to online exams for compulsory education courses required to become a real estate agent in Ontario. The instances in question occurred in 2020 and 2021, during online exams conducted by the former OREA Real Estate College, a private career college that ceased operations in mid 2021.

RECO has communicated with approximately 90 registrants to advise them that RECO has evidence of academic misconduct, offering these individuals an opportunity to provide information about their experience and conduct during the exams.

Cheating is unacceptable, and Ontario consumers deserve better. If anyone has information to share with RECO about these alleged incidents, we encourage them to do so at examinquiry@reco.on.ca.

The process of assessing the suspected learner misconduct has been complex, and required the participation of multiple third-party experts, given that the education institution involved had closed. As such, RECO’s investigation was more time-consuming in this instance than in other instances of addressing other exam misconduct events.

RECO has already implemented an important change to how exams will be delivered that provides it with greater oversight and a clearer path to pursue penalties for any academic misconduct. In October 2024, RECO announced that it had engaged an independent third-party exam provider to develop and deliver exams for all real estate program courses offered by any approved provider, beginning mid-2025.

Beginning August 2025, all real estate exams in Ontario will be conducted by this firm, providing RECO with greater oversight into exam delivery and an ability to take quick action in the event of cheating to rescind exam credentials, to protect Ontario consumers.

Joseph Richer
RECO Registrar