Real estate agents affected by the iPro Realty scandal will receive 100 per cent of their earned commissions, the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) announced Wednesday, marking a major reversal from earlier plans to provide only partial compensation.
The decision was shared with affected agents during a virtual town hall hosted by RECO. Until now, the insurer had been facilitating pro-rated payments covering just 50 per cent of eligible commission claims.
“This is amazing. It’s what we’ve been fighting for,” said Maria Florez, a Brampton-based agent who says she is still owed about $50,000 in commissions from an August transaction. Florez has organized multiple protests at Queen’s Park and said she wants clarity on when full payments will be issued.
Agents were advised during the meeting not to sign the previously issued 50 per cent settlement agreement, as a revised agreement reflecting full compensation will be distributed. RECO said agents who have already signed the earlier agreement will not be penalized and their claims will continue to be processed.
RECO confirmed it is drawing on its insurance program stability fund to support the insurer in covering the shortfall. With initial 50 per cent payments already underway, additional payments toward full compensation are expected to begin as early as next week.
Jean Lépine, RECO’s administrator and acting CEO, said funds are being placed in a protected trust to address what the regulator believes was caused by the misappropriation of trust funds by iPro Realty principals.
“Our focus remains on minimizing the financial impact this situation has had on registrants and holding bad actors to account,” Lépine said in a statement.
Ontario’s Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, Stephen Crawford, said he directed RECO to take decisive action to restore trust in the real estate sector and ensure agents are not left paying for misconduct they did not cause.
RECO and the insurer are also pursuing civil court proceedings to recover funds from frozen iPro trust accounts. A court has already authorized limited access to those funds for commission payments, with further applications expected.
Before its shutdown in August, iPro Realty employed about 2,400 agents across 17 locations in Ontario, including Brampton, Mississauga, Burlington and Milton. An audit later found RECO deviated from its usual escalation procedures after iPro disclosed a roughly $10-million trust account shortfall in May.
While Florez welcomed the announcement, she said urgency remains, noting that many agents continue to face serious financial strain after months without full payment.