Guide · Real estate agents
What a realtor
site must show.
Real estate agents in Ontario advertise under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (TRESA) and the Real Estate Council of Ontario's bulletins on it. The rules are mostly about identity and consent rather than tone, and team websites are where they are broken most often. Here is what applies to your site as of September 2026.
Published 2026-09-21 · Formory Group
Where the rules are.
The advertising rules are in section 12.1 of Ontario Regulation 567/05, the General regulation under TRESA. Section 5 of the Code of Ethics regulation adds the general duty: best efforts to make sure any representation is accurate and not misleading. RECO explains both in its Bulletins 5.1 to 5.6.
RECO's definition of advertising is broad: any notice, announcement or representation directed at the public that promotes a brokerage or agent, in any medium, including websites and social media. Business cards, letterhead, email signatures and cover sheets with promotional statements may count too.
The brokerage name, clearly and prominently.
This is the rule that matters most. An agent may not advertise in any manner unless the advertisement clearly and prominently identifies the employing brokerage, using the name in which the brokerage is registered. The brokerage must be described as a "brokerage" or "real estate brokerage". Bulletin 5.1 adds that this applies to every agent, including agents working in teams.
Your own name must also be the name you are registered under. RECO says short forms and nicknames must not be used in advertising.
Bulletin 5.3 states it directly: whether a website features all of a brokerage's agents, a team or one agent, it is a brokerage website. RECO names a missing or hard-to-see brokerage name as one of the common complaints it receives about websites, and says that on team sites it misleads the public into thinking the team itself is registered to trade. The regulation sets no font size; the test is whether a buyer or seller would see it without looking for it. A team logo across the header with the brokerage in small grey type in the footer is exactly the layout that bulletin describes.
The titles you may use.
TRESA lists the descriptors. A salesperson may be called a salesperson, real estate agent, real estate salesperson, sales representative or real estate sales representative. A broker may be called a broker, broker real estate agent, real estate agent or real estate broker. A broker of record must be described as the broker of record. Members in good standing of the Canadian Real Estate Association may use REALTOR® alone, or followed by "salesperson" or "broker", instead.
Any other term that could be confused with these is not allowed. On pages listing several agents, RECO permits a clear symbol such as an asterisk to stand for the descriptor, but on a multi-page website the symbol and its explanation must appear on every page that refers to agents.
A personal real estate corporation is not registered and cannot trade, so the site must not suggest that your PREC is the business trading in real estate.
Sold, price and client photos need written consent.
An advertisement may not include anything that could reasonably identify a party to a transaction, identify a specific property, or reveal the contents of an agreement, including the price, without written consent. Bulletin 5.4 says the consent must state when it takes effect and when it expires.
Whose consent depends on timing. Before the deal closes, advertising a property as sold needs the seller's consent, whichever side you represented. After closing, it needs the buyer's consent, because the buyer now owns it. Showing the price or other terms needs both buyer and seller, before or after closing. If the other party had their own agent, you contact them through that agent.
For a website this means a "Recently sold" gallery is a consent file as much as a design element. Each property on it should have a written consent on record, and Bulletin 5.3 says photos and video cannot stay online past the end date in that consent. Brokerages and agents must regularly review their sites and remove what they no longer have permission to use.
Links, photos and other people's listings.
Bulletin 5.3 covers a few things that are easy to get wrong on a website. If you link to another business, such as a mortgage broker, stager or lawyer, it should be clear to visitors that the linked site is not yours and not connected to you; otherwise you may be treated as taking part in or endorsing those services.
Photos and names of happy buyers need their written consent. So does using someone else's images, logos or verbatim property descriptions: RECO calls plagiarism and scraping unethical and says a photographer's or another brokerage's material needs its owner's consent. A listings page that copies another agent's photos and write-up word for word needs that consent. If you are allowed to share another brokerage's listing, the post must credit that brokerage and include its name and contact information.
Social profiles count as advertising too. The agent's and brokerage's identification must be readily visible on the profile itself, through the name fields, bio, and cover or display images.
Numbers, awards and "top producer" claims.
Bulletin 5.1 does not ban comparative or volume claims, but it asks the questions RECO will ask. Is the comparison truthful and supported by verifiable facts, with the basis included? For volume or trading activity, does the ad explain how it was measured or calculated? For an award, are the source, date and relevant details given, and if it is a team award, does it say so and state the size of the team? For a promise or guarantee, are the conditions stated or is it clear where to find them?
RECO also notes that a statement can be true but still inaccurate if it is vague where clarity is needed. "Top 1% in the GTA" with no source, year or measure fails that test.
What the website should show.
The brokerage's registered name and the word "brokerage" in the header or beside your name on every page, not only the footer. Your registered name and a permitted title. Sold listings with consent on file, and prices only where both parties agreed. Awards with the source and year. Up-to-date profiles: Bulletin 5.3 expects agents to keep profiles actively maintained, to update them promptly after moving to another brokerage, and to remove information promptly when a client asks. If a web designer or third party runs your site, RECO says that does not exempt you; you need someone who can make changes quickly. Our notes on websites for real estate agents and Google Business Profile setup cover the rest.
This is a plain summary of TRESA, its regulations and RECO bulletins as of September 2026, not legal advice. RECO's bulletins are the reference, and RECO answers questions about specific advertising.
Sources.
- O. Reg. 567/05 (General) under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 — section 12.1, Advertising
- O. Reg. 365/22 (Code of Ethics) under TRESA — section 5
- RECO Bulletin 5.1 — Advertising requirements
- RECO Bulletin 5.2 — Permitted terms
- RECO Bulletin 5.3 — Advertising online
- RECO Bulletin 5.4 — Advertising sold property
Questions
What people ask us.
Does my personal website need the brokerage name?
Yes. Any advertising by an agent must clearly and prominently identify the employing brokerage by its registered name, and RECO treats agent and team websites as brokerage websites.
Can I post "Just sold" with the price?
Only with written consent from both the buyer and the seller. Saying a property is sold without the price needs the seller's consent before closing and the buyer's after closing.
Can our team name be larger than the brokerage name?
The regulation sets no font size, but the brokerage must be clearly and prominently identified. RECO says team sites where it is not are a frequent source of complaints.
Can I use a nickname in my ads?
No. RECO says advertising must use the name you are registered under, without short forms or nicknames.
Your turn
Same check,
run on your site.
The check behind this page is the one we ran on every business above. Put your own address in and it will load your site on a phone screen, look at the certificate and the page age, and tell you what a visitor meets. No email, nothing stored.
If you want
one built.
We build the site, you look at it, and you pay once it is finished and you are happy with it. Hosting, edits and the Google listing carry on monthly, cancellable any month.