Toronto·NewThe Ford government announced Friday it has appointed an administrator to take control of the Real Estate Council of Ontario, following an independent audit into the real estate regulator’s handling of what it describes as iPro Realty’s “misappropriation” of funds.Jean Lepine has been appointed the administrator to take over RECO from Dec. 1Arrthy Thayaparan · CBC News · Posted: Nov 28, 2025 1:17 PM EST | Last Updated: 12 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Minister of Public Business Service Delivery and Procurement Stephen Crawford issued a statement on social media that the province would be taking over the Real Estate Council of Ontario from Dec. 1. (Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press)The Ford government announced Friday it has appointed an administrator to take control of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), following an independent audit into the real estate regulator’s handling of what it describes as iPro Realty’s “misappropriation” of funds.The announcement comes after Stephen Crawford, Ontario’s minister of public and business service delivery, gave RECO two weeks to respond to concerns being raised with the regulator’s practices, processes and procedures.On Friday, Crawford shared a letter to RECO on social media stating “decisive action” is needed to “prevent serious harm to the interest of the public and consumers.”Crawford said he’s spoken to consumers, realtors and brokers “who’ve lost confidence” in RECO over the past three months.“I directed that an administrator assume control of RECO immediately to restore confidence in the organization, to work with the insurer, and to support those financially impacted.”Over the past 3 months, I’ve heard from consumers, boards, realtors & brokers who’ve lost confidence in Ontario’s real estate regulator. Our government is taking action to restore trust and to protect Ontarians. Today, I directed that an administrator assume control of RECO… pic.twitter.com/gkK1hNG5Tt—stcrawford2CBC News has reached out to RECO for comment and will update this story if one is received. Jean Lépine has been appointed as the administrator set to take over RECO at the beginning of December.Lépine’s biography on the province’s website says he is a “seasoned communications, government relations, investor relations and sustainable executive leading teams” in various industries from healthcare to legal cannabis. Jean Lépine has been appointed as the administrator to take over the Real Estate Council of Ontario from Dec. 1. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)’Swift, decisive action’ was taken by RECO: Board chairA letter issued on Tuesday by Katie Steinfeld, chair of RECO’s board of directors, to Crawford acknowledged “the seriousness of the iPro Realty matter” and the impact it had on consumers and realtors.An independent audit by Dentons Canada LLP found that iPro told RECO that its trust accounts had a $10-million shortfall in May, but the registrar did not freeze or monitor their accounts for nearly three months.She said RECO took “swift and decisive action” when it became aware of the situation and has since taken legal action against the company.“The Dentons’ report concluded that RECO’s former Registrar deviated from established norms within the Registrar’s division,” said Steinfeld.“Once the Board was informed of the iPro issues, immediate action was taken to safeguard trust funds, pursue legal remedies, and support the insurer in its consumer deposit and commission protection insurance claims process.”Steinfeld said real estate transactions jeopardized by the iPro incident were still able to close and “consumer deposit claims were paid out as quickly as possible” from August. The regulator is committed to working collaboratively with the province to drive reforms and restore public trust, she said, adding RECO has adopted a “new organizational structure” to address the cultural concerns raised in the audit. ABOUT THE AUTHORArrthy Thayaparan is a Toronto-based multimedia journalist. She’s interested in health, climate and community stories. She has previously worked at Reuters and CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at arrthy.thayaparan@cbc.ca. With files from the Canadian Press
Ontario takes control of real estate regulator
