Ontario Real Estate Association – COVID-19 Ontario Lockdown



December 22, 2020

Hi Everyone,

Firstly wishing you, your families and friends happy holidays and wish happiness and health to all during the holiday season. With Doug Ford announcing a province-wide shutdown beginning December 26th new shut down measures are to be adhered to in the real estate business. We will be going under a 28 day shut down spanning until the 23rd of January. These measures affect the Ontario real estate market in significant ways. Real estate transactions have been deemed an “essential service” so citizens are still able to buy, sell and close. However during these times there are procedures that are affecting the way business is conducted.

Harvey Kalles and the Aben Team are strongly committed to providing the safest environment and following all protocols to protect and respect our clients, and the clients of other realtors buying and selling real estate in Muskoka. The real estate market operation is not business as usual; realtors in the area are only to conduct essential business while avoiding face to face meetings. It is encouraged to use remote work and technology like virtual showings, electronic signatures and virtual meetings unless absolutely necessary. The following is a message from the president of the Ontario Real Estate Association Sean Morrison.

Ontario Real Estate Association – Covid-19 Ontario Lockdown

Real estate continues to be listed as an “essential service” by the Province. That means that real estate businesses and board offices can continue to operate while the Province is in Shutdown and real estate transactions can continue to close.

But let’s be clear.

It is NOT business as usual. If we are going to avoid the worst-case scenario with the spread of the pandemic everyone has to do their part.

During this Shutdown, Members should only conduct essential business and avoid face-to-face interactions with customers and clients unless it is absolutely necessary.

Instead, Members should work remotely and use technology like virtual showings, electronic signatures and virtual meetings to the greatest extent possible.

While real estate is deemed essential, there are restrictions that all Members, brokerage offices and real estate boards have to follow, including:

1)   Open houses are banned (including pre-construction) – in the whole province for two weeks and in Southern Ontario for four weeks. Scheduled in-person showings are permitted but should be used very sparingly and only in urgent situations. Please review OREA’s guidance on safe in-person showings for more information.

2)   Workplaces must screen any workers or essential visitors entering the work environment. See the COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces for more information.

3)   While indoors at a real estate brokerage or board office, all people MUST wear personal protective equipment that provides protection of the eyes, nose and mouth. PPE is required if a worker is required to come within 2 metres of another person who is not wearing a face covering and is not separated by a plexiglass or some other impermeable barrier. See OREA’s guidance for brokerage and board offices here.

4)   All brokerage and board offices must limit capacity so that every member of the public is able to maintain two metres of physical distance from every other person and limit the people occupying any room that is open to the public to 50% capacity of that room; and,

5)   Short-term rentals (e.g., cottages, cabins) can only to be provided to individuals who are in need of housing.

OREA’s position is that ALL REALTORS® should immediately stop face-to-face business, including open houses, in-person showings, and maintaining agents and public office hours.

Yours sincerely,

Sean Morrison
OREA President

The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA.

Disclaimer. The information contained in this email is not meant to be relied upon as legal advice by REALTORS®, or others. Members wishing further clarity or advice should seek independent legal advice specific to their circumstances. Due to the quickly changing regulatory environment during the COVID-19 emergency, this information may not be current or accurate by the time it is read.

We appreciate your assistance and cooperation during this time. We feel that no measures are too extreme to ensure the safety of our community, and of our buyers and sellers. Please be patient as we navigate through these challenges together, and don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any concerns.