Guide for sellers and buyers
Real Estate Commission in Ontario
Real estate commission in Ontario is what you and a brokerage agree to in writing: a fixed amount, a percentage of the sale price, or both. No law, regulator or real estate board sets the rate. A seller pays their own brokerage; a buyer owes theirs, unless the seller agrees to cover it.
The basics
What real estate commission is in Ontario
Commission is what Ontario’s law calls remuneration: the pay a brokerage earns for representing you in a purchase, sale or lease. The money goes to the brokerage. Under section 31(2) of the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (TRESA), an agent may accept pay for trading only from the brokerage that employs them, subject to the regulations. For our team, that brokerage is eXp Realty, Brokerage.
Section 36 of the Act sets the forms that pay can take:
- An agreed amount, a percentage of the sale or rental price, or a combination of both (s. 36(1)).
- A percentage that is not one fixed rate: the Act allows a series of percentages that step down at set amounts as the price rises (s. 36(2)).
- Never pay based on the difference between the list price and the sale price. No agent or brokerage may ask for it, agree to it or keep it (s. 36(3)).
Nothing in the law sets the amount itself. The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), the regulator, says in its Information Guide that the amount you pay “is not fixed or approved by RECO, any government authority” or any real estate association or board.
Its Bulletin 2.3 goes further and tells agents not to suggest otherwise. A brokerage may share its own remuneration policy with you, so ask for it in writing at your first meeting.
The arithmetic
How to calculate real estate commission on an Ottawa home
Commission is worked out on the price in the agreement of purchase and sale, then tax goes on top. Ontario’s HST rate is 13%, according to the Canada Revenue Agency. Four steps:
- Find the method in your representation agreement: a fixed amount, a percentage, a stepped percentage, or a mix.
- Apply it to the sale price. For a percentage, multiply the price by the rate.
- Add 13% HST, unless the agreement says the amount already includes tax. RECO’s Bulletin 6.2 tells agents that a payment clause must say whether applicable taxes are paid on top.
- If you are selling, add the separate amount, if any, you offered toward the buyer’s brokerage fees. Your agreement shows it on its own line.
A worked example at the Ottawa average price
The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) put the average residential sale price at $685,640 in September 2026. On that price, each percentage point of commission is $6,856.40, and HST on it is $891.33, so $7,747.73 in all. Multiply by the rate in your agreement.
The figure is arithmetic only, since no regulator publishes a typical rate. A fixed fee works the same way, with $130 of HST on every $1,000. On a stepped percentage, ask the agent to write out the total at two or three sale prices so you can see where each step applies. For what homes are selling for across the city, read our Ottawa housing market updates.
Sellers
Who pays commission when you sell
The seller pays their own brokerage under the listing agreement, which the regulation calls a seller representation agreement. RECO’s Information Guide lists what that agreement needs to show a seller clearly:
- The amount you pay your brokerage, or how it is calculated, for the services and representation you receive.
- The amount, if any, you agree to pay to compensate a buyer for their brokerage fees.
- How either amount changes if you consent to multiple representation, where one brokerage acts for you and the buyer.
Whether you offer anything toward a buyer’s fees, and how much, is your decision. RECO’s Bulletin 2.3 says that amount should not be written as a share of your own brokerage’s fee, so each side’s cost is visible on its own.
The agreement must also say how the brokerage is paid. Bulletin 2.3’s example is a seller signing a direction that lets their real estate lawyer pay the brokerage out of the sale proceeds.
Before you work out any figure, find out what your home would likely sell for: start with a home evaluation, a comparative market analysis by one of our agents, and read how we sell a home in Ottawa.
Buyers
Who pays the buyer’s agent in Ontario
In law, the buyer pays. RECO’s Bulletin 6.2 says the buyer client is the party responsible for the fees of their own brokerage. What changes the bill is the seller: buyers often want, and some need, a seller to cover part or all of those fees.
A seller can do that by offering an amount in their listing, or by agreeing to it in your offer. Bulletin 6.2 calls the second a remuneration clause in the agreement of purchase and sale. It names who pays, how much, whether tax is included, when the money is due and who receives it.
When the seller offers more, or less, than you owe
RECO expects your buyer representation agreement to answer both cases:
- If the seller offers less, whether you pay the shortfall, whether your brokerage accepts the seller’s amount without more from you, or another arrangement.
- If the seller offers more, whether the seller pays only what you owe, whether you keep the difference, or whether your brokerage receives the whole amount.
RECO’s Information Guide warns that a seller might offer nothing toward your fees, which could change what you can offer for a home, or whether you can afford it. Settle how your agreement treats that before you start viewing.
Your agent must show you every home that fits
Section 22.4 of O. Reg. 567/05 requires a buyer’s agent to tell you about properties that meet your criteria without regard to what their brokerage might be paid. RECO calls steering buyers toward listings that pay more a breach of TRESA, with fines of up to $50,000 for an individual and $100,000 for a brokerage.
Our buying page explains how we search Ottawa listings and make offers with you, and Buyer Concierge Services sets out what our team adds.
The paperwork
What TRESA requires your agreement to disclose
Any written agreement between a brokerage and a buyer or seller must set out the following clearly, comprehensibly and prominently, under section 13.4 of O. Reg. 567/05:
- The date it takes effect and the date it expires.
- How the brokerage’s pay is worked out and, in a seller’s agreement, any pay to another brokerage.
- Every circumstance in which those amounts may change, how they change, and whether another brokerage may be paid.
- How the brokerage will be paid.
- The services the brokerage will provide.
- For a designated representation agreement, each designated representative’s name and what they will do.
- Any terms for ending the agreement.
The expiry date goes on the first page, the agreement may carry only one, and you initial beside it. If an agreement began as a conversation, the brokerage must put it in writing and give it to you to sign before any offer is made (ss. 13.5 and 13.6).
The guide you get before anything is signed
Before providing any service, every agent must give you RECO’s Information Guide, or a link to it, and explain it (s. 13(3) and (4)). Its twelve pages cover fees, holdover clauses and multiple representation in plain language, and they are worth reading before you sign.
Two kinds of agreement exist. Under brokerage representation, the whole brokerage represents you. Under designated representation, which Ontario introduced on December 1, 2023, one or more named agents represent you and the rest of the brokerage treats you impartially.
Negotiating
What you can negotiate, and what you cannot
Because no rate is set, the money terms are open for discussion before you sign:
- The amount or rate, and whether it steps down at higher prices.
- Which services it covers. RECO’s guide tells clients not to assume a service is included unless the agreement or a schedule to it lists that service.
- How long the agreement runs. RECO says there is no set or standard term: a day, a few weeks or months.
- The holdover period, which has no minimum or set length.
- What happens to the pay if you consent to multiple representation, or decline it.
Some terms are fixed by law and RECO, and no agreement can change them: no pay tied to the gap between list and sale price, no paying an agent personally instead of the brokerage, and no claim that RECO or a board sets the rate.
Holdover clauses
A holdover clause can leave you owing commission after the agreement ends. RECO’s own example: with a 30-day holdover, a seller who sells during those 30 days may owe the commission, and so may a buyer who buys a home the agent showed them before the agreement expired.
Changing agents
While your home is under an unexpired listing agreement with one brokerage, another brokerage cannot claim pay from you unless you agree in writing (TRESA s. 33(3)). Check the expiry date and the holdover period before you move to a new agent.
Representing yourself
Why buying or selling without an agent saves less than it seems
Someone who buys or sells without a brokerage of their own is a self-represented party. RECO’s Information Guide says very few buyers or sellers make this choice, and it recommends independent professional advice first.
On your own, the guide says, these become your jobs:
- Working out what the property is worth, and how much to offer or accept.
- Checking zoning, permitted uses and anything else about the property.
- Handling competing offers and choosing the terms of the agreement.
- Preparing every document.
The other side’s agent cannot fill the gap. Section 10 of Ontario’s Code of Ethics bars an agent from giving a self-represented party services, opinions or advice, and RECO’s guide warns that the agent must share what you tell them with their client.
Choosing an agent
How to compare Ottawa agents before you sign
If you are meeting Ottawa REALTORS® before you list or start viewing homes, ask each one the same questions and compare the answers in writing:
- Which brokerage is the agreement with, and is it brokerage or designated representation?
- What is the amount or method, in dollars at a likely sale price, with HST shown?
- Which services are written into the agreement or its schedule?
- What are the expiry date and the holdover period?
- What changes, in services and in pay, if multiple representation comes up?
You can confirm that an agent and their brokerage are registered with RECO’s public Agent/Brokerage Search on reco.on.ca.
With us, the agreement is with eXp Realty, Brokerage, and, as the law requires, we give you RECO’s Information Guide and explain it before we provide any service. Ask us anything about the agreement before you sign: call 613-704-6145 or meet our Ottawa team.
Questions
Questions about real estate commission in Ontario
What percentage do most REALTORS® charge in Ontario?
No regulator publishes a typical percentage, and no law sets one. The Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 lets a brokerage charge a fixed amount, a percentage of the price or both, and RECO’s Information Guide says the amount “is not fixed or approved by RECO, any government authority” or any real estate board.
So compare offers in dollars. On the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB)’s September 2026 average sale price of $685,640, each percentage point is $6,856.40 before HST. Ask each brokerage for its rate in writing, with the tax shown, and for the services it covers.
How do I calculate real estate fees in Ontario?
Take the method in your representation agreement and apply it to the sale price: multiply by the percentage, add any fixed amount, then add 13% HST unless the agreement says tax is included. A seller adds any separate amount they offered toward the buyer’s brokerage fees. The worked example above runs the numbers at the Ottawa average.
Does the buyer need to pay the agent fee?
The buyer is responsible for their own brokerage’s fees, RECO’s Bulletin 6.2 says, under the buyer representation agreement. A seller may cover some or all of it, through an amount offered in the listing or a remuneration clause in the offer. Your agreement must say what you owe if the seller pays less than that, or nothing.
Why does the seller pay the buyer’s agent?
Nothing requires it: a seller offers it by choice. Bulletin 6.2 notes that buyers often want, and some even need, a seller to cover their brokerage fees, and that the seller’s help can let a buyer meet those fees and close. The seller decides whether to offer anything, and how much, and their agreement lists it apart from their own brokerage’s fee.
Is 2% or 3% commission a lot?
It depends on what the fee buys and what it covers. At $685,640, 2% is $13,712.80 and 3% is $20,569.20, each before 13% HST. Ask whether the figure covers only your own brokerage or also an amount offered to the buyer’s side, and which services are written into the agreement, before you compare two rates.
Can you negotiate real estate commission in Ontario?
Yes. RECO says you and the brokerage decide the amount, and the method, the services, the term and the holdover period are all terms of the agreement you sign. What no agreement can include is pay based on the gap between the list price and the sale price, which section 36(3) of the Act bans. See what you can negotiate.
What are the average legal fees for selling a house in Ontario?
No regulator publishes an average, and lawyers set their own fees, so ask two or three real estate lawyers for a written quote that shows their fee, their disbursements and HST. On a sale, the lawyer may also be the one who pays your brokerage out of the proceeds, under a direction you sign, which is the example RECO’s Bulletin 2.3 gives.
Can I get out of a representation agreement?
On the terms it sets out, which is why section 13.4 of O. Reg. 567/05 requires any termination terms to be in it. Read them before you sign, along with the expiry date on the first page and the length of any holdover period, because a holdover can leave you owing commission after the agreement ends.
Talk to us
Talk through the numbers with us
Selling, buying or both? Tell us your plans and we will walk you through how commission would work in your case, before anything is signed.
Tell us whether you are buying, selling or both, and a member of the team will get back to you. Or call 613-704-6145.
The Reality Group, eXp Realty, Brokerage, 75D Colonnade Road North, Nepean, ON K2E 0A8.
Sources
Each source below was read on 2026-10-28.
- Government of Ontario, e-Laws, Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. C (ss. 31(2), 33(3) and 36)
- Government of Ontario, e-Laws, O. Reg. 567/05, General (ss. 13, 13.4 to 13.6, 22 and 22.4)
- Government of Ontario, e-Laws, O. Reg. 365/22, Code of Ethics (s. 10)
- Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), RECO Information Guide (Residential) (content of December 1, 2023)
- Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), RECO Bulletin 2.3, Representation agreements
- Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), RECO Bulletin 6.2, Remuneration clause in an agreement of purchase and sale
- Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), Concerns about steering based on commission (2021-09-02, revised May 2025)
- Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST calculator (and rates) (Ontario 13%)
- Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), Ottawa Home Sales Hold Steady in September as New Listings Rise (published 2026-10-05)