No. You don’t need a realtor to buy a house in Ontario. No law requires a buyer to hire a real estate agent, and plenty of people buy privately, from family or straight from a builder. What you will need is a real estate lawyer to close the purchase: to search the title, handle the money, and register the transfer in your name.
The real question is what changes when you don’t have an agent of your own. If you buy a home that’s listed on the MLS® System without your own agent, the listing agent still works for the seller. Under Ontario’s rules you become a self-represented party, and the seller’s agent can’t advise you on price, terms or conditions. You’re negotiating against a professional on your own.
I’m Jason Polonski, an Ottawa REALTOR® with Right at Home Realty. This page lays out what buying without an agent actually involves, who pays a buyer’s agent in Ontario, when going solo can make sense, and the checklist to follow if you do.
Say you spot a detached home in Stittsville online and call the number on the sign. That number belongs to the seller’s agent. Under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, before they help you with anything, they must give you the RECO Information Guide and a form called the Information and Disclosure to Self-represented Party. RECO’s bulletin on dealing with a self-represented party is clear about what follows:
The agent can share facts, like the year the home was built or the property taxes, and can book a showing. Some agents get too helpful, which can accidentally create an implied representation agreement and put them in a conflict. Keep your conversations factual.
You’ll also be responsible for writing the offer. Most buyers in this position ask a real estate lawyer to prepare or review the Agreement of Purchase and Sale before they sign it, because once a seller accepts, it’s a binding contract. Your conditions, deposit amount, closing date and what’s included in the sale all live in that document.
This is the reason most people consider going without an agent, so it’s worth being precise. In Ontario, what you owe your agent is set in your buyer representation agreement with their brokerage. On many resale homes, the seller has agreed in their listing agreement to share commission with the buyer’s brokerage, and that covers some or all of what you’d owe. But RECO’s guidance on signing a contract with a brokerage warns that a seller may not agree to cover your brokerage’s fee, and that can affect what you can afford to offer. I explain the mechanics in do buyers pay real estate commission in Ontario?
Here’s the part that surprises people: skipping a buyer’s agent doesn’t automatically lower the price. The seller’s listing agreement sets what the seller pays their own brokerage, and that agreement doesn’t always reduce the fee when no buyer’s agent is involved. If the seller’s cost doesn’t drop, they have little reason to drop the price for you. Any saving is something you’d have to negotiate, without anyone negotiating for you.
If cost is what’s driving you, there’s a middle path. When I represent buyers, I offer cash back of up to $3,000 at closing, so you keep full representation and still put money back in your pocket.
The paperwork is the easy part. The value is in judgment calls that are hard to make from the outside. A full list is in what a realtor does for a buyer, but these are the ones that move the money:
With my background in construction and the electrical trades, I walk through homes with my buyers looking at the panel, the roof, the foundation and the mechanicals before we write an offer. That doesn’t replace a home inspection, but it often decides whether a house is worth inspecting at all.
Going without an agent is reasonable in a few situations:
It’s riskiest in a competitive market, on older or rural properties, and for first-time buyers. Those are exactly the cases where mistakes on price or conditions cost the most.
It’s hardest of all when you’re buying from out of town. Military members posted to Ottawa and federal employees relocating for work often have a single house-hunting trip and a fixed report date, which leaves no room to learn the market by trial and error. If that’s you, my checklist for buying an Ottawa home from out of town shows how to plan it.
CMHC’s home buying guide is a good free overview of the whole process.
Many buyers don’t realize a buyer representation agreement can be narrow. RECO notes that the scope can be a single property, an area or a property type, and the term and services are negotiable. If you found the house yourself and only want help pricing it, writing the offer and getting to closing, you can sign an agreement that covers just that property.
That gives you an advocate where it counts without committing to a long search. Ask any agent you interview whether they’ll work this way, and get the scope, the fee and the expiry date in writing. For more on what TRESA requires in these agreements, see TRESA explained, and for a broader view of how an Ottawa purchase fits together, start with the Ottawa real estate guide.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and RECO guidance change, so confirm details with your real estate lawyer before you sign anything.
Jason Polonski is a full-time REALTOR® with Right at Home Realty who has helped hundreds of buyers and sellers in Ottawa for more than 15 years, with a focus on Kanata, Stittsville, Barrhaven, Nepean and the west end. Buyers work with him directly from the first showing to closing day, and they get the benefit of his years in construction and the electrical trades when assessing a home’s condition before an offer. His Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University, with a double major in Marketing and Finance, shapes how he reads pricing and negotiates terms. Buyers who work with Jason can receive cash back of up to $3,000 at closing. Call or text him at (613) 601-9333 to talk about the home you have in mind.
Yes. No law requires a buyer to use a real estate agent. You will need a real estate lawyer to complete the purchase and register the title in your name.
In practice, yes. A real estate lawyer searches the title, handles the funds, arranges title insurance if you choose it and registers the transfer, and your lender will require one for a mortgage.
Not necessarily. What the seller pays their own brokerage is set in their listing agreement, which may not reduce the fee when there’s no buyer’s agent. Any saving has to be negotiated.
Only with written disclosure and the written consent of both you and the seller, which is called multiple representation. In that arrangement neither client is fully represented. Otherwise you deal with the listing agent as a self-represented party.
Yes. You can contact the listing agent to book a showing or attend an open house. They’ll give you the RECO Information Guide and a self-represented party disclosure form, and they can’t advise you.
Your buyer representation agreement sets what you owe your brokerage. On many resale homes the seller agrees to share commission with the buyer’s brokerage, which covers some or all of it, but that isn’t guaranteed.
Yes, through the builder’s sales office. Builder agreements are complex and favour the builder, so have a lawyer review the agreement, and consider an agent who knows new construction.
Often, yes. A buyer representation agreement can be limited to a single property, with a short term and the services spelled out. Ask the agent before you sign.