Published 7 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
What's Your Home Worth Right Now?
Get a free AI-powered price range for your property in under 90 seconds, based on recent GTA comparable sales. No name or address required.
Get My Free Estimate →In multiple representation the brokerage represents both parties to the same transaction, and the consequence is that it cannot advocate for either. It cannot give pricing advice or negotiating strategy that favours one side, and it must remain neutral and facilitative. Both clients must give written informed consent, after the situation is disclosed as soon as the brokerage becomes aware of it and the differences in service are explained in plain language.
TRESA created a better alternative. Designated representation names a specific individual for each client within the same brokerage, and each of those designated representatives owes full duties to their own client and can advocate. Where it is available, it is almost always the preferable arrangement.
What happens to your representation
| Single representation | Designated representation | Multiple representation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who represents you | Your brokerage | A named individual within the brokerage | The brokerage, jointly with the other side |
| Advocacy for you | Yes | Yes | No |
| Pricing advice | Yes | Yes | No |
| Negotiating strategy | Yes | Yes | No |
| Written consent required | Representation agreement | Designated representation agreement | Informed written consent from each client |
The middle column is the point of TRESA’s reform. It preserves advocacy for both sides while allowing one brokerage to handle the transaction.
What consent actually requires
Under RECO’s guidance, a brokerage in multiple representation must:
- Disclose the situation as soon as it becomes aware of it — not hold it until an offer is submitted.
- Explain in plain language how services, duties and remuneration differ from single representation.
- Obtain written informed consent from each client, freely given, with each told they may seek separate representation instead.
Why it matters more at the top of the market
Above $3 million, negotiation is where the value moves. Deposit structure, closing date, conditions, the treatment of chattels and fixtures, and the handling of a documented property package are all negotiated, and each of them has real money attached. A brokerage that cannot advise either side on strategy is a brokerage that cannot help you with any of it.
Add the thinness of the market — roughly 300 GTA sales above $3 million across four months — and the value of having someone who knows the comparable set and can argue from it becomes larger, not smaller.
What to do
- Ask early whether the brokerage is likely to be in multiple representation on the properties you are considering.
- Ask whether designated representation is available. In most brokerages of any size it is.
- If it is not, consider separate representation. Declining is a normal and reasonable choice.
- Read the consent form rather than signing it at the offer table.
- As a competing buyer, ask whether the listing brokerage represents any of the other buyers — that is one of the items disclosable under the open offers rules.
The practical takeaway
Multiple representation is legal, common, and costs you advocacy. Before consenting, ask for designated representation. If it is not available and the transaction matters, take separate representation — the cost of doing so is nothing compared with negotiating a $4 million purchase with nobody on your side of the table.
Frequently asked questions
Is multiple representation legal in Ontario?
Yes, with conditions. The brokerage must disclose the situation as soon as it becomes aware of it, explain in plain language how services and duties differ, and obtain written informed consent from each client. No client can be pressured, and each must be told they can seek separate representation instead.
What can a brokerage not do in multiple representation?
It cannot advocate for either client’s best interests against the other, and it cannot give pricing or negotiating advice that favours one side. It must remain neutral and facilitative.
What is the difference from designated representation?
Under designated representation each client has a named individual representative within the brokerage who owes them full duties and can advocate for them. The brokerage itself does not take a side, but each client still has an advocate. That is not the case in formal multiple representation.
Do I have to consent?
No. You can decline and seek separate representation. Consent must be informed and freely given, and each client must be told that separate representation is an option.
Does multiple representation have to be disclosed to other buyers?
Where a listing brokerage represents the seller and also represents one of several competing buyers, that must be disclosed to the other prospective buyers submitting offers. It is also one of the items a seller may direct be disclosed under the open offers rules.
Is multiple representation ever a good thing?
It can move quickly and it removes some friction. But the trade-off is real: neither party has an advocate on price or strategy. Where designated representation is available it is generally the better arrangement, and where it is not, separate representation usually is.
Thinking about buying or selling at the top end?
Send me the address, or the shortlist you are considering. I will tell you what the property is actually worth today, what the land is worth without the house, what the transfer tax and carrying costs will be, and whether the deal makes sense. Confidential, always.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
Confidential. Read personally and answered within 24 hours. I never share, sell or distribute your information.
Related reading
- TRESA in plain English: what changed for Ontario buyers and sellers
- Open offers in Ontario: what a seller can and cannot tell other bidders
- How to choose an agent for a $3M+ Toronto sale
- How luxury negotiations actually work in Toronto
Sources
Everything above that is a rule, a rate or a published number comes from these. Verify anything that matters to your own deal.
About the author — Jatin Dua, Broker of Record
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, and I work with buyers, sellers and investors across Toronto and the west GTA. A large part of my work sits in the upper end of the market, where the comparables are thin, the rules are heavier and the cost of a wrong number is measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The free estimators on this site are mine. I built them because the first question every owner asks is “what is it worth?” and the honest answer starts with a number you can check yourself. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.