| Dear Board Presidents, Board PAC Chairs and Board Executive Officers,
Since 2016, OREA has been fighting to stop Home Energy Rating & Disclosure (HER&D). If implemented, HER&D would require a home seller to conduct an energy audit before listing their home. The program also forced REALTORS® to post the energy score on the MLS® listing. I don’t need to tell you why this program would have been a disaster for home owners. It also targeted REALTORS® by unfairly focusing on MLS® and not other methods for selling a home. So, we fought back. The GR team, led by Chair John Oddi, wore out a few pairs of shoes lobbying Cabinet Ministers and senior staff at Queen’s Park; we commissioned research from the Conference Board of Canada which showed the program was a big waste of tax dollars; and, CEO Tim Hudak co-chaired where, day after day, we fought against an assortment of environmental groups who were all pushing the government to move forward on HER&D. This week, we got a letter from the government. It said, “The province has decided not to proceed with the implementation of a HER&D program at this time.” We did it. REALTORS® put the brakes on HER&D. While this is another big win for REALTORS®, this issue has been a wakeup call. Governments at all levels are struggling to address issues relating to climate change and the housing sector is being asked to play a part in that work. Going forward, we must be thoughtful and propose alternatives to programs like HER&D, or we will be steam rolled by them. If you have any questions, please contact Adam Yahn, OREA’s Head of Government Relations at adamy@orea.com or 416-385-6630. Sincerely, David Reid 2018 OREA President |
Brampton Real Estate Board 