Does the seller have to fill out a disclosure statement in Ontario?
Buyers ask for the form because somewhere else it is mandatory. In Ontario the obligation sits on the agent rather than the seller, and it only switches on if the seller chose to fill one out.
The short answer
No. Ontario has no law requiring a seller to complete a property disclosure statement, so most GTA sellers do not. If one exists, the seller agent must disclose that it exists and hand it over on request. Robin Patel, a REALTOR® in Brampton, treats its absence as normal rather than as a red flag.
Written forBuyers in the GTA who asked the listing agent for a seller disclosure statement and were told there is not one, and anyone who has bought in a province or country where that form is mandatory.
The short version
- Nothing in Ontario law requires a seller to complete a property information statement, and many GTA sellers do not complete one.
- The duty in the regulation sits on the agent, not the seller: if the seller has completed such a statement, the listing agent must disclose that it exists.
- A buyer who asks for a copy must be given one as soon as possible after the request is made.
- Where a seller has a legal obligation to disclose a fact and the listing agent knows it, that agent must disclose it to every buyer who expresses an interest.
- What the seller themselves must disclose is set by court decisions rather than by the regulation, which is a question for a real estate lawyer.
Is a seller disclosure statement mandatory in Ontario?
It is not. Ontario has no statute or regulation that requires a seller to fill out a disclosure statement about the property, and there is no penalty for declining to. Buyers who have purchased in a place where the form is compulsory often read its absence as a refusal, when in Ontario it is simply the default.
The confusion is easy to understand, because the obligation that does exist is written the other way around. It is not framed as a duty on a seller to produce a document. It is framed as a duty on the seller agent that switches on only if the seller has already chosen to complete one.
What the listing agent has to do
The duties sit in the General regulation under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002, at sections 22.1 to 22.3. They are narrow and precise, and it is worth reading them as three separate obligations rather than one general duty of candour.
The first applies only where a written statement exists. The second applies to any fact the seller is legally obliged to disclose. The third runs to the agent own client rather than to the other side.
| Section | What it requires | Who it is owed to |
|---|---|---|
| 22.3 | If the agent knows the seller has completed a written statement intended to inform buyers, disclose that it exists, and make it available if asked | Every buyer who expresses an interest |
| 22.2 | If the seller has a legal obligation to disclose a fact and the agent knows it, disclose that fact, and make best efforts to get a written acknowledgement | Every buyer who expresses an interest |
| 22.1 | Take reasonable steps to determine the material facts, disclose them as soon as possible, and advise the client to consider whether they change the decision | The agent own client |
They are narrow and precise, and it is worth reading them as three separate obligations rather than one general duty of candour.
If a statement does exist, you are entitled to see it
A buyer does not have to negotiate for a copy. Where the listing agent knows the seller completed one, the regulation requires the agent to tell every interested buyer that it exists, and to make it available as soon as possible after a request. Asking is the whole procedure.
The same regulation defines a material fact as one that would affect a reasonable person decision to acquire or dispose of the interest. That definition matters more than the form does, because it is the standard the agent duties are measured against.
What the regulation does not settle
The regulation governs agents. It imposes no disclosure duty on a seller at all, and the words latent defect appear nowhere in it. What a seller personally must disclose about a problem with the house comes from court decisions rather than from this regulation, and that is a question for a real estate lawyer rather than for a REALTOR®.
One more thing is worth knowing, because a great deal of what is written about this subject is now out of date. The Code of Ethics that used to carry these duties was revoked on the first of December, 2023. The current Code of Ethics contains no material facts section at all. Anything that cites the old Code for this point is quoting a revoked regulation.
Where to put the protection instead
Because the form is optional and its absence is normal, a buyer in Ontario gets comfort from the conditions in the offer rather than from a seller questionnaire. An inspection condition, and a status certificate review on a condominium, do work that no disclosure statement can do, because they produce an opinion from someone you hired.
That is the practical shape of it. Ask whether a statement exists, read it if it does, and then build the offer as though it does not — which is what a buyer in a province without a mandatory form has always had to do.
Written by
Robin PatelSalesperson · The Agency Toronto
Updated
Published
Read in your language
A machine translation, not Robin’s words. For anything that decides money, ask him in Gujarati or Hindi directly.
