The Real Estate Council of Ontario has finalized a discipline proceeding involving Khurram Aziz, a real estate salesperson who was found to have failed in his professional obligations during a condominium transaction in Waterloo. The matter, which concluded with a decision released on January 12, 2026, centered on the omission of critical financial protections for a buyer who later discovered she was responsible for a substantial special assessment. At the time of the events, Aziz was employed at the brokerage Homelife Miracle Realty Ltd. and was acting as the designated representative for the buyer, Sophiya D’Souza.
The sequence of events began in August 2023, when a condominium unit located at 308A Bluevale Street North in Waterloo was listed for sale on a local real estate board listing service. The property was represented by Zana Jalal, a salesperson with Re/Max Twin City Realty Inc. on behalf of the seller. On or about August 23, 2023, the listing agent obtained a status certificate for the property. This document is a fundamental component of any condominium transaction in Ontario, as it provides essential information regarding the financial health of the condominium corporation, its reserve fund, any pending legal proceedings, and the likelihood of future increases in common expenses or special assessments. The listing for the Bluevale Street property explicitly stated that the status certificate was available to interested parties upon request.
Despite the availability of this critical document, the transaction proceeded without its immediate review. On August 29, 2023, the buyer and seller entered into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for the property at a price of $565,000. The agreement included a deposit of $30,000 and set a closing date for October 10, 2023. However, the agreement drafted and executed under the guidance of Aziz did not include a standard clause making the purchase conditional on the seller providing a status certificate that would be satisfactory to the buyer’s legal counsel. By omitting this condition and failing to secure the document before the offer was made, the buyer was committed to the purchase without having verified the financial status of the condominium corporation.
The importance of the status certificate became clear nearly a month after the agreement was signed. On September 25, 2023, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Aziz contacted the listing agent via email to request the status certificate for the first time, noting that it was needed for the buyer’s lawyer to review. Later that same night, at 11:27 p.m., Aziz forwarded the document to the lawyer. The contents of the certificate revealed significant financial liabilities that had been in place well before the offer was made. The document stated that the Board of Directors would be levying a special assessment due to a legal application launched against the corporation. It further detailed that the legal fees, agreement costs, and disbursements related to that application had already reached a total of $105,657.91.
The status certificate also informed the recipient that the condominium’s new management company, Wilson Blanchard, would be notifying owners of the specific payment options and the final amount of the special assessment as outlined in the corporation’s budget. The document indicated that this assessment was expected to occur in the early fall of 2023. Because the Agreement of Purchase and Sale was already firm and lacked a status certificate condition, the buyer proceeded with the closing of the property in October 2023. The full financial impact of the missing condition did not materialize until the following spring. On May 31, 2024, the condominium corporation officially notified the buyer that she was required to pay $31,285.46 as her portion of the special assessment.
The Real Estate Council of Ontario reviewed these facts through its discipline committee to determine if Aziz had met the professional standards required under the Code of Ethics. The committee focused on two specific sections of the regulations. Section 4 of the Code of Ethics requires a registrant to promote and protect the best interests of their client. Furthermore, Section 21(1) stipulates that a broker or salesperson must take reasonable steps to determine the material facts relating to an acquisition and disclose those facts to the client at the earliest practicable opportunity. In this case, the existence of a pending special assessment exceeding $100,000 at the corporate level was considered a material fact that would likely influence a reasonable person’s decision to purchase the property or the price they would be willing to pay.
The discipline committee found that Aziz failed to protect the best interests of his client by failing to recommend the inclusion of a status certificate condition in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. The committee also concluded that he failed to seek the status certificate for review by the buyer’s legal counsel before allowing the client to enter into an unconditional offer. These actions were determined to be in direct violation of the professional standards expected of registrants in the province. The matter did not proceed to a full contested hearing, as both the Real Estate Council of Ontario and Aziz agreed to a statement of facts and a proposed penalty. This process, governed by the rules of practice for the discipline committee, allows for a resolution when the parties can reach a consensus on the underlying events and the appropriate disciplinary measures.
As part of the agreed penalty, the Chair of the Discipline Committee, Lucy Aita, ordered Aziz to pay a fine of $9,000. This payment is to be made to the Real Estate Council of Ontario no later than July 13, 2026, which is 180 days from the date of the decision. In addition to the financial penalty, Aziz is required to complete further professional education. Specifically, he must successfully complete the Introduction to TRESA course. This course covers the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, which is the legislative framework that replaced the older Real Estate and Business Brokers Act. The transition to this new legislation introduced updated requirements for consumer protection and professional conduct for real estate agents in Ontario.
Aziz must provide proof of his successful completion of the course to the Real Estate Council of Ontario within 180 days of the decision. The order also specifies that proof of completion must be submitted within 60 days of the actual date the course is finished. In the agreed statement, Aziz acknowledged that he had the right to seek legal counsel before signing the agreement and voluntarily waived his right to a full hearing on the matter. The decision marks the final settlement of the disciplinary proceedings related to this file.
The case serves as a factual record of the requirements for due diligence in the Ontario real estate market, particularly regarding the purchase of condominium units. The failure to secure and review a status certificate prior to a firm commitment resulted in a significant and unexpected financial burden for the consumer. The fine and the educational requirements imposed by the council reflect the severity of the oversight and the necessity of adhering to the disclosure and protection mandates set out in the provincial Code of Ethics. The file, numbered 2024070151, concluded with the Chair’s confirmation that the respondent’s conduct did not meet the professional standards required by the law.
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