Under the Estate Agents Act, all estate agents and their salesperson(s) are required to be registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA). Estate agents refer to estate agency businesses (whether they are proprietorships or companies) while salespersons are individuals who do estate agency work while employed by estate agents.
Each estate agent is required to have a Key Executive Officer who is in charge of ensuring compliance to the regulations set out in the Act and supervising the salespeople in the agency. Salespersons may only be contracted with one agency at any one time, and are required to attend specific courses, pass mandatory examinations administered by CEA, and attend a minimum of 6 hours of professional development courses a year.
This Act aims to maintain professional standards in the industry and weed out unethical practices, such as the provision of unlicensed moneylending services to home buyers/sellers.
Buyers and sellers are strongly advised to check on the CEA’s online register before engaging the services of estate agents and their salesperson(s). There, they will be able to check if the estate agent/salesperson is licensed, as well as their disciplinary record/awards. This will help them make an informed choice.
For assistance to purchase or sell a property, contact us to make an appointment.
