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and holds important changes for estate agents and other property specialists.
The first and most notable change is the definition of a “Property Practitioner” in
the Bill. This definition is wide and includes estate agents, mortgage originators,
rental agents, property inspectors, valuators, property managers and bond
regulators. The aim of this broader definition is to regulate a wider spectrum of
persons involved in the property industry and thereby protect consumers and
provide for a more controlled structure in the property sector.
The Bill rebrands the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) as the Property
Practitioners Regulatory Authority (“Property Practitioners Ombud”). Any
complaints from the public against a Property Practitioner will be dealt with
by the Property Practitioners Ombud to resolve the complaints. The Property
Practitioners Ombud may also be approached to resolve a dispute between
Property Practitioners, provided both parties agree to this method of resolution.

In terms of the current Act, estate agents that don’t have a Fidelity Fund
Certificate are not allowed to earn commission from any estate agency
services. The Bill takes this requirement further by requiring that a Property
Practitioner will have to refund the person who paid them if demanded should
they not possess a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate. Furthermore, the Bill provides
for a broad list of disqualifications from obtaining a Fidelity Fund Certificate,
two of the more restrictive disqualifications being where a Property Practitioner
is not in possession of a valid BEE certificate or is not in possession of a valid tax
clearance certificate.
The preamble of the Bill makes it clear that a focus of the new Bill is to assist
in the transformation of the property sector and contribute to such becoming
more reflective of the South African demography and assisting Black, Indian Property
and Coloured Property Practitioners to be more active in the property sector. The
Bill aims to assist this by establishing a Transformation Fund to be administered
by the Department of Human Settlements and the launching of incubation
programmes to assist previously disadvantaged Property Practitioners.
There are also further aspects that the Bill aims to regulate and which you as an
estate agent will need to take note of and implement once the Bill is enacted,
such as record-keeping requirements, mandatory disclosure forms, etc.
The Bill has beneficial but also important implications for any estate agency
and you would be prudent to monitor developments in relation to the
enactment of the Bill to make sure you are prepared for the new requirements
the Bill will introduce.

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