MND introduces Estate Agents Bill

The Estate Agents Bill was introduced by the Ministry of National Development (MND) for a First Reading at Parliament yesterday. The new bill seeks to establish the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) as a new statutory board to regulate the real estate agency industry.

The bill will be applicable to all estate agency work for Singapore and foreign properties marketed, sold orleased in Singapore.

It requires all real estate agencies to appoint a key executive officer (KEO) who will be in charge of the overall management and proper administration of the business and supervision of all salespersons.

Estate agents will be required to contract with only one agency and work under a written agreement with the agency.

Estate agencies, on the other hand, will need to guarantee that all of their registered agents are professionally competent and meet the criteria. Agents must pass the salesperson examination by CEA and go through continuous professional development related to estate agency work.

Information on all registered agents will be made available on a public register, including the estate agency they work for and any disciplinary actions taken against them.

The proposed bill will authorise CEA to prescribe codes of practice, professional conduct and ethics to regulate the practices of estate agencies and agents.

It also empowers CEA to prescribe standard estate agency agreements between agencies and clients, to guarantee that the agreements do not have unfair clauses.

The CEA can also investigate breaches and impose regulatory requirements, as well as establish a disciplinary committee to hear and study disciplinary cases.