Public Awareness

Public Awareness

Practice of the real estate agents and negotiators is regulated by the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act 1981 and anyone who is not a registered agent but poses as one and engages in the selling or leasing of property on behalf of property owners for a fee or commission is breaking the law.

 Those found guilty of this could be fined RM300,000, jailed for three years, or both.

 BOVAEP (Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers) began registering legal real estate agencies, real estate agents or negotiators few years ago.

 A licensed real estate agenct (REA) will carry a four-digit REA number, while a real estate negotiator (REN) who has attended BOVAEP’s two-day course will have a five-digit REN number.

 BOVAEP launched its Real Estate Negotiator (REN) tag with identification numbers for its members as proof of their identity. There is a Quick Response (QR) code on each tag so customers can scan the code with their smart phones to check the agent’s background.

 The public also can check whether a real estate agent / negotiator is registered through the BOVAEP website. If the agent’s/negotiator's information cannot be found on the website, it means he or she is operating illegally.

Public is urged to search the BOVAEP website to verify a real estate agent’s / negotiator's status before entering into any transactions to protect themselves. This is to prevent the public to use services of illegal real estate agents and negotiators to minimise risks while buying property.

We always heard complaints from homebuyers dealing with unregistered brokers. Unfortunately, board cannot do much because they (illegal brokers) are not registered with board. What we can suggest is to make a police report.

FILE A COMPLAINT

However, if you are dealing with a registered agent or negotiator, should you have any complaint, you can always go to the registered agency or to the board to seek help.

 When an earnest deposit is paid to estate agency firm, we are bound by law to hold the money in trust. If anything goes wrong, or the deal does not go through, we are obliged to return the money. If we don’t, we can lose our licence.

 Four areas of illegal practices, including cheating, absconding with deposits, profiteering and misrepresentation.

CHEATING is when one acts dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage for themselves.

 ABSCONDING is an act of running away with deposits, not refunding deposits etc.

 PROFITEERING is charging more than the fees chargeable for estate agency work.

 MISREPRESENTATION - An untrue statement of fact or law made by Party A to Party B which induces Party B to enter a contract thereby causing loss to Party B.

Code of Conduct and Ethics


CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS

1.      Knowledge of and Compliance with the Law
Estate Agents shall abide by, and be fully conversant with, the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981 and Rules 1986, and have a sound knowledge of all relevant laws, statutory provisions and procedures applicable to estate agency practice and/or its business activities.

2.      Continues Professional Development Program
Estate Agents shall follow a required program for the continuous systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skills regarding all laws, proposed legislations, governmental regulations, public policies, current market conditions and matters affecting the real estate agency practice in order to execute their professional and technical duties to their Clients and the Public competently.

3.      Conduct of Registered Estate Agents in safeguarding the best interests of their Clients by acting with Fairness and Integrity
Estate Agents shall exercise reasonable care in adhering to the principles of fair competition by conducting themselves in an impartial and just manner to all parties involved in an estate agency transaction so as to uphold the professional status and reputation of the profession.

4.      Providing quality services with Courtesy, Fairness and Integrity
Estate agents are duly bound to render quality services to their Clients with absolute fidelity, and to practice their profession with devotion to the highest ideals of integrity, honour and courtesy, and also to conduct their business activities in the spirit of fairness and goodwill to the Public and to his fellow professionals in the real estate industry.

5.      Transparency and Accuracy of Statements
Estate agents shall exercise a reasonable duty of care to protect the Public against error, fraud, misrepresentation, concealment of pertinent facts and unethical practices in any real estate transaction for which terms of engagement have been accepted.

6.      Personal Interests and Relationships to be disclosed
Estate agents shall disclose any past, present or foreseeable future interests and/or relationships, either with the Client or the property being transacted, that could lead to, or be construed as, possible conflicts of interest, when accepting any terms of engagement for sale, purchase, let, rent or lease.

7.      Acting within the Law
Estate agents shall act within the law and shall avoid selling, transferring, subletting or otherwise permitting any other person to use any authority to practice issued to them under the Act or risk facing the most severe of disciplinary sanctions imposed by the Board.


(Source: Malaysian Estate Agency Standards, 2nd Edition 2014)
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