MAIN IMAGE: Steve Paul from Headline Properties; Jan le Roux, CE of Rebosa
Uncertainty about the future of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) have been doing the rounds lately in the face of proposed revised legislation being tabled in Parliament.
Steve Paul, principal of Headline Properties in Gordons Bay, said he has been asked by several agents in their area if the EAAB is still the controlling body of the industry.
“Many agents are not sure if they should pay them or not. If I remember correctly, they signed a new mandate for 5 years in 2019. I then went to go and look at the website and found a 5-year strategic plan until 2024. So, from this information I assume that they will be the controlling body for the estate agents until then,” he explained these uncertainties.
Jan le Roux, CE of Rebosa said the President had signed the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019 (“PPA”) into law, but the date of commencement is still to be determined. There is in fact no uncertainty in this regard as the EAAB remains in place until the the PPA commences. Even the members of the Board serving at the time of transition automatically become members of the PPRA. The CEO and personnel of the EAAB automatically start reporting to the PPRA instead of the EAAB.
“The PPA will repeal the Estate Agency Affairs Act 112 of 1976 (EAA) in its entirety. Draft regulations were published for public comment in March 2020. However, as things stand, there is no firm indication as to when the PPA will come into force. Until such time the EAAB remain the regulatory body.
“The PPA establishes the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) which replaces the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB). However, this only means the EAAB will undergo structural changes to enable them to cater and respond to the specific needs of all spheres of property practitioners in the real estate sector that fall within the framework of the PPA.
“The EAAB are on record reporting that this will require the expansion and reconfiguration of most of the EAAB’s current departments and the recruitment of skilled employees. There will also be a need to create new departments to cater for research and development, a mediation unit, an adjudication unit, an adjudication appeal unit and branch offices in all the major metropoles.
“All estate agents / property practitioners are urged to pay their FFCs timeously and regardless of the change in legislation. A property practitioner must have a valid FFC to trade legally and the same applies in the new Act,” Le Roux explained. “The only uncertainty is the preparedness of the EAAB/PPRA to effectively manage the application of the PPA.”
Property practitioners are reminded that they are not entitled to any remuneration unless the property practitioner and, if a company, every director of the company, is in possession of an FFC. The PPA will prohibit a conveyancer from paying any remuneration or other money to a property practitioner unless the property practitioner has provided the conveyancer with a certified copy of the relevant FFC.
Rebosa will notify the industry when the Act commences.
