property practitioners bill

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All you need to know about the newly-passed Property Practitioners Bill

A new frontier for the property sector.

property practitioners bill

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On Tuesday, the National Assembly voted on and adopted the Property Practitioners Bill which, according to Minister of Human Settlements, NomaIndia Mfeketo, seeks to address the injustices of the apartheid era.

Property Practitioners Bill adopted by Parliament

The Bill was met with no objections from any political party. Mfeketo, like other members of the NA, were of the view that the Bill was critical in changing history and improving participation in the property sector.

One of the more celebrated results of the adoption of this Bill is the fact that it will repeal the Estate Agency Affairs Act 112 of 1976, which was largely based on segregatory clauses.

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This Act was underwritten by the Estate Agency Affairs Board which basically controlled the property sector through the vested powers of the Minister of Human Settlements.

In terms of representation, it was one-dimensional and by virtue of the fruits it bore, only benefited the minority.

New Bill to address the injustices of the past

The Property Practitioners Bill sought to change all of that. According to a Business Day article (written by Linda Ensor), the new Bill will allow for the regulation of property practitioners and a more inclusive streamline of funding for small black-owned estate agencies.

The chairperson of the portfolio committee on human settlements — that was instrumental in seeing the passing of this Bill through — Nocawe Mafu, expressed her pleasure of having such a historic Bill adopted.

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“South Africa has a long history of constructive engagements aimed at finding workable solutions and the committee is convinced that general engagements that it held were constructive and while sometimes uncomfortable questions were asked, it was in the context of coming up with a legislation that will assist the country in transforming the industry,”

Mafu stated.

Key objectives of the Property Practitioners Bill

In summary, the Property Practitioners Bill seeks to:

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  • provide for the regulation of property practitioners
  • provide for the continuation of the Estate Agency Affairs Board as the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority
  • provide for the establishment, appointment, powers and functions of the Property Practitioner’s Ombud Office
  • provide for the continuation of the Estate Agents Fidelity Fund as the Property Practitioners Fidelity Fund
  • provide for consumer protection
  • and  to provide for the repeal of the Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976