Kota Kinabalu:The laws to curb illegal real estate brokers are inadequate in the country, said a group of panellists during the 36th Malaysian Real Estate Convention (Marec Summit), recently.
They also claimed that the police, who are empowered to act, have not shown great interest in nabbing illegals.
They were speaking in a forum titled “The real estate Profession – The way forward” moderated by the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) CEO K.Soma Sundram.
The panellists comprised Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents & Property Managers (Bovaep) Malaysia member Tan Kian Aun, MIEA Sarawak former chairman Datuk Alex Ting, Esprit Real Estate Managing Director and founder Aldrin Tan and Property Hub Sabah Director Enoch Khoo.
“They added that tech firms are now finding loopholes within the law to offer other services and indirectly engaging real estate practice which contravenes Section 22C of the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act and urged the government to look into this,” said MIEA in a statement, Monday.
The panellists also recommended some robust changes to the current real estate laws to allow the profession to grow.
“The first of concern is to raise the level of professionalism among the Real Estate Negotiators [RENs] numbering some 28,000.
“They were of the opinion that the entry level for RENs is too low and that there is a need for them to now meet certain qualifications and do an entry exam to be allowed to practise.
“The views included that although the supervising agent is ultimately responsible for the actions of the REN, the individual RENs should also be held accountable for their misdeeds.
“They felt that this will greatly improve the professionalism in the industry.”
The number of registered agents is low as there are only 1,400 plus agents as of 2020, and they said this is due to the lengthy examination and practical process which takes up to seven years to be registered.
“They requested Bovaep to review the syllabus and the format, like in Singapore where all are registered practitioners unlike the situation in Malaysia today.
“There was concurrence from all panellists that the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers, the regulatory Board are not at pace to keep up to the needs of the profession.
“They felt that managing three professions – the valuers, estate agents and property managers, is too much to handle and has resulted in many inefficiencies and disconnect with the real estate practice.
“There was also agreement that the number of estate agents represented in Bovaep are far too small to bring about any significant change and requested to review this imbalance,” it said.
There was also an agreement that the professional fees for estate agents should have a minimum cap as what is practised in the developed countries and modelling after other professions in the country.
Themed “Bridging the Digital Divide in the Real Estate Profession”, the convention attended by some 350 participants from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand ended with a high note that there is much to be done to improve the profession.
Twenty papers on various topics were presented at the two-day convention.
