Historical penalties for returning agents are no more

Historical penalties for returning agents are no more

MAIN IMAGE: Jan le Roux – CE of Rebosa, Thato Ramaili – PPRA CEO

Editor

For many years, agents who left the industry and didn’t notify the PPRA often faced significant penalties when they wanted to re-register for their FFCs years later. 

This is because of Regulation 15.4 of the Property Practitioners Act, which states that property practitioners intending to cease operations must formally notify the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) of their decision not to renew their Fidelity Fund Certificates (FFCs) in writing.

Regulation 15.4 states:

“Every property practitioner to whom a fidelity fund certificate or registration certificate, as the case may be, has already been issued in respect of a specific calendar year, shall, unless he/she has ceased or will cease before the end of that year to operate as a property practitioner and has advised the Authority of such fact in writing, by not later than 31 October of that year, apply to the Authority for the issue to him/her of a fidelity fund certificate.” 

Jan le Roux, CE of Rebosa, believes that “The regulation demanding that agents must advise the PPRA should they not wish to renew the certificates serves very little purpose, if any. The penalties were raised when agents, after an absence of a year or two, really made it very difficult to re-enter the industry as the fines were prohibitive. It most certainly didn’t serve transformation in any way or form”.

In fact, Rebosa has spent several years communicating with the EAAB and now the PPRA to get these penalties scrapped.

Last week, the PPRA issued a statement noting that after deliberations with industry, the Authority has decided to cease the imposition of such penalties, provided that individuals confirm in writing that they have not operated as property practitioners during their period of absence.

“This policy change is effective immediately. Moving forward, property practitioners who wish to re-register and apply for an FFC after a period of absence must complete the attached affidavit affirming their non-engagement in property practitioner activities during their leave of absence from the industry.

It’s crucial to note that property practitioners who fail to renew their FFCs by the specified deadline of 31 October of the relevant year, while still actively practising, will still face penalties as outlined in the regulations”.

The PPRA confirmed the process will operate from the date of implementation and will not operate retrospectively.

“Estate agents face enough barriers to re-entering the market, and Rebosa is pleased that, after many years, our continuous dialogue with the PPRA has borne fruit and historical penalties have been scrapped,” says le Roux. 

It’s now easier for estate agents to re-enter the property market.

Share this article:

more top news stories