MAIN IMAGE: Adrianne du Toit, head of stakeholder relations at Rebosa
Opinion
The extension of the legacy NQF 4 Real Estate qualification to 30 June 2028 provided much-needed relief to thousands of prospective property practitioners. Unfortunately, for those candidates who committed to the new Occupational Certificate: Real Estate Agent qualification pathway, the uncertainty continues.
It has now been almost four months since candidates wrote the first External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA) examination on 9 March 2026, yet examination results have still not been released. What was intended to be a streamlined occupational qualification has instead become a prolonged and uncertain process that continues to delay entry into the profession.
The consequences are significant. Without their EISA results, candidates cannot enrol for the Professional Designation Examination (PDE) scheduled for 13 August 2026. Candidates who are unsuccessful will have only one remaining opportunity to rewrite the EISA examination in October 2026. If examination results again take several months to be released, those candidates will only become eligible to write the next PDE examination on 11 February 2027, delaying their entry into the profession by almost a year.
Equally concerning is that, despite the widespread criticism following the March examination, there has been no indication that the assessment has been reviewed or refined to address the numerous concerns raised by candidates regarding its content, structure and standard.
A separate but equally serious concern relates to aspiring principals. While the Minister’s decision to extend the legacy NQF 4 qualification has provided certainty for prospective estate agents, the legacy NQF Level 5 qualification (SAQA ID 20188) was not similarly extended. At the same time, the Occupational Certificate: Principal Real Estate Agent pathway remains incomplete. There is still no approved EISA examination, no published implementation timetable and no indication of when candidates will be able to complete the final assessment.
The industry is appealing to the Minister to extend the validity of the legacy NQF Level 5 qualification until such time as the Occupational Certificate: Principal Real Estate Agent pathway is fully operational. Aspiring Principals who have completed, or wish to pursue, the Level 5 qualification should not be prejudiced simply because the EISA has yet to be developed and implemented. This uncertainty creates an unnecessary barrier to career progression, limits opportunities for non-principal property practitioners to advance into principal status and ultimately constrains industry growth and employment.
The implementation of the Occupational Certificate framework is failing candidates and the industry alike. A qualification system cannot function where examination results are delayed for months, assessment pathways remain incomplete, access to national assessment centres remains limited, and candidates are unable to progress through no fault of their own.
The industry now urgently requires the immediate release of the outstanding EISA examination results, confirmation of future examination dates, publication of the Occupational Certificate: Principal Real Estate Agent EISA implementation timetable, and a clear plan to ensure that both occupational qualification pathways operate efficiently, fairly and predictably.
Until these issues are addressed, the uncertainty facing South Africa’s future property practitioners will continue, undermining confidence in a qualification framework that was intended to strengthen, rather than hinder, professional entry into the industry.
