AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPERTY PRACTITIONERS ACT, 22 OF 2019

by Bianca van Staden • 3 MIN • 597 Words

The Property Practitioners Bill was published on the 3rd of March 2017 in Government Gazette 40733 and was signed into law by the President on the 2nd of October 2019 as the Property Practitioners Act. On the 16th of December 2021 the President signed the Commencement of the Property Practitioners Act, 2019, whereafter it came into operation on the 1st of February 2022.

Briefly, the Property Practitioners Act (“the Act”) aims to:

regulate property practitioners;
replace the Estate Agency Affairs Board with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority;
provide for the appointment of the members of the Board and related matters;
provide for the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer and other staff members of the Authority;
transform the property practitioners sector;
establish a transformation fund and the research centre on transformation;
regulate enforcement of the provisions of the Act;
substitute the Estate Agents Fidelity Fund with the Property Practitioners Fidelity Fund;
protect and educate consumers;
repeal the Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976; and
regulate matters connected therewith.

The Act seeks to regulate “property practitioners” who are defined as “any natural or juristic person who or which for the acquisition of gain on his, her or its own account or in partnership, in any manner holds himself, herself or itself out as a person who or which directly or indirectly on the instruction of or on behalf of any other person” –

By auction, in sale of execution or otherwise sells, purchases, manages or publicly exhibits for sale property or offers to canvas a seller or purchaser in respect thereof – generally, “auctioneers”, dealers in repossessed properties and related marketing representatives;
Lets or hires or publicly exhibits for hire property or any business undertaking electronically or any other means – generally, “rental agents”;
Collects or receives any monies payable on account of a lease of a property – generally, managing rental agents;
Provides, procures, facilitates, secures or otherwise obtains or markets financing for or in connection of the management, sale or lease of a property including a provider of bridging finance and a bond broker or originator – generally, “bond originators” and “bridging finance providers”;
Assesses property to determine the defects – generally, “property evaluators/assessors”;
Manages property on behalf of another for remuneration, which consequently includes homeowners’ associations – generally, “managing agents”;
Sells, by auction or otherwise, or markets or promotes or advertises any part, unit or section in a property or property development – generally, “auctioneers”, “property developers”, “agents”;
Acts or provides services as intermediary or facilitator with a primary purpose to effect the conclusion of an agreement to sell or purchase but does not include:
A person who does not act in the ordinary course of business;
A natural person offering the property for sale in the ordinary course of his business and who owns the property;
An attorney or candidate attorney;
Any person employed by an attorney to render such services as aforementioned to such attorney;
A Sheriff as defined in the Sheriff’s Act;

The Act expands regulation of the industry beyond the traditional estate Agent and clearly now strives to regulate the activities of commercial property brokers, auctioneers, mortgage/bond originators, bridging finance providers, property inspection services, property managers, property developers, property facilitators and companies selling timeshare and fractional ownership.

The Act creates substantial changes to the industry and shall have impact on the property investor’s activities, particularly in respect of the purchase & sale of investment property, procuring finance, leases and property management.

In subsequent issues, we shall analyse the provisions of the Act in more detail.

Gert C van Staden
Van Staden Inc

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