How Malaysian Estate Agency Law Safeguards Public Interests?

Dear Readers,

In the last post, I mentioned that since the enactment of the VAEA Act 1981 and its subsidiary laws, rules, professional practising standards, practice notes and circulars and the likes, estate agency in Malaysia was no longer a business governed only by normal law of contract or commerce - it has since been additionaly regulated by the aforementioned estate agency law over and above the normal business/contract law.

Its aim was to ensure that the public is served only by duly qualified professional estate agents and by their duly and properly employed assistants known as the Negotiators:
1) Not any Tom, Dick and Harry can practise as a real estate agent (see for examples: Sec 22A, 22C, 23(1)...Rules 102 & 110, the other standards, Circulars and practice notes, );
2) Nor can anyone be simply employed as Negotiators (see for examples: Standard 9 of MEAS 1999, Circulars 11/96 & 1/2000, Circular 2/97, Circulars 11/98 & 12/98, Circular 2/2004...

The Malaysian estate agency law has detailed stipulations to ensure that the public is served only by
1) qualified and practising real estate agents - not the sleeping one(s) who "sublet" or "lease-out" or "loan" their registration/licence to non-registered persons through various means, fronts or veils; AND,
2) Negotiators who are not on loose attachments nor are illegally employed by either the "sleeping principals" or "those who 'loan' licences" from them in blatant contravention of existing estate agency law and stipulations...

What exactly are those stipulations?

Well, we will examine them in detalis in the next few posts...without losing sight of the "big picture" framework.

Stay connected to this blog for more...

Cheers,
Douglas GT Tan