Introduction and Background
The Estate Agency Affairs Board(“EAAB”) is a regulatory authority established in terms of the Estate Agency Affairs Act 112 of 1976(“EAA Act”) to maintain and promote the standards of conduct of real estate agents and regulate the activities of estate agents in the public interest. Therefore the EAAB is obliged to exercise oversight and supervision.
In terms of Schedule 2 to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001, the Estate Agency Affairs Board as established in section 2 of the Estate Agency Affairs Act 112 of 1976, is a supervisory body responsible for supervising and enforcing compliance of the FIC Act, or any order, determination or directives made in terms of the Act by estate agents.
It has come to the Board’s attention that a number of estate agents or agencies are concluding mandates which prohibit certain races from entering into lease and/or sale agreements that effectively exclude the public by reason of race, creed, sex or country of national origin etc.
The EAAB is currently conducting an investigation into the alleged racial incident that occurred on the 19 October 2021 in Cape Town. The EAAB intends to hold public hearings to determine the extent and prevalence of the alleged practice and further investigate the efficacy of the application of the code of conduct and EAA Act. The public is invited to provide written comments on the racism practices experienced and these should be submitted to the EAAB using the following email address: publichearings@eaab.org.za before the close of business on 19 November 2021.
The submissions received will also be used to support the process of public hearings which will be scheduled during the course of November 2021.
Issued by the Estate Agency Affairs Board
