Property Practitioners Bill – The Latest
REBOSA’s Chief Executive Jan le Roux recently met with a senior legal adviser to the Minister of Human Settlements. The following points of information were derived from this meeting.
The Minister is still using the current Property Practitioners Bill as a starting point but the industry can prepare itself for a total overhaul of this bill.
The regulatory regime will change entirely. In terms of current planning, there will be no official representation from the industry on the future board. This is envisaged as shift of power and control to the national government; with the board being functionaries to ensure compliance with the Act. Board members will all be appointed by the Minister.
The appointment of an industry Ombudsman is in the pipeline to, through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), address all complaints and disputes, between agents or agents and consumers alike. Normal legal remedies will remain in place i.e. appeal to courts of law.
The good news for the industry is that the Minister will interact with stakeholders before taking the next version of the draft Bill to cabinet where after it will be published for public commentary for a period of sixty (60) days. We laud the Minister for this decision.
Furthermore, the Minister is also working with Treasury in an effort to have the real estate industry included in the determination of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. This will certainly give both the Ministry and the industry the recognition it deserves.
REBOSA AGM
On 30 June, REBOSA held its second AGM in Johannesburg. The meeting was oversubscribed and we thank all our members who attended especially those delegates who travelled from around the country to be there.
Invited guests included Property Sector Charter Council CEO, Ms Portia Tau-Sekati who addressed members on Transformation and the Property Sector Codes and Mr Nikita Sigaba, Programme Manager for the 1 Learner – 1 Estate Agency Youth Brigade Programme. Both presentations can be found on our website under industry news.
We are pleased to announce the election of two new members, Mr Paul Stevens and Mr Phumzile Makhosana, to the REBOSA Board of Directors. They will take office with immediate effect. Paul and Phumzile bring a broad range of expertise to the table and will play a vital role in bringing new perspectives that are critical in ensuring REBOSA continues to serve the needs of our membership. I am sure you will join me in congratulating them on their appointment.
REBOSA’s 2015/2016 board of directors is comprised of 10 members who are elected by the membership:
Adrian Goslett
Andrew Golding – Chairman
Bryan Biehler
Jan Davel
Jan le Roux – Chief Executive Officer
Paul Stevens
Phumzile Makhosana
Samuel Seeff
Tony Clarke
Vinesh Ramdass
*In alphabetical order
We would like to thank our outgoing directors, Ms Dina Porteous and Mr Andile Ben-Mazwi for their contribution; characterised by innovative ideas, strategic thinking and their tireless efforts to increase the credibility and visibility of REBOSA in the industry. We wish them both all the very best in their future endeavours and we look forward to their ongoing involvement in REBOSA.
Fidelity Fund Certificate Renewals
We would like to appeal to all our members to please ensure that you renew your Fidelity Fund Certificates for 2016 well before the deadline date of 31 October 2015 (i.e. NOW) so as to avert a potential bottleneck ahead of the anticipated increase in demand.
FFC’s can now be renewed online from the EAAB website (http://www.eaab.org.za/myffc)
When you pay for your FFC renewal, kindly ensure that deposits are referenced with your EAAB seven-digit reference number only. If other details are used the system is unable to match them and this causes delays and other complications.
CPD
REBOSA are still in negotiations with various stakeholders and we have had several high level meetings in this regard. We also had an in depth meeting with the Chairman of the EAAB and made a number of proposals that will address industry concerns if implemented. Parliament has been in recess for most of July so we will be in a position to provide you with further feedback once we are able to resume discussions.
REBOSA Website
The number of unique visitors to our website has grown exponentially over the last few months, motivating us to revamp our website to enhance your user experience.
We now have a new image, new layout and new content. We have designed the new site with an easier navigation menu for ease of use, so you can find exactly what you need quickly and conveniently. Over the past weeks we have introduced many new features to enable users to access our notices and hear about our latest news and events. One of the new features on our website is our blog, so you can look forward to frequent news, reviews and industry updates in the future.
We invite you to send us your comments and feedback and to share industry news with us so we can keep the blog current and relevant.
Discontinuation of Accepting Cash on the EAAB Premises
To further minimise the risks of handling cash, the Estate Agency Affairs Board will no longer be accepting cash on its premises with effect from 01 August 2015. Estate Agents and other stakeholders are hereby encouraged to utilise following methods to avoid delays in processing their payments:
• Point of sale through the credit/debit card machine at the cashier’s office;
• Direct deposits into the EAAB’s bank account at the nearest branch;
• Electronic Banking System (EFT) via the internet and
• Credit card payments on the MyEAAB online portal.
NB: Estate Agents are reminded to always use their 7 digit reference number when using any of the abovementioned methods of payment.
Property Valuation Act
The President has, in terms of section 21 of the Property Valuation Act, 2014 (Act No. 17 of 2014), determined 01 August 2015 as the date on which the said Act shall come into operation.
President Zuma assented to the Act in July 2014. The Act aims to, amongst others, provide for the establishment, functions and powers of the Office of the Valuer-General.
It will also provide for the regulation of the valuation of property that has been identified for land reform as well as property that has been identified for acquisition or disposal by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.
