Estate agents board says only 37 certificates outstanding

The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) has now responded to the high court judgment last Tuesday that it must issue 2021 fidelity fund certificates (FFCs) for a group of 832 estate agents who could not work or get paid because they were not certified.

“The EEAB notes the judgment from the high court regarding the court application by Rebosa to compel it to issue outstanding fidelity fund certificates (FFCs). Rebosa indicated that 832 FFCs were outstanding in relation to the more than 35,000 the EAAB had already successfully issued,” a spokesperson said.

Real Estate Business Owners of South Africa (Rebosa) is an independent, non-profit organisation representing business owners and principals of estate agencies in residential real estate sector.

ALSO READ: Court orders estate agency board to issue hundreds of FFC certificates

According to the spokesperson, the EAAB legal team is studying the judgment and will determine its next course of action. The spokesperson said the EAAB notes that most of the 832 FFCs cited by Rebosa, 629, had been issued, while 166 were duplications.

The balance of 37 certificates will be finalised as soon as the EAAB receives outstanding documentation from the estate agents.

“We note the importance of FFCs for persons’ livelihoods and therefore all compliant FFC applicants deserve to have their FFCs. We remain committed to ensuring that every legitimate FFC applicant can get his or her certificate in time and is able to operate.

“Incomplete documentation and duplicate applications were some of the reasons for outstanding FFC applications,” the spokesperson said.

According to the spokesperson, the EAAB communicated with most of the affected applicants at various intervals in late 2020 and informed them of the delays.

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