The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) is urging consumers to be vigilant when doing property transactions and always check with them if the estate agent they are dealing with has a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate.
The Board says it has noted an increase in complaints against estate agents or people purporting to be such by consumers of which most of them upon investigating were not registered estate agents.
By law estate agents are required to have a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate issued by the Board for them to practice.
“We urge consumers to ask for this certificate before entering into any property transaction with anyone claiming to be an estate agent. This will ensure that they are protected against illegal practitioners,” said Board Acting Chief Executive Office Mr Nikita Sigaba.
Compared to the same period last financial year, Sigaba added that there has been an increased number of complaints lodged against estate agents both legal and illegal.
“For the first and second quarter we have received almost 2500 complaints from consumers against estate agents and with the festive season upon us and people preparing for next year we urge people to be careful and make sure the agent they deal with has a valid fidelity fund certificate,” added Sigaba.
Sigaba added that not all the complaints were resolved by the Board since some falls outside of its jurisdiction.
