Legislation: Property Practitioners Bill update

Contrary to expectations, no second reading debate on the Property Practitioners Bill took place this week. As a result, the Bill’s ‘B’ version has not been sent to the NCOP for concurrence, as Legalbrief Policy Watch assumed would be the case, reports Pam Saxby. 

The debate has been scheduled for Tuesday, according to the latest updated National Assembly programme. This notwithstanding, once in force the Bill will: repeal the 1976 Estate Agency Affairs Act, replacing the Estate Agency Affairs Board with a property practitioners regulatory authority; introduce improved monitoring mechanisms; strengthen existing consumer protection measures; and modify the search and seizure powers of inspectors, among other things by making a warrant a precondition to entering a private residence where the business of a property practitioner is conducted. It is also expected to transform the property practitioners’ sector and has a chapter dedicated to facilitating this. According to parliamentary documents tracking the progress of Bills before the National Assembly and NCOP, the proposed new piece of legislation was re-tagged as a section 76 Bill during the first week of November. As a result, it will need to be considered by each provincial legislature and may even be subjected to nationwide public hearings. Given that this is a time-consuming process, it is not likely to be concluded before next year’s general elections.

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