He faked signatures on tenancy agreement and pocketed $1,000 a month from rentals

A REAL estate agent forged two copies of a tenancy agreement to pocket $1,000 monthly from the rental of an apartment without the knowledge of both landlord and tenant.

Yesterday, David Wee Sim Chye, 47, was fined $4,000 by District Judge Toh Yung Cheong after he admitted to one charge of forgery.

A district court heard that operations manager Pek Kain Hock, 51, engaged Wee to rent out his condominium unit at Parc Oasis in Jurong East in May 2007.

Wee, who runs his own business, YMB International Realtors, managed to find a tenant, American Warren Duplantis.

But the real estate agent had forged the signatures of the tenant and Mr Pek on the two copies of the tenancy agreement.

Mr Duplantis ended up paying a monthly rental of $5,800, which was $1,000 more than the $4,800 that was agreed between Wee and Mr Pek.

Five months later, the American met Mr Pek to discuss the early termination of the tenancy agreement.

He told the landlord that his own signature in Mr Pek’s copy of the tenancy agreement had been forged.

Mr Pek also learnt that the tenant’s copy of the tenancy agreement had stated a monthly rental of $5,800, and his signature in that document had also been forged.

Investigations showed that Wee had committed the forgeries to pocket a sum of $1,000 monthly from the tenancy agreement.

His lawyer told the court that the father of two had contacted the tenant in October 2007 to return the difference to him, well before the charges were preferred.

Full restitution of the money was made in June this year.

Wee, who had a second charge considered, could have been jailed for up to four years and/or fined.

Source: Straits Times, 26 Nov 2010

SINGAPORE: The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) released new rules on Friday that will set standards and regulate the conduct of estate agency work.

From 15 November, salespersons cannot represent both buyers and sellers in a property transaction under the Estate Agents (Estate Agency Work) Regulations.

It will also prohibit estate agents and salespersons from handling cash in certain transactions or referring their clients to any moneylender.

Other provisions will kick in on 1 January.

They include prescribed estate agency agreements that estate agents will use with their clients for the sale, purchase or lease of residential property in Singapore.

Individuals who undertake estate agency work will also be required to take part in continuing professional development programmes for a minimum of 6 hours per year from 2011.

From March next year, the regulations will require salespersons to display their estate agent’s card, when doing estate agency work. This is to allow the industry sufficient time to comply with the estate agent’s card requirement.

Separately, the Estate Agents (Licensing and Registration) Regulations and the Estate Agents (Fees) Regulations will take effect on 1 November.

Application for estate agent’s license and salesperson’s registration will start from that date and those who successfully register with CEA will have their names published on its website from 1 January.

Those who do not meet the licensing or registration criteria will not be granted a license or registration. This includes those with criminal records, especially for fraud and dishonesty.

Also from January next year, it will be an offence for sales persons who are not registered with CEA to handle estate agency work.

They must also have written agreements with estate agents before they can practise.

Source: Channel News Asia, 29 Oct 2010

The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) released new rules today that will set standards and regulate the conduct of estate agency work.

Estate Agents (Estate Agency Work) Regulations 2010
The Estate Agents (Estate Agency Work) Regulations 2010 (“EAW”) contains two Codes in its schedules: (i) the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care, applicable to estate agents and salespersons; and (ii) the Code of Practice applicable to estate agents. The two Codes will guide estate agents and salespersons and help to enhance professionalism in the industry and encourage ethical behaviour and good service to consumers.

The EAW will prohibit dual representation by salespersons (i.e. no salesperson is allowed to act for both buyer & seller or landlord & tenant in any property transaction), and prohibit estate agents and salespersons from handling cash in certain transactions or referring their clients to any moneylender. The EAW also contains responsibilities for estate agents. For instance, it stipulates guidelines regarding advertisements and requires estate agents to have systems and processes for the management and supervision of their business and salespersons. Estates agents are also required to have a proper complaints handling system. These provisions of the EAW will take effect from 15 November 2010 onwards.

Other provisions, which will start from 1 January 2011, include the following: prescribed estate agency agreements that estate agents will use with their clients for the sale, purchase or lease of residential property in Singapore, and the requirement for persons doing estate agency work to have professional indemnity insurance coverage. It will also be a requirement for every individual who undertakes estate agency work to take part in continuing professional development programmes for a minimum of 6 hours per year from 2011.

The EAW will require salespersons to display their estate agent’s card, when doing estate agency work. This will take effect from 1 March 2011 to allow the industry sufficient time to comply with the estate agent’s card requirement. The full Regulations are available on CEA’s website at www.cea.gov.sg

Commencement of Other Regulations and Regulatory Requirements
 The Estate Agents (Licensing and Registration) Regulations 2010 and the Estate Agents (Fees) Regulations 2010 will take effect on 1 November 2010. Application for estate agent’s licence and salesperson’s registration will commence on the same date. The application forms can be downloaded from CEA’s website at www.cea.gov.sg. Applications should be submitted through the respective estate agents by 30 November 2010. Those who successfully register with CEA will be published on CEA’s website from 1 January 2011 for the public to check. As at 22 October 2010, the estate agents informed CEA that they have 32,800 existing salespersons who meet CEA’s criteria  ¹.

To uphold standards in the industry and safeguard consumer interests, those who do not meet the licensing or registration criteria will not be granted a licence or registration. This includes those with criminal records, especially for fraud and dishonesty. For individuals with such records, the Council will assess them on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors such as the severity of the offence and time lapsed.

From 1 January 2011, all persons performing estate agency work must be registered with CEA as salespersons via their estate agents and it will be an offence if they operate without registration. They must also have written agreements with estate agents before they can practise.

Besides this, the Estate Agents (Composition of Offences) Regulations 2010, which lists the compoundable offences, and the Estate Agents (Appeals) Rules 2010, which provides information on appeals procedures for persons aggrieved by a decision of the Council or a Disciplinary Committee, will also commence on 1 November 2010. The timeline for commencement of the various regulations and regulatory requirements is summarised in Annex A.

Meeting with Major Industry Players

As part of our on-going industry engagement, Mr Greg Seow, Council President, met major industry players on 29 October 2010. He shared with them CEA’s expectations of the industry and sought their cooperation for the new regulatory requirements. He stressed that CEA would not hesitate to take firm action against estate agents and salespersons for non-compliance. He urged the industry to work together with CEA to uphold and improve overall professionalism and ethics of estate agents and salespersons.

Issued by:

COUNCIL FOR ESTATE AGENCIES
29 October 2010

ANNEX A – TIMELINES FOR COMMENCEMENT OF VARIOUS REGULATIONS AND REGULATORY REQUIRMENTS

¹  These salespersons either have passed an industry examination or have met the minimum of 3 property transactions over the last 2 years to qualify for the transitional arrangement given to pass the CEA examination by 31 December 2011.

Source: CEA

THE Government has appointed key personnel to a new statutory board set up to regulate the real estate agency industry, which starts operating today.

The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) was set up in response to growing public complaints about errant agents. Mr Greg Seow, chairman of AMP Capital Investors (Singapore), has been appointed as president. Its executive director is Mr Chionh Chye Khye, a senior civil servant.

From Jan 1 next year, all property agents will have to be registered with the CEA and have to meet certain standards.

A statement issued by the Ministry of National Development said that key elements of this framework include enhanced licensing conditions for estate agents, registration of salespersons, regulation on the conduct of estate agency work, mechanisms for discipline and dispute resolution, and public education. It also bars property agencies and agents from simultaneously acting as moneylenders by featuring a new code on ethics and conduct, which bans agents from making referrals to moneylenders, among other practices.

The CEA is empowered to investigate complaints and impose penalties, such as fines, suspension and revocation, against errant estate agents and salespersons. Serious offenders may be prosecuted in court.

New and existing real estate agents can apply to the CEA for the licence from Nov1. The public can find out more details by calling the CEA on 1800-643-2555 or visiting www.cea.gov.sg

Source: Straits Times, 22 Oct 2010

PROPERTY firms have begun the process of registering their agents as the new statutory board set up to regulate real estate agents here, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), begins operations today.

With CEA up and running, new and existing real estate firms can apply to the council for new licences from Nov 1.

The firms are also required to register their agents under the new regulatory framework, which states that anyone doing estate agency work must be registered as a salesperson before he/she can practise.

Under a transitional arrangement provided by CEA, firms have until today to submit a list of existing agents who have passed an industry examination or have completed at least three property deals over the last two years.

After this, agents will have to apply as a new salesperson and satisfy the full registration criteria – which includes passing a new CEA examination – to practise.

BT understands that as of yesterday, a few hundred small property firms have submitted lists of their agents who meet the transitional criteria.

But most of the larger property firms have yet to make their submissions ahead of today’s deadline.

Agency bosses here have estimated that the current pool of more than 30,000 agents will shrink by a third to about 20,000 once the new rules kick in.

They also hope that the government’s move to set up CEA will ensure that property firms and agents have the knowledge to provide professional service while working ethically.

Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said yesterday that the establishment of CEA is a major milestone to raise professionalism in the real estate agency industry and protect consumer interest.

Added CEA: ‘The immediate focus for CEA is to prepare the estate agents (property firms) and salespersons to meet the higher standards of the enhanced licensing and new registration framework.’

The council will be headed by executive director Chionh Chye Khye, who was previously executive director (designate) with the Ministry of National Development.

The Business Times had earlier in December 2009 reported that he had been picked to helm the new statutory board.

Greg Seow, chairman of AMP Capital Investors (Singapore), has been appointed as CEA’s president.

Other council members include representatives from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Housing and Development Board, the Consumers Association of Singapore, and the National University of Singapore’s real estate department.

Source: Business Times, 22 Oct 2010

Stricter standards from sector’s first regulator to target errant agents

FEWER property agents will be plying the trade from next year, but they will – hopefully – be better informed.

The property industry is bracing itself for a mass cull of estate agents as the industry’s first ever regulator, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), begins operations tomorrow.

Agency bosses estimate that the current national 30,000-strong pool of agents will shrink by a third to about 20,000 overnight because of stricter standards laid down by the new council.

The new regulations mainly involve the strict enforcement of industry exams, and are aimed at ridding the industry of errant, sub-standard agents who have tarred its reputation.

Industry watchers expect the rising number of complaints in recent years to decline as the quality of agents rises.

Agencies are expected to submit a final list of names of agents who make the cut to the CEA by midnight tomorrow.

Registration with the council, which comes under the Ministry of National Development (MND), will become mandatory from Jan 1.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said his firm’s headcount will slide from 6,000 to about 4,000.

HSR chief executive Patrick Liew said his firm will lose about half of its 7,000 agents.

It is the same story islandwide: Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh said its number of agents will fall from 5,000 to 3,000, while ERA Asia Pacific will lose almost half of its agents, falling from 8,000 to 4,200. At OrangeTee, the 3,600 agent pool will shrink to 2,500.

The CEA was set up after legislation to regulate property agents for the first time was passed in Parliament last month. It was a milestone for the real estate sector here.

For many years, consumers had lobbied for greater regulation of an industry dogged by a rising number of complaints against agents who were attracted by Singapore’s periodic property booms.

Complaints against real estate firms and agents shot up almost 60 per cent in recent years: from 670 in 2005 to 1,070 last year, according to the Consumers Association of Singapore.

To make the cut, agents must have passed existing industry examinations. Those who have not must have brokered at least three deals in the past two years. The latter group are given more time to pass the exams.

Agents who fail to meet these criteria will be treated like new applicants who must take new courses and a stricter exam set by the CEA.

Dennis Wee’s Mr Koh said the agencies had been prepared for the new regime ‘for some time’ as a result of frequent updates from the MND.

‘The quantity of agents will go down, but at least the quality will go up, because for the first time, all agents have to pass an exam before being able to practise in the property market,’ he said.

HSR’s Mr Liew noted that smaller to mid-sized agencies would have to spend money to ensure their systems were up to scratch to meet CEA standards.

Further industry consolidation is also expected. Already, C&H Realty has merged with its sister company C&H Properties to reduce overhead costs.

‘There will be less competition in the industry now, which will be a good thing as service standards should go up,’ said C&H Realty managing director Albert Lu.

The existing Institute of Estate Agents (IEA) and Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA) will still operate.

Mr Ismail, who is also the IEA president, said the institute, which has about 2,000 property agents as members, will apply to be an approved trainer to offer training for new recruits to property agencies.

SAEA chief executive Tan Tee Khoon said the body, with the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers, will continue its enhanced accreditation scheme, which will complement the Government’s mandatory licensing scheme.

Property agents interviewed welcomed the regulation of the industry, saying that for too long, inexperienced agents or part-timers made promises they could not deliver, and tarnished the profession.

Property agent Jasmine Png, 29, said agents who are experienced will not be affected by the rules. ‘The regulations will make sure only the professionals make the cut,’ she added.

—————————————————————
WHO WILL MAKE THE CUT?
PropNex: 4,000 of its 6,000 agents
HSR: 3,500 of its 7,000 agents
Dennis Wee: 3,000 of its 5,000 agents
ERA Asia Pacific: 4,200 of its 8,000 agents
OrangeTee: 2,500 of its 3,600 agents

Source: Straits Times, 21 Oct 2010

Most property agents in Singapore get a lot of their income from commissions, which can drive them to try to close sales at the expense of customers’ interests, the panellists said.

‘As long as the compensation package drives you the other way, it is very hard for you to be professional,’ said Far East Organization’s chief operating officer Chia Boon Kuah.

Leong Sze Hian, immediate past-president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and a Wharton Fellow, agreed.

He reckons a minimum wage system would help somewhat.

‘As long as you have a lot of people who don’t earn enough to make a decent living, or who have to make a decent living in a way that loses the trust of the customers, then how can you be professional?’ Mr Leong asked a room full of estate agents.

Mr Chia and Mr Leong were part of a panel on developing world-class real estate professionals in Singapore at the inaugural International Real Estate Congress.

The congress is jointly organised by the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) and Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA).

The other two panellists – PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail and ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim – said growing the public’s trust in the profession is crucial.

Most panellists and real estate professionals are hopeful that the government’s move to set up a statutory board – the Council for Estate Agencies – to regulate the industry will ensure that property firms and agents have the knowledge to provide professional service while working ethically.

They noted that this is especially important as the real estate markets become more globalised.

In recent years, foreigners have shown an increasing interest in real estate in Singapore and other Asian cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, said Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu at the opening of the congress yesterday.

‘To serve an increasingly diverse global clientele, the role of the real estate professional will have to evolve to encompass regions beyond the local market,’ Ms Fu said.

‘With a global real estate market, real estate practitioners will need to possess the requisite knowledge on legislation and policies of many countries.’

Source: Business Times, 6 Oct 2010

PROPERTY agents are locked in a last-minute scramble to sit and pass by Oct 22 a recognised industry examination critical to their livelihood.

Under a new Estate Agents Bill passed in Parliament last month, all property firms and their sales staff will have to meet new standards in order to continue working.

For example, it has become mandatory for existing sales agents to pass one of eight state-recognised industry examinations before they can be registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), a new statutory board set up to regulate the property-agency sector.

The sector has some 1,700 estate- agency businesses and 30,000 property agents.

Registration with CEA, which comes under the Ministry of National Development (MND), will become mandatory from Jan 1 next year.

If the sales staff do not meet the deadline and have not completed at least three property transactions over the last two years before Oct 22, they would be required to meet the full registration criteria required of new sales staff.

That means taking a course available from next month, before sitting a new exam devised by the CEA. On top of that, the applicant must possess at least four O-level passes or the equivalent to meet CEA’s criteria.

That explained the spike in numbers of those applying to sit the industry exams offered by organisations such as the Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA) and the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV).

While real-estate firms HSR and PropNex have long been urging their agents to take such exams, their in-house trainers still have to work double time to make sure sales staff complete the necessary courses and meet the Oct 22 deadline.

SAEA chief executive Tan Tee Khoon told my paper that about 5,000 property sales staff have registered themselves for the Common Examination for Salespersons (CES) this month alone – twice as many as in a usual month.

Dr Tan said that interest in the exam started climbing in August last year, after MND and other agencies began looking into ways to strengthen the regulatory framework.

About 250 of HSR’s newly recruited agents will be sitting the last round of CES on Oct 16 and 17, said HSR chief executive Patrick Liew. The 20-year-old estate agency takes in about 200 to 300 newcomers every month, and Mr Liew is concerned that newbies from the August and September intakes would not be able to meet CEA’s qualifications.

He said: “A lot of these people have joined the industry recently…Usually, if you introduce a new law and it starts on Jan 1, usually everything else applies after January, but in this case they have retroactively applied the law to Oct 22.

“The people who can no longer take the November examination have to rush to take it in October. That’s the reason why all of us (in the industry) have a fair share of people who go through this last-minute rush.”

Ms Evelyn Chang, executive director of SISV, said that the number of people taking the Common Examination for House Agents (Ceha) has doubled to 500, indicating a “sizeable” number of sales staff forming their own agencies. The last Ceha, currently ongoing, will be replaced by a new exam to be devised by CEA in future.

Mr Adam Tan, corporate communications manager of PropNex, said 14 batches of agents, or up to 1,680, have gone for the Certified Estate Agent course in the past few months. Normally, the firm trains only one batch of agents per month. But it is now urging all those who failed the exam in the past, or those who have put off going for the course until now, to meet this criterion.

“We’re pushing so hard because we know that the new exam is likely to be more stringent. And for those who are not academically inclined, that’s going to be a problem,” said Mr Tan.

“You may be a great agent, but if you fail the academic paper, then all your talents and experience are wasted.”

New stat board

THE Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) is a new statutory board set up by the Ministry of National Development to police realestate agencies. The council will start work on Oct 22.

It takes over the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s current role in licensing property firms. Those who want to continue operating next year should send their applications to CEA from Nov 1.

By Oct 22, property firms have to submit a list of names of their existing sales staff, who must meet CEA’s registration criteria in order to continue practising. This means having to pass an industry exam or complete at least three property transactions over the last two years to qualify.

Source: myPaper, 6 Oct 2010

All property agents must be registered with Council for Estate Agencies from next year

PARLIAMENT yesterday passed the Estate Agents Bill which will regulate property agents for the first time, marking an important milestone for Singapore’s real estate industry.

The new statutory board to oversee the industry – the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) – will begin operations on Oct 22, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

From Jan 1 next year, all property agents will have to be registered with the CEA and have to meet certain standards to continue working.

The Bill comes as the Government moves to address the standards of an industry dogged by a rising number of complaints against errant agents.

It follows a housing Bill sped through Parliament and passed in July to close a loophole which had allowed moneylenders to lodge caveats on HDB flats to claim a stake in sale proceeds.

MPs had highlighted the role of irresponsible housing agents who act in cahoots with moneylenders to mislead home owners as one of the unethical practices seen in recent years as Singapore experiences a property boom.

The new regulatory landscape forbids property agencies and agents from simultaneously acting as moneylenders. It also features a new code on ethics and conduct which bans agents from making referrals to moneylenders, among other practices, said Mr Mah.

Many MPs who spoke yesterday supported the Bill, although they also raised various concerns, ranging from foreigners operating as agents to commission guidelines and consumer awareness.

MPs Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) and Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) asked if foreigners without knowledge of local laws should be allowed to work as agents. Mr Ang Mong Seng (Hong Kah GRC) went a step further to ask if foreigners could be banned from such jobs.

Mr Mah said ‘no’ as such measures would contravene the various free trade agreements Singapore has signed with its trading partners and would be considered a discriminatory practice.

However, although foreigners will still be allowed to operate as property agents, they will need to qualify for a work pass from the Manpower Ministry, comply with new rules and be registered with an agency under the new Bill.

Questions also surfaced from MPs such as Mr Cedric Foo (West Coast GRC) on how the new standard agreements – to replace current commission contracts between agents and buyers – will protect consumer interests.

Mr Mah said the new standard contracts will remove the auto-renewal clause that current contracts contain, and will also require the disclosure of any potential conflict of interest by the agent.

It will also allow for the commission to be paid to the agent only upon the completion of the transaction.

‘Our main intention is to protect the consumer and we will endeavour to do so as much as possible without micro-managing the industry,’ said Mr Mah.

Many MPs spoke on the issue of commissions, urging the CEA to fix commission rates. Mr Mah said the CEA cannot do so as this would be anti-competitive, and it was better for such rates to be influenced by market forces.

He also assured MPs that the ministry will work with the industry to ensure a smooth transition – a concern raised by Madam Ho and MP Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC).

‘We have been working with the industry for over a year, consulted them on the key changes and prepared them for the transition,’ Mr Mah said.

Most importantly, he added, the key to a healthy, professional industry was public education – a theme MPs touched upon. ‘We can have seminars, forums, and consumer guides…but CEA cannot do it on its own,’ he said.

He advised consumers to look up their agents in the CEA’s central database – which has details of all registered agents – before engaging them.

‘The purpose of the new regulatory framework is not just to safeguard consumers against errant agents and salespersons, but also to preserve the integrity of the industry and the reputation of the large number of agents and salespersons providing professional service,’ he said.

‘Consumers must also exercise due vigilance in their property transactions. Only then can the new regime succeed.’

Source: Straits Times, 16 Sep 2010

THE new statutory board being set up to regulate the real estate agency industry here aims to start operating on Oct 22, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said yesterday.

The date was announced after Parliament passed the Estate Agents Bill, which calls for the creation of the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA). The council, which will fall under MND’s purview, will take over the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s current role in licensing property firms.

CEA will implement a new regulatory framework for the real estate agency industry here. Key elements of this framework include enhanced licensing conditions for property agencies, registration of agents, regulations on the conduct of estate agency work, mechanisms for discipline and dispute resolution, and public education.

The Bill will put in place a robust legislative and regulatory framework to raise the professionalism of the industry, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told Parliament.

The existing system is inadequate to deter and deal with abuses and unscrupulous practices by errant estate firms and agents, he said.

‘While the majority of estate agents (property firms) and salespersons are providing professional service, a few black sheep have seriously tarnished the image of the industry, undermined consumer confidence and hurt the interests of consumers they are supposed to represent,’ Mr Mah said.

Right now, there some 1,700 property firms and around 30,000 agents in Singapore.

Complaints against real estate firms and agents have climbed in recent years. In 2005, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) received 670 complaints. But by 2009, the number had increased almost 60 per cent to over 1,070.

The most common complaints were that agents provided unsatisfactory service, were unprofessional in their conduct, misrepresented information, gave wrong advice or used pressure tactics, Mr Mah said.

The Bill will allow stronger government regulation. CEA will be able to investigate and take disciplinary action against errant firms and agents. Right now, individual property agents are not regulated. But from Jan 1, 2011, they will need to register with CEA through the firms they represent before they can do estate agency work. They will also need to pass a mandatory CEA examination.

CEA will also start to accept applications for licences to operate a property firm from Nov 1.

Real estate firms must continue to be responsible and accountable for the supervision and control of their agents, Mr Mah said. In line with this, the Bill calls for greater industry accountability. Each agent will be allowed to operate with only one firm at any time, rather than represent multiple firms, as is common practice today.

CEA will also make public education part of its work to encourage greater consumer prudence.

Source: Business Times, 16 Sep 2010