The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) will stop charging penalty fees to agents who leave the industry without giving proper notice with effect from 20 June 2024.
Under Regulation 15.4 of the Property Practitioners Act, property practitioners who want to cease operations must formally notify the PPRA that they don’t want to renew their Fidelity Fund Certificates (FFCs).
In practice, not everyone has been doing this. Property practitioners who quit without giving proper notice have accordingly been accruing penalty fees for failing to renew their FFCs – which some only discovered when they tried to rejoin the industry and applied for a new FFC.
After engaging with the industry, the PPRA has now decided not to apply fees so long as the property practitioner didn’t operate in the regulated sector after their FFC expired.
Agents returning to the industry and applying for a new FFC will instead have to sign an affidavit stating they didn’t engage in any real estate agency activity during their career break.
However, the ruling will not apply retrospectively. Property practitioners who left and rejoined the industry without proper notice before 20 June 2024 will not have their penalties cancelled.
A popular decision
Property industry figures welcomed the change of direction concerning rejoiners as of 20 June 2024. Jan le Roux, Chief Executive of Real Estate Business Owners of South Africa (REBOSA), said: “We have always believed these penalties are illegal and have been pursuing the matter for years. We commend the Chairman, Dr Steven Ngubeni and CEO, Ms Thato Ramaili for arriving at this decision. It is also testament to how open channels of communication and industry consultation can deliver effective results.”
