PETALING JAYA (Sept 9): In a joint statement, five real estate associations announced that members of the public should take precaution to deal only with real estate agents and firms registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP) when engaging any person or persons to carry out real estate services, including selling, buying, renting, leasing, tenancy administration and advisory services.

The associations are the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA), Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM), Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS), Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers (MIPFM), and Persatuan Perunding Hartanah Muslim Malaysia (PEHAM).

According to the statement, this is a reminder that there are people who are not estate agents but are operating an estate agency business illegally — and using many forms of creative ideas to do so. Real estate service is gazetted as a professional service under the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act 1981 (Act 242) to protect the public.

It is also to ensure that if anyone other than those registered carries out work as an agent in any form or shape or manner, they will be committing an offence and can be charged in court with a fine of not more than RM300,000 and imprisonment for not more than three years or both.

While this is the law, many have found the work of an agent "lucrative" and have "jumped in" to provide real estate service. This then defeats the purpose of an Act of Parliament, which is designed primarily to protect public interest and to detail out the professional obligations of what an estate agent should and should not do within the ambit of the law.

The public should also be discerning to check the validity of the practitioner before engaging one and not to pay any fees as provided by the law if the practitioner is found not to be registered, and make formal complaints to the BOVAEP if they have been misled.

The statement highlighted that the verification process starts by visiting http://search.lppeh.gov.my, then keying in the firm name under "Search for Firm", or keying in the agent’s "Name under Member" if he or she is a real estate agent or probationary estate agent, or if he or she is a real estate negotiator, do a "Negotiator Search".

Aside from that, the real estate associations are not against innovation and technology, but they want to reinforce their stand that they cannot condone anyone, either individuals or companies, in any form or shape that does not comply with existing laws of the land where it fits as far as real estate agency practice is concerned.