“Registered Real Estate Agents are professionals approved and overseen by the Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB), established under the Estate Agents Act in Kenya,” stated the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK).
The law permits individuals to register if they engage in activities such as selling, buying, or renting land and buildings on behalf of property owners for business purposes.
“We wish to inform the public that the current Estate Agents Act, with a few required amendments, is adequate and superior to the proposed bill concerning Estate Agents. It is comprehensive and encompasses all categories of estate agency; hence, there is no need for additional regulation,” remarked ISK.
“We recommend the formulation of a ‘Real Estate Developers Bill.’ This bill should primarily focus on regulating developers involved in constructing real estate units, and buying and subdividing plots for selling purposes. Furthermore, we call upon the Ministry of Lands to allocate more funds to empower the existing EARB in order to curb unregistered estate agents,” emphasized Mr Eric Nyadimo, President of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya.
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The proposal in the bill to have a non-professional board regulate professionals is shocking to ISK. They affirm their stance of not allowing their members to be regulated alongside developers who are businesspeople.
Some of these developers are Land Buying Companies engaged in land subdivision and are involved in mass land sales to the general public.
Additionally, the institution noted that there have been numerous media reports of the public, especially Kenyans in the Diaspora and foreign investors, falling victim to fraud.
“We also wish to reiterate that there are many reliable and honest developers who meet their contractual obligations. Existing laws can, therefore, be utilized to address fraudulent cases even as a new Act to rein in rogue developers is being formulated. We further advise members of the public to ensure that they always deal with Registered Estate Agents,” Mr Eric Nyadimo, President of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya, added.
This issue has been exacerbated by land-buying companies run by businesspeople with little or no training in real estate. Their primary motive is profit, some disregard ethical business practices, resulting in chaos in the sector.
The institution further stresses the urgency of registering and regulating land trading companies to protect public interest and prevent the reckless subdivision of agricultural lands unfit for residential use.
