Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976 (Act No. 112 of 1976)Code of Conduct5. Duty not to make misrepresentations or false statements or to use harmful marketing techniques |
No estate agent shall--
| 5.1 | in his capacity as an estate agent publish or cause to be published any advertisement which could create the impression that it was published by the owner, seller or lessor of immovable property, or by a prospective purchaser or lessee of immovable property; |
| 5.2 | wilfully or negligently, in relation to his activities as an estate agent, prepare, make or assist any other person to prepare or make any false statement, whether orally or in writing, or sign any false statement in relation thereto knowing it to be false, or knowingly or recklessly prepare or maintain any false books of account or other records; |
| 5.3 | claim to be an expert or to have specialised knowledge in respect of any estate agency service if, in fact, he is not such an expert or does not have such special knowledge; |
| 5.4 | advertise or otherwise market immovable property in respect of which he has been given a mandate to sell or let, at a price or rental other than that agreed upon with the seller or lessor of the property; |
| 5.5 | without derogating from the generality of the aforegoing-- |
| 5.5.1 | wilfully or negligently mislead or misrepresent in regard to any matter pertaining to the immovable property in respect of which he has a mandate; |
| 5.5.2 | use any harmful or misleading marketing technique or method to influence any person to confer upon him a mandate to render any estate agency service or to sell, purchase, let or hire immovable property, having regard to the general experience which such person has concerning property transactions and the circumstances surrounding the transaction or proposed transaction; |
| 5.6 | use any firm or trading name in respect of his business if such name may give rise to confusion on the part of the public in respect of the nature of the business carried on by him; |
| 5.7 | inform a seller or purchaser, or prospective seller or purchaser, of immovable property in respect of which he has been given a mandate to sell or purchase, that he has obtained an offer in respect of the property from a purchaser or the seller (as the case may be), unless such offer-- |
| 5.7.1 | is in writing; and |
| 5.7.2 | has been signed by the offeror; and |
| 5.7.3 | is to the knowledge of the estate agent concerned, a bona fide offer; |
| 5.8 | affix any board or notice to immovable property indicating that such property is for sale or hire or has been sold or let, unless-- |
| 5.8.1 | the seller or lessor (as the case may be) has given his written consent to do so; and |
| 5.8.2 | the estate agent concerned in fact has a mandate to sell or let the property, or in fact has sold or let the property, as the case may be. |