Estate
agency practice in the Nigerian context involves carrying out business-like
activities in the sales, acquisition and leasing of various classes of land and
landed properties by “an estate agent” based on the
instructions of “the client”, in consideration for monetary compensation –
usually a percentage of the value - known as a “commission”
The
person that carries out any act of estate agency activities is referred to as
an estate agent while the person whom such act is carried out on his/her behalf
is known as the client.
Estate
agency practice in Nigeria like other countries of the world contributes
massively to housing delivery system as it helps to meet as well as cater for
the housing/accommodation needs of people.
Due
to the important roles estate agents play in the housing and accommodation
delivery sector of the economy, so many people have become victims of
accommodation fraud from the hands of some of these estate agents who go about
duping genuine accommodation seekers.
Just
of recent (November 18, 2013), there was a wide-spread report of an estate
agent been jailed by a Lagos state High Court for 15years imprisonment because
of defrauding 100 accommodation seekers on a particular property which was
actually leased to him. The said estate agent collected large sums of money
from 100 people in order to help them get accommodation on a property which he
was actually not given any instruction to do or act likewise by the property
owner as he was a tenant.
This
is just one of the many numerous and un-accounted cases of accommodation
seekers that have been defrauded by some of these people who parade themselves
as estate agents in the country.
The
activities of some of these estate agent fraudsters have led to negative
perceptions from people about those genuine estate agency practitioners and
professionals in the country.
As a matter of fact, the poor public
perception and image of professional Estate Agents and in effect the profession
of Estate Surveying and Valuation, is as a result of the activities and
incursion of non professionals into the practice of Estate Agency.
Hence
the urgent need for a regulatory statute to guide the activities of estate
agency in Nigeria and protection of accommodation seekers.
In order to
tackle and checkmate the activities of estate agency fraudsters as well as
estate agency activities in the state, the Lagos state government in November,
2012 established a regulatory agency known
as Lagos State Real Estate Transaction Department (LASRETRAD) in the Ministry
of Housing to regulate and restore confidence in the activities of Estate
Agents in the State.
Among
the responsibilities of the agency are to:
·
Sensitize the public about estate
agency and attendant rules, risks and benefits
·
Keep a register of qualified Estate
Agency Practitioners who voluntarily register with the Department
·
Ensure protection of citizens from
illegal trade practices
·
Prosecute estate agents suspected of
having violated the applicable laws
Most
importantly, to ensure that estate agency practice is no longer an all-comers’
affair as been generally believed it to be, the Lagos State Government went
further in introducing a code of conduct for practitioners, which specifies the
rule of practice, and punishment for defaulters.
The document mandates that a registered agent transacting business must have operational business premises or office within the state that will be verified ; maintain a record of his or her business transactions and shall open a separate bank account for that purpose; ensure that a prospective tenant or purchaser takes physical possession of the property paid for within 14 days except otherwise stated in writing and that his principal performs all necessary obligations due to the government under applicable legislation and regulation.
The document mandates that a registered agent transacting business must have operational business premises or office within the state that will be verified ; maintain a record of his or her business transactions and shall open a separate bank account for that purpose; ensure that a prospective tenant or purchaser takes physical possession of the property paid for within 14 days except otherwise stated in writing and that his principal performs all necessary obligations due to the government under applicable legislation and regulation.
On its own part, the Nigerian Institution of
Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) which is the statutorily established
professional body responsible for Estate Surveying and Valuation practice/activities
in the country has also formed an association known as Association of Estate
Agents in Nigeria (AEAN) for all those people (professionals and
non-professionals) practicing estate agency activities in the country.
The association was purposely set up to in order to
streamline activities of estate agents and checks the activities of non-professionals
in estate agency practice.
It was officially launched on October 22, 2013 at
Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos state, with the Director General of Standards
Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr Ikem Joseph Odumodu as the special guest of
honour.
Among the
goals of the association are to:
·
Sanitize the real estate sector of
the Nigerian economy
·
Develop the Estate Agency into a
respectable professional practice in Nigeria
·
Maintain a database of Estate Agents
in Nigeria
·
Train and re-train Estate Agency
Personnel
·
Ensure a high standard of
professional ethics by members
·
Reduce to barest minimum, incidents
of fraud in property transactions
·
Cooperate with governments and
government agencies.
The newly formed association will be working together with the
Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) as well as partner
with the Lagos state government and Federal government to develop a template for regulation of estate
agency practice in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
While
the Lagos state government has established an agency to regulate and monitor
the activities of estate agents and agency practice in the state, the Nigerian
Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) on its own part has set up
a dependent association (Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria) in terms of
provision of training and study materials for all those people carrying out
estate agency activities as well as those wanting to become estate agents in
the way and manner to be successful in the operation and practice of estate
agency in the country.
The categories as specifically highlighted by the Nigerian Institution of Estate
Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) for membership into the Association of Estate
Agents in Nigeria (AEAN) are:
·
Certified Estate
Agents (CEA) made up of professional Estate Surveyors and Valuers;
·
Registered
Agents made up of professionals from other fields
·
Estate Brokers
for people with minimum qualification of secondary school certificate.
CEA are strictly
reserved for members of the NIESV, while other practicing agents and
professionals can become members under any of other categories.
The Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria
(AEAN) through its parental association; The Nigerian Institution of Estate
Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) is working towards setting parameters for
training, minimum qualification requirements and ultimately present a bill to
the National Assembly for government’s recognition and charter for the
association.
When estate agency practice is statutorily
recognized and established in Nigeria, it will go a long way in helping to curb
the activities of accommodation frauds which people have been subjected to.
The association well duly backed by a government
statute will help guide the activities of those practicing estate agency services
in the country as they will be statutorily mandated to work and carry out their
estate agency services based on the rules and regulations as stipulated by the government
In
the words of Ed Hatch: “In many places in the United States, you
have to be licensed to sell houses. The National Association of Realtors
oversees the behaviour of all estate agents. So, there is a code of ethics.
When someone does something that is a bit shady, he risks losing his license.
If
you are a client and you have a relationship with a licensed agent, you will
understand that there is a legal responsibility to that relationship which the
client cannot share with more than one person. As soon as this country creates
the expectation that estate agents need to be licensed, as soon as that
happens, it becomes a legal issue, and you have got the law involved.
Once the practice becomes
sophisticated, it needs more oversight and when you create the oversight, you
also have to create the licensure and the licensee and also the law; and when
the law is involved, the problems in the practice will go away”
ABOUT
ME
I am a Higher National
Diploma (HND) holder of Estate Management from the prestigious Yaba College of
Technology, Yaba, Lagos state, Nigeria. I also possess a Professional Practice
Certificate in Estate Surveying and Valuation from the Nigerian Institution of
Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).
I am the principal
consultant of Aakient Consultants Ltd, a highly progressive and consolidated
property and construction project management company, which is committed to
providing the highest level of professionalism and services in meeting clients’
real estate needs.
Feel free to contact me
at: aakientconsultants@gmail.com
