20190401 (Mon)
Removing the “NO subletting, lease of license’, what say you?
“Estate agent shall act within law and shall avoid selling, subletting or otherwise permitting any other person to use any authority to practice issued to them under the Act or risk facing the most severe of disciplinary sanction imposed by the board…”
Was removed from Item No.7 of the MEAS 2014 Code of Conduct & Ethics. Now it reads as:
7. Acting within the Law
Estate agents shall, at all times, faithfully observe and perform all their obligations under the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act 1981 (amended 2017) and Rules, and other laws of the land, made thereunder and comply with every standard, directive, circular, guideline and decision of the Board.
In practice, there are a lot of license being used for purpose of setting up agencies for senior RENs. In such context, the REA is like a sleeping partner or shareholder. Although the REA holds the entire sole proprietorship, or major (>51%) shareholding, he is not running the show. The REN is.
In law, this is NOT subletting because on paper, it is still the REA who is the main person. However, he does NOT go out to get listing, never open and close door, or even appear in office only once in a while. As long as he is contactable at all time, signs cheques from the client’s account (or now electronically by online transfer) and being aware of the requirement of law , nobody can label him as leasing or subletting his license.
