The PPRA and what your estate agent may legally do
Fidelity Fund Certificates, written mandates, trust accounts and the disclosure form you must receive before signing.
Who the PPRA is
The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority replaced the Estate Agency Affairs Board under the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019. It regulates everyone who earns money from marketing, selling, letting or managing property — agents, agencies, bond originators, bridging financiers and managing agents.
The Fidelity Fund Certificate
A property practitioner may not trade without a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate for the current calendar year. If they don't have one, they are not entitled to a single rand of commission, even if they found the buyer.
- Ask for the current-year FFC for the individual agent and the agency.
- A candidate practitioner must work under a supervising principal.
- No FFC means no commission — this has been enforced in court.
Mandates and disclosure
Your mandate must be in writing and must state the commission, the mandate type (sole or open) and the period. Before you sign an offer to purchase, the practitioner must give you a completed mandatory disclosure form listing known defects. If it isn't given, the seller and agent carry the risk of those defects.
Your money
Deposits and rentals must be held in an audited trust account, never a business account. If a practitioner misappropriates trust money you may claim against the Property Practitioners Fidelity Fund.
Two minutes. See if it actually stuck.