Mandatory Authorization to Real Estate Agents

Mandatory Authorization to Real Estate Agents Mandatory Authorization to real estate agents. In the new period, real estate agents will not be able to be work without a license. The "Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation on Real Estate Trade" of the Ministry of Trade was published in the Official Gazette. Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan made statements on the subject; Making her statement in writing, Minister Pekcan stated that the regulation on the real estate sector was prepared by taking the opinions and contributions of the relevant parties as well as the sector representatives. Pekcan said, "With the regulation, we aim to increase the service quality in real estate activities, to eliminate unfair competition and to prevent informality." Stating that with this method, they aim to ensure that real estate activities are carried out in an easy, fast and safe environment under fair competition conditions, Pekcan noted that they aim to make the sector more qualified and achieve a healthy operation. Pointing out that approximately 2 million 400 thousand real estate sales were made last year and the registered economic value of these sales was approximately 390 billion TL, Minister Pekcan used the following statements: “In our country, 50 percent of real estate sales are made through real estate businesses and there are over 60 thousand businesses engaged in real estate activities. On the other hand, it is estimated that due to unregistered activities, more than this number mediated the purchase and sale of real estate. With the arrangement we have made, we aim to create a transparent, accountable and registered real estate sector and to eliminate unfair competition by closely monitoring the sector.” Reminding that real estate businesses currently serving are given a deadline until August 31, 2020 to obtain authorization, Pekcan emphasized that real estate activities cannot be carried out without authorization and administrative sanctions will be imposed on those who do real estate without authorization. Pekcan emphasized that even if more than one real estate business operated in a workplace before, only one of them was given an authorization certificate, and emphasized that from now on, separate authorization certificates will be issued for all businesses operating in the same workplace. Thus, both the company and contractual business relationship will be pursued, documented that all actors in both sectors will reach the net data related to operating in this area Pekcan stated that as in the example of countries that have developed real estate market, with trained real estate operations in Turkey, people with the necessary competencies and work experience will the main operators.   Minister Pekcan used the following statements: “From now on, in order to open a new real estate business, it is necessary to have at least 100 hours of training in real estate trading and at least 12 months or 6 months of real estate consultancy according to graduation. Those who do not have at least 100 hours of vocational training and do not have professional experience will not be able to open a real estate business. In addition, real estate business owners and company officials will have an obligation to operate with Level 5 and those who are insured in the real estate business with a Level 4 professional competence certificate. In this way, a significant contribution will be made to the quality of the workforce in the sector and consumers will be able to receive better quality service.”   Service Fee Limit Will Be Subject To Inspection Reminding that in 2018, the upper limit of the service fee was determined as 4 percent in intermediation for purchase and sale and as a monthly rental fee in leasing, Minister Pekcan said that in the past 2 years, real estate businesses have been seen that have charged service fees above these limits, and she underlined that this situation will not be allowed.   Minister Pekcan noted the following: “The upper limit of the service fee, which is 4 percent in real estate purchase and sale intermediation and the upper limit of the service fee applied as a monthly rental fee in leasing will be effectively inspected and administrative sanctions will be applied to real estate agents who collect service fees above these limits from citizens and the authorization documents of the enterprises insisting on this practice will be closed.” Stating that this will contribute to increasing the service quality and preventing consumer victimization, Minister Pekcan stated that businesses that do not operate in accordance with the legislation will be purified from the sector. In addition, Pekcan emphasized that the regulation was made for the first time regarding the advertisements for the real estate trade, and said, “Enterprises that does not have an authorization certificate will not be able to become a member of the advertisement sites.” In addition to these, Pekcan announced that it will be mandatory to include the authorization number in all advertisements and to use the business name or title in the authorization certificate, and used the following statements: “In immovable advertisements, misleading information such as giving incomplete or incorrect information about the immovable or incorrectly marking the location of the immovable on the map will not be allowed.”