Who is specifically exempt from the Act?
Will I lose my licence if I am not employed?
I am going to work for another agency - what should I do?
Do I need an agent's licence if my company is licensed as an agent?
A salesperson or branch manager has left our agency - do I need to notify you?
Can an agent, branch manager or salesperson work for more than one company?
Who is specifically exempt from the Act?
The following are specifically exempt from the requirement to be licensed under the Act:
- lawyers and conveyancing practitioners, within the meaning of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (refer to section 7 of the Act)
- licensed auctioneers (refer to section 8 of the Act)
- any persons exempted by regulation under section 156(1)(a) of the Act. There are currently no such exemptions.
Will I lose my licence if I am not employed?
No, to work as a salesperson, you must hold a current licence. You do not have to be employed by an agent to hold a licence but you can only carry out real estate work if you are working on behalf of an agent. If you have a gap in your employment, your licence remains valid until its expiry date. You must apply to renew your licence before it expires.
I am going to work for another agency - what should I do?
If you move to another agency, you need to let us know. You should complete a change of circumstances form and send it to the Authority.
Do I need an agent's licence if my company is licensed as an agent?
Under section 44(2) of the 2008 Act in order for a company to be licensed as an agent, at least one officer of the company must also hold an agent's licence as an individual. This is a change from the 1976 Act, where officers of the company had to be eligible to hold an agent's licence, but were not necessarily personally licensed.
A salesperson or branch manager has left our agency - do I need to notify you?
There is no obligation on the part of the agency to notify us when a salesperson or branch manager leaves. However, if you want us to update the Public Register to show that the salesperson or branch manager no longer works for the agency you should notify us. You can do this by email (from the agency's official email) or send a letter on agency letterhead to:
Real Estate Agents Authority
PO Box 25371
Wellington 6146
New Zealand
Can an agent, branch manager or salesperson work for more than one company?
Every agent, branch manager and salesperson must be individually licensed under the 2008 Act. It is an offence to employ or contract any person who is not licensed or not exempt from the requirement to be licensed. Refer to section 143 of the Act.
In principle a person could contract with more than one company to work as an agent, branch manager or salesperson, although conflicts of interest could arise. Whether or not a company chose to engage a person who is also working for another company would be a commercial decision for the company.
