Anyone who is carrying out, or wants to carry out, real estate agency work must be licensed by the Real Estate Agents Authority as an agent, branch manager or salesperson, unless specifically exempted.
Note that the definitions of 'real estate agency work' and 'transaction' in section 4 of the Act mean that people carrying out the sale and purchase of businesses on behalf of others (such as business brokers) are covered by the requirements of the Act and need to be licensed under the Act. This does not include the sale, purchase or other disposal or acquisition of shares, unless the shares entitle the holder to a licence that is registrable under Part 7A of the Land Transfer Act 1952 which concerns 'company share' type arrangements.
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
- licensed auctioneers
- any persons exempted by regulation under section 156(1)(a) of the Act. There are currently no such exemptions.
