Thursday, Jun 21, 2012
AsiaOne
Unlicensed estate agent fined $6,000 for attempting to rent out room
SINGAPORE - A 48-year-old man was fined $6,000 on Thursday for trying to rent out a room in an Ang Mo Kio flat.
Lim Beng Kwang is the third unlicensed real estate agent to be prosecuted since new rules kicked in last year.
He tried to rent out a room to an officer from the Council for Estate Agents (CEA), who had arranged to view the room in a sting operation on April 9 this year.
CEA uncovered Lim’s offences when it investigated a complaint made against him for rude and unprofessional service.
It was discovered that from January to April 2011, Lim had advertised several HDB flats for rent on an online property portal under his name, using a mobile number which was loaned to him by an Australian friend.
Lim pleaded guilty to acting as a real estate agent without first being registered with the CEA.
Another count of his doing estate agency business without a licence was taken into consideration.
He can be fined up to $25,000 and jailed for a year.
CEA said it will be prosecuting several more people for doing estate agency work without being registered over the next few months.
In view of the crackdown, CEA advised property owners to only engage salespersons who are registered with the CEA, and to request for the salesperson's registration number and verify that the salesperson is listed on CEA's Public Register before engaging his or her services.
Verification can be done at www.cea.gov.sg.
CEA said that the Public Register has been enhanced to allow consumers to search the particulars of a salesperson using his or her mobile number.
This is in addition to search options using the salesperson's name or registration number.
Property owners are also advised not to respond to any real estate agency flyer, leaflet or advertisement that does not provide a salesperson's details or registration number.
Lastly, property owners should report to CEA when they encounter anybody not listed on the Public Register but carrying out estate agency work illegally.
They can report the person to the CEA at 1800-6432555 or feedback@cea,gov.sg.
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