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Real Estate Agency Bill in the offing

By Kofi AHOVI

The Ghana Institution of Surveyors, in consultation with other stakeholders, is preparing the Real Estate Agency Bill, to regulate the property market and help bring sanity in the industry, as well as to reduce fraud.

The bill provides for the training and licensing of real estate brokers, sales people and institutions and requires them to provide bonds as guarantees to their clients in the property market.

It also seeks to ensure players within the field to have the capacity and capability to handle clients with professionalism.

The bill also has the capacity to check the land guard menace, which will check insecurity of title and ward off criminal elements.

The practice of real estate brokers in Ghana has grown considerably in recent years as the property market has become more active with the buying, selling and leasing of property for investment.

The role of the real estate agent has traditionally been as an intermediary between the purchasers and vendors of property.

One result of the increase in activities in the property market is the influx of the estate brokerage trade by fraudsters.

Also, many of the agents have no particular training in state brokerage and many have no identifiable office accommodation.

In a related development, GhIS has called on the government to ensure that a representative from the institution is appointed onto the Central Tender Review Board of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

According to GhIS, the appointment will be in conformity to the provision of Public Procurement Act, Act 663, section 20, which is currently being contravened by the MOFEP.

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