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I’m chatting to Sasha Boe of Real Estate Training Solutions about the property industry reforms that commenced in NSW on 23 March 2020 (yes, you may have been distracted by other things!) These reforms impact the way our strata managers operate – from the title they’re allowed to give themselves, to the training and qualifications they need to be able to start their own businesses. Sasha gives us the run down, including sharing her view that perhaps these reforms set the bar a little too high.
Links mentioned:
- Get the transcript here!
- Covidandapartments.info
- The City of Sydney Council Webinar – Safe and Harmonious Apartment Living During COVID-19
- Regulation 4C, Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2014
- Episode 109. Licensing changes for strata managers – the need to know with Sasha Boe
- Strata Managing – Agent’s Licence – Fair Trading (NSW)
- Real estate, property and tenancy law changes commence – Fair Trading (NSW)
- Property and Stock Agents Act 2002
- Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2014
- Property and Stock Agents (Qualifications) Order 2019
- Real Estate Training Solutions (RETS) Website
- Real Estate Training Solutions (RETS) Hotline: 1-300-850-980
None of the reforms fixes the real problem.
PSA Act Regs
Schedule 1
Rules of Conduct .. for all agents
Knowledge of Act and regulations
An agent must have a knowledge and understanding of the Act and the regulations under the Act, and such other laws relevant to the category of licence or certificate of registration held (including, laws relating to residential tenancy, fair trading, competition and consumer protection, anti-discrimination and privacy) as may be necessary to enable the agent to exercise his or her functions as agent lawfully.
And CPDs are as useless to resolve this problem as they were prior to reform.
• PSA Act
Part 12 Complaints and disciplinary action
This is such a weak section from the perspective of an owner when dealing with a ‘rogue’ agent.
The reform does nothing to give the new Act teeth.
Hard for an owner to implement or get action under and those who administer it (DFSI) can’t even spell transparent let alone be transparent. Even if an issue is taken up by DFSI the complainant never gets informed what occurs and if the complainant does somehow find out what ‘discipline’ has occurred it is usually so inconsequential for the offending agent that any ‘smart’ agent would really have no concerns about ill-discipline.
New titles and classes with some incremental rule changes that did nothing more than give some ‘suit’ some busy work at an exaggerated rate of pay for the last few years is simply ‘the State” just being the State.
Reform is always disappointing but it does give people something to talk about.
Personally i feel the requirement to get into the bizz has been watered down and watered down over time.
None of the refroms give a strata agent a working knowledge of the Act – and that is the problem.
I agree with your response.
The government should be prepare to admit that we do not have any
Consumer Protection in this State and its getting worse not better.
Will this also include Community Land Management schemes as it refers to Property
Hi CAW, yes this law applies to strata managing agents managing community schemes also.