What exactly have the EAAB done to assist the Property Industry?

This COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainty for the Property industry. With Estate Agents only returning to work with the 3rd level of lockdown, and not even at full capacity, Estate agents find themselves doubting if the industry will ever recover.

Most Estate Agents solely rely on commission-based income and with the property industry only barely starting back up again, they are turning to their governing body, the Estate Agency Affairs Board, for guidance.

So, what has the EAAB been doing to assist the Real Estate Industry? Here are some of the highlights so far:

1. The EAAB has posted a guideline for Estate Agents to conduct business in the safest way possible during the pandemic. Some of the items in the guideline include taking clients’ temperature before showing them a property, keeping a register of people they come in contact with, and only showing houses to one person at a time.

2. The EAAB has staff working remotely to assist with queries as far as reasonably practical. They have disabled the online query system for the time being for logistical reasons, but they have sent out email addresses that can be used to contact their staff working remotely.

3. The EAAB has waived late audit report penalties. They have been trying to get the date postponed for audit submissions, but they have been struggling with it. As a result, they waived the penalties, because there is not much they can do about it at the moment.

4. The EAAB has attempted to open their Johannesburg offices. They opened their offices on the 1st of July, but unfortunately, they had to evacuate their staff on the 3rd of July because one of their employees came in contact with a COVID-19 positive case. They are, however, re-opening their doors on the 13th of July.

Even though the EAAB has tried to assist the Property Industry through these unprecedented times, a lot of Estate Agents has expressed dismay in the EAAB’s redundant efforts to help them.

Most Estate Agents are of the opinion that the EAAB has long since become obsolete and are not delivering the service to the industry as expected. Given that Estate agents pay thousands of Rands to the EAAB annually, they have a right to be frustrated with their lack of service delivery.

What are your thoughts on the EAAB’s attempts to assist the Property Industry this year? Let us know in the comments below!

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