Review of Penalties for Real Estate Agents who Market or Sell HDB Flats that Do Not Meet Minimum Occupation Period
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Miss Rachel Ong’s inquiry regarding whether penalties for real estate agents who market HDB flats before the minimum occupation period (MOP) will be reviewed to include higher fines or non-financial deterrents. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee stated that the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) strengthened its framework in 2021, raising the maximum financial penalty for serious breaches to $100,000. He explained that the Disciplinary Committee considers commission earned and culpability when imposing penalties, which include censures, fines, and registration suspensions. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee noted that suspension is a strong deterrent as it prevents agents from conducting work or earning any commissions. Consequently, the government has no plans to review the penalties for MOP rule breaches at this juncture.
Transcript
19 Miss Rachel Ong asked the Minister for National Development whether there will be a review of the penalties imposed on real estate agents who market or sell HDB flats that do not fulfil the minimum occupation period, such as to make the fine comparable to the commission potentially gained from selling such flats or to include other non-financial deterrent penalties.
Mr Desmond Lee: The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) takes a serious view of errant behaviour by property agents and has strengthened its disciplinary framework when the amendments to the Estate Agents Act came into force on 30 July 2021. The maximum financial penalty that CEA's Disciplinary Committee (DC) may impose on errant agents for serious disciplinary breaches was raised from $75,000 to $100,000.
When determining the appropriate penalties to be meted out, the DC considers all relevant facts and circumstances of the case, including the potential commission earned, the extent of the agent's culpability and whether there are other aggravating or mitigating factors.
For property agents who breach HDB's minimum occupation period (MOP) rules when facilitating HDB property transactions for their clients, the DC not only censures and imposes financial penalties on the agents, but also suspends the agents' registrations. This is a strong deterrent, as the agents cannot earn any commission since they are not allowed to conduct estate agency work when suspended.
CEA has no plans to review the penalties for breaches of MOP rules at this juncture.