We’re From the Government and We’re Here to Help
The Queensland government, having conducted a major review of the PAMDA legislation has now introduced a bill (Property Occupations Bill 2013) that will replace the provisions of PAMDA that regulate agents dealing with real estate.
The substantial changes to PAMDA brought about by the bill are part of the Queensland government’s red tape reduction program. The government has eliminated any provisions that are not absolutely necessary for consumer protection.
Because the resident letting agent’s provisions in PAMDA have been brought up-to-date over the last decade at the behest of QRAMA/ARAMA, my firm Short Punch & Greatorix, and other stakeholders, changes to these provisions have been limited. The changes that have been made will mean that resident letting agents will not have to:
• provide evidence of body corporate approval to them acting as letting agents in order to obtain licences. This will avoid delays in licences being granted under the existing legislation, in some cases after the purchaser has taken over the business
• live on site but will have to have an office in at least one of the complexes for which they are licensed. The ability to be licensed for contiguous complexes still applies
• have a licensed director if they are corporations. A licensed employee will suffice
However, licensees, whether a full real estate agent licensee or an RLA, will still have to abide by the provisions of the Body Corporate & Community Management legislation and any agreements between the licensee and the body corporate. Therefore it may take some time and changes to agreements with bodies corporate for licensees to get the full benefits of the changes to the legislation.
Resident letting agents licences will apply to complexes created under the Building Units and Group Titles Act, for example individual bodies corporate under the Mixed Use Development Act. They will no longer have to have a full real estate agent’s licence or petition the licensing authority for special licences with restrictions.
On the sale of management rights, letting appointments (forms 20a) from lot owners (“clients”) that are held by the vendor, will automatically be assigned to the purchaser but the purchaser will have to notify the clients of the assignment within 14 days from completion of the purchase.
There will be substantial changes to the letting appointments (forms 20a) to reduce the type and amount of information that has to be included in the authority.
The bill removes a number of bureaucratic requirements, such as:
• to display licences
• to include the name of the auditor for the proposed licensee in any licensing application or include with any application, an acceptance of appointment by an auditor
• to keep an employment register
• to provide to the purchaser of management rights, a form 153 (that informs the purchaser of the purchaser’s obligation to obtain a licence before taking over a business). The ability of a purchaser to terminate a management rights purchase merely because such a form was not provided, before the sale contract was signed, will no longer be available.
These provisions will not come into force until the bill is passed by parliament and proclaimed to come into force. There is a possibility that some provisions of the bill may not be included in the final legislation.
There are a number of provisions that obviously require some clarification and I will be taking up with ARAMA the provision of a submission to the attorney-general to have these rectified.
Martin Punch
Short Punch & Greatorix
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