Estate Agents Act, CEA and professional conduct: RES practice questions

CEA identifies a dispute not resolved within six weeks from the date the client is informed of the first mediation session as one of the circumstances for proceeding towards arbitration. Notification, rather than the session's actual date, is the specified trigger. A complaint or a later assessment by the mediator does not start this particular clock. Identifying the clock does not itself mean arbitration proceedings have already commenced.

CEA describes mediation as a neutral facilitating a mutually acceptable agreement. The decision is made by the consumer and property agency, not by the mediator. Here only the client has accepted the suggested compromise, so it is not a mutually agreed settlement. Neither a mediator's assessment of fairness nor administrative recording by the centre replaces the missing agreement of the agency. This answer concerns the proposed settlement, not the ultimate merits of the commission claim.

MND's September 2010 transition annex states that IRAS would cease accepting House Agent's Licence applications, that existing IRAS-licensed agents would be deemed licensed by CEA only until 31 December 2010, and that existing agents could apply to CEA for a new licence and registration of their salespersons. These linked steps describe a managed handover to the new statutory framework. The temporary bridge did not create a permanent choice of regulators, confine CEA to examinations, or remove the need for a new licence application. This is a historical explanation of the reform, not advice to use the expired transition arrangements today.

SLA's specific guidance for private property directs users to Property Title Information or Property Title Information - Encumbrances Information. A lodged caveat is reflected under the title's Encumbrances section. The question is a further check beyond identifying the owner: confirmation of the owner's name or a map of the parcel does not answer it. SLA's separate instruction to use Image of HDB Leases concerns HDB property, not the private condominium in the stem. The search verifies the recorded caveat position; the question does not ask the salesperson to decide the underlying legal validity of any claim.

CEA's consumer guidance says the appointed agent should declare to the client any conflict of interest and referral fees received. It does not make disclosure conditional on an increased client bill, payment by the client, or a prior question from the client. The item tests transparency about the received fee, not whether every possible referral arrangement is otherwise permissible.