(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The real estate regulatory agency or rera the regulatory arm of the dubai land department on monday warned real estate brokers against unauthorised direct telemarketing.
this is the second time since october 2013 that the rera has warned brokers who are making hefty commissions on property transactions against the practice of unsolicited telemarketing service.
a broker violating the rule is first given a warning letter and those repeating the offence face a fine of dh50000.
the latest warning comes after the agency received complaints from property owners and developers who have been contacted by third parties promoting their marketing services for properties that are not even put up for sale.
a circular sent by the rera’s real estate inspection division to all registered property brokers in dubai pointed out that the practice of uncalled-for telemarketing violated the agency’s rules and regulations.
“the rera is keen to apply the highest standards of transparency in the market and this means both exercising control on transactions and regulating interactions between real estate agents and customers” said yousif al hashimi deputy chief executive of the rera.
“as the regulatory body for dubai’s real estate sector our aim is to ensure that every party undertakes its actions and activities in a professional manner that is consistent with the agency’s laws and principles” he added.
in the first 10 months of 2013 dubai’s real estate brokers reportedly achieved commissions totalling dh1.4 billion according to figures released by agency. the figure covers the standard two per cent commissions that real estate brokers received from individuals and companies registered with the rera. the total value of real estate transactions recorded in dubai exceeded dh 236 billion in 2013 as total deals surged 53 per cent to 63652.
the instruction from the rera came in the form of an official letter written by the organisation’s real estate inspection department which was sent out to all registered property brokers in dubai. the letter informed the recipients that the practice of direct telemarketing violates the rera’s rules and regulations.
the agency decided to take action following an increase in “cold” calls to customers with telemarketers apparently trying new ways to get around the existing rules that ban the practice. it was brought to the organisation’s attention that some real estate brokers are claiming a tenuous connection with owners during such calls in an attempt to legitimise their enquiries about their property. the rera used their official notice to remind the brokers that unsolicited calls of any nature were against the department’s regulations.
the letter further stated that the calls cause annoyance and are particularly distressing for those who have not advertised their property for sale. it stipulated that brokers were not allowed to cause inconvenience to property owners by using such unprofessional tactics and warned them that they would face sanctions if they didn’t desist from the practice.
“we investigated this issue through the real estate inspection department and after looking at the complaints in detail sent a further warning letter to 20 real estate offices in dubai. this action was taken because the offices in question were clearly violating the instructions issued by the rera especially in systems relating to the marketing of services and the non-renewal of brokers’ cards which are a mandatory requirement for their activities” said al hashimi.
“fines of dh50000 were also imposed against three offices after they were found to be repeating practices they had been previously warned about and which breached rera regulations. such infractions included the offices using brokers who were not registered with rera and not supplying brokers’ names and other compulsory information in real estate transactions and correspondence” he added.
— issacjohn?khaleejtimes.com
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