New REINZ president promises to “lift the bar”

Murray Cleland, national vice president for the past two years, took over from Howard Morley at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting in Auckland this week.

The Institute comprises 17,400 members and salespeople. Cleland, who is a director and co-owner of Century 21 Real Estate, hopes to improve public perceptions regarding the industry as a whole. This includes the introduction of more stringent penalties against members who fail to abide by the Institute’s code.

“In recent months we have seen cases where members have been found guilty of conduct which is simply indefensible,” he said.

“I want all members of the institute to lift their game and be more vigilant in relation to those of our members who fail to achieve the high standards of professionalism and behaviour that the public deserve.”

“We need to raise the professional bar both as to conduct and as to the penalties and sanctions applied to those who fail.”

“I would like to challenge all the managers and the licensees in the industry to take more responsibility for their employees, to ensure they understand the rules, and ensure that when they fail to obey the rules, the censure of their colleagues is a sufficient penalty in itself.”