Property managers to register as authorised financial advisers

Under the Financial Advisers Act (FAA), expected to come into force next year, property managers who handle rent payments on behalf of landlords and those who make a recommendation or give opinion or guidance in relation to buying, letting or selling of land, may need to become authorised financial advisers, or registered financial service providers.

Under the FAA, property managers will need to apply to the Securities Commission to become an authorised financial adviser. Authorised financial advisers will also need to become registered and comply with ongoing disclosure and conduct requirements, according to a release by the Property Institute of New Zealand (PINZ).

The report says once registered, advisers will "be subject to general conduct and training requirements" that will be set out in the code of professional conduct being developed by the Securities Commission.

"This change in law will prompt both owners and occupiers to review the person currently managing their property," says PINZ president Ian Campbell. "Property owners need to ensure their property manager is an authorised financial adviser."

Those exempt from the FAA include real estate agents and registered valuers.

PINZ is helping to educate property managers about the new standards soon to be implemented, saying it will benefit the market as a whole.

"The institute's commitment to providing professional development benefits an individual's performance, rewards the employer, owners, occupants, the public and the property industry in general," Campbell says.