REINZ urges caution after ruling
Friday 23 November 2012
Agents must be very careful that they can back up any claims they make about a property, the Real Estate Institute says.
By The Landlord
The Real Estate Agents Authority's disciplinary tribunal has overturned earlier decisions and says agents can describe houses as being designed by an architect, even if the plans were drafted by someone not registered with the Registered Architects Board.
They just need to prove the designer has the necessary skills.
The tribunal's decision comes after an appeal by eight Barfoot & Thompson agents who had described houses as architect-designed.
The authority's complaints assessment committee had found the agents of guilty of unsatisfactory conduct, but the tribunal overturned the findings on appeal.
New Zealand Institute of Architects' Auckland chairman Richard Goldie said the value of the word “architect” was being eroded.
"Despite these complexities of the use of the word architect in law, we still commonly understand that the word 'architect' means a registered architect - a professional, a person who has been educated and has gone through a pretty rigorous registration process," he told media.
"To then have a body really downgrading all of that I think is outrageous, as far as architects are concerned."
But REINZ chief executive Helen O’Sullivan said agents still needed to be careful about the way they described a property. “If you make a representation, you need to be able to substantiate it.”
She said more agents were naming the person who designed a property rather than claiming they were an architect.
Comments from our readers
No comments yet
Sign In / Register to add your comment
House Prices
A decade of property price growth
Recent years have seen some spectacular house price growth around New Zealand but just how much have asking prices gone up in different markets over the last 10 years?
Commercial
Proptech the future for commercial investment
Commercial property start-up Jasper is the new kid on the block but some have asked how it differs from traditional property syndicates. Jasper’s founders explain the points of difference for us…
Mortgages
Putting the RBNZ's new capital rules into perspective
There's been a lot written about the Reserve Bank's new capital rules for banks and some of it seems to miss the mark. Here's Tarawera Publishing managing director, Philip Macalister's, take after hearing from the governor yesterday.
