Licensing
Currently, Auctioneers and House Agents are required to be licensed under the Auctioneers and House Agents Acts, 1947 to 1973. Under the legislation a House Agent is defined as “a person who, as agent for another person and for or in expectation of reward, purchases, sells, lets or offers for sale or letting, or invites offers to purchase or take a letting of, or negotiates for the purchase, sale or letting of a house otherwise than by auction or attempts to effect such purchase, sale or letting”. At present such licences are obtained through the Courts and Revenue Commissioners and this system will remain in place until the new legislation is enacted.
The current system.
At present, if a person wishes to apply for a licence, he/she must first obtain the following documents:
· Certificate of Qualification.
This is obtained by application to the District Court. 28 days before attending the Court, an applicant must notify the local Garda Superintendent in writing of his or her intention. At the same time, the applicant must place a notice in a newspaper circulating in the area in which the business is or will be located. This notice must give a clear indication of the applicant’s intention to apply to the Court for the certificate.
· Certificate of Deposit.
The applicant is required to lodge a fidelity guarantee bond of €12,700 in the High Court. Once that has been done a certificate of deposit will be issued to the applicant by the High Court.
· Tax Clearance Certificate.
A certificate may be obtained from the Revenue Commissioners.
Applying for a licence.
The licence application form can be obtained from Revenue District Offices. It should be completed and returned to that office accompanied by the Certificate of Qualification, the Certificate of Deposit, the Tax Clearance Certificate and the excise duty of €250.
The proposed new system.
The Authority is at present preparing for the introduction of a new licensing regime. Details of this cannot be finalised until the legislation has been passed by the Oireachtas. However, the new system will involve a number of changes.
· The Authority will be the sole body involved directly in the issuing of a licence; under the new regime, there will no longer be any need to notify the Courts or to submit an application to the Revenue Commissioners;
· A competency test will be applied whereby all applicants will have to satisfy the Authority of their competence (through educational qualification and/or experience) to provide a property service;
· Applicants will also have to satisfy the Authority of their suitability on grounds of character. This will most likely involve vetting by An Garda Síochána;
· The applicant’s financial standing will be examined as will his/her tax compliance;
· All licensees will be required to have adequate Professional Indemnity insurance, and to make the appropriate contribution to the statutory Compensation Fund;
· The appropriate fee will have to be paid.
Although the system is being simplified, involving contact with only one authority, the assessment of the applicant will be more detailed. There are also likely to be new categories of licences introduced, with Management Agents being licensed for the first time and with Letting Agents and Estate Agents being licensed as separate categories (as opposed to both being included under the current House Agent classification) . More details will be made available in advance of the introduction of the new system.
Under the new legislation, the Authority will be required to publish and maintain a Public Register of licensees.. ^ Back to top