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What is the Property Practitioner Bill? It is a new piece of legislation that will replace the Estate Agency Act 112 of 1976. Its main purpose is to establish the Property Practitioner Regulatory Authority, which will replace the Namibia Estate Agents Board; to regulate the affairs of all property practitioners; to allow for transformation in the property sector, and to provide for consumer protection. The Act will commence on a date yet to be decided upon. Regulations must still be published. The minister must first make rules training requirements property practitioners, who will now be joining the fray, need to undergo, and the minister must also publish a code of conduct. So much work still lies ahead before the Act can commence. Newspaper Article Link: https://neweralive.na/posts/opinion-analysing-the-property-practitioners-bill

NEAB is looking for people who want to be accredited to offer training to candidates who wish to write the NEAB estate agent examination. The criteria for the trainers are as follows: The trainer(s) must have 10 years of experience in the estate agency industry. The trainer(s) must have a relevant Bachelor’s degree which is pegged at NQF Level 7. The trainer(s) must present the NEAB with their curriculum vitae. The trainer(s) must also be in good standing with the NEAB. Application Process Email above mentioned documents to: recruitment@neab.co.na All applications must be sent via email and must include an Application Letter. Closing Date The closing date for applications is Friday, 29th July 2022 @ 17H00 Enquiries: Telephone Number: 061 – 249 885 Email: reception@neab.co.na / supervisor@neab.co.na Prepared by Mr. Festus Unengu Manager: Namibia Estate Agents Board

Section 29 and Section 32 of the Estate Agents Act make references to the duty of estate agents to keep financial records (including records for a trust account), and that these financial records must be audited by an auditor. The Act defines an auditor as such: “auditor” means any person registered in terms of section 23 of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Act, 1951 (Act 51 of 1951 as amended), as an accountant and auditor, and engaged in public practice as such. Audited financial statements are part of the requirements for being issued with the annual licence to practice as an Estate Agent by the Namibia Estate Agents Board Preparation for the Audit Estate Agent keeps financial records (with the help of a bookkeeper/accountant if necessary) An accountant prepares financial statements from financial records. Auditor audits financial statements and expresses an opinion on the reliability/accuracy of the financial statements, which speaks to the health of the business and the financial stewardship of the estate agent. Note: Accountants and auditors cannot be the same person; while auditors CAN do the work of accountants, they are not allowed to audit the same financial statements they prepared. List of Auditing Firms Please Click Here for a list of all registered auditors that we recommend Estate Agents use.

The Property Practitioners Bill is a new piece of legislation that will replace the Estate Agency Act 112 of 1976. Its main purpose is to establish the Property Practitioner Regulatory Authority, which will replace the Namibia Estate Agents Board; to regulate the affairs of all property practitioners; to allow for transformation in the property sector, and to provide for consumer protection. The Act will commence on a date yet to be decided upon. Regulations must still be published. The Minister must first make rules on what training requirements all the property practitioners who will now be joining the fray, need to undergo and the Minister must also publish a code of conduct. So much work still lies ahead before the Act can commence. Click Here to Read More on the Property Practitioners Bill

Please note that ALL lease agreements entered in Namibia MUST be stamped in terms of the Stamp Duty Act of 1993. This means that revenue stamps MUST be affixed to lease agreements. The amount of the stamp duty depends on the amount of rent payable over the period of the lease as stated in the Schedule 1 of the Stamp Duty Act. The duty MUST be denoted on the original lease agreement. Stamp duty must also be paid on a copy of the original contract, subject to a prescribed limit. Click Here to Read More...........

Namibia Estate Agents Board (NEAB) hosted its second Induction Training Workshop for the year on Wednesday, 11th May 2022. The Induction Training workshop is hosted after every Online State Agents examination for all the candidates that passed the examination. The main objective of the Induction Training Workshop is to prepare the candidates for the real estate industry and provide them with the necessary information to hit the ground running. The Keynote speaker at the induction workshop was the Ms. Diina Nashidengo, Director of Commerce: Ministry of Industrialization and Trade. Further presentations were held by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), City of Windhoek (COW), Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) and Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA).

The Namibia Estate Agents Board in conjunction with Weder, Kauta and Hoveka Law firm will be hosting a training designed for Principal Estate Agents. Candidates that have recently written and passed the NEAB Estate Agents Examination, and who wish to open their own Estate Agencies are hereby invited to attend a principal Estate Agent training that will be facilitated by the Law firm Weder, Kauta & Hoveka Inc. in conjunction with the Namibia Estate Agents Board. This training is specifically designed to assist Principal Estate Agents in managing their Estate agencies in line with the Estate Agents Act 112 of 1976 and the Financial Intelligence Act 13 of 2012 as amended FIA. You are thus cordially invited to attend the aforementioned training. You can register to attend the training in Swakopmund, Windhoek, or Ongwediva. 01. SWAKOPMUND - Training Details: Date: 25 April 2022 Time: 08:00 AM - 12:00 PM Town: Swakopmund Venue: The Dome Costs: FREE RSVP: 0811 221 828 to book your seat. OR RSVP Online via: https://forms.gle/LhfKDH6JTjpc5bKf8 Please RSVP by Tuesday 19th April 2022!! 02. WINDHOEK - Training Details: Date: 28 April 2022 Time: 08:00 AM - 12:00 PM Town: Windhoek Venue: The Hilton Hotel Costs: FREE RSVP: 0811 221 828 to book your seat. OR RSVP Online via: https://forms.gle/yYNPBwdzZa6tQFix6 Please RSVP by Monday 25th April 2022!! 03. ONGWEDIVA - Training Details: Date: 06 May 2022 Time: 08:00 AM - 12:00 PM Town: Ongwediva Venue: Afrika Stadt Haus Hotel Costs: FREE RSVP: 0811 221 828 to book your seat. OR RSVP Online via: https://forms.gle/pioRJEmxLkrKieWV8 Please RSVP by Tuesday 03rd May 2022!!

Every estate agent shall in respect of his activities as such - a) keep in one of the official languages at an address in the Republic such accounting records as are necessary fairly to reflect and explain the state of affairs - i) of all moneys received or expended by him, including monies deposited to trust account referred to in section 32(1) or invested in a savings or other interest-bearing account referred to in section 32(2)(a); ii) of all his assets and liabilities; and iii) of all his financial transactions and the financial position of his business; b) cause the accounting records referred to in paragraph (a) to be audited by an auditor within four months after the final date of the financial year of the estate agent, which final date shall after the commencement of section 9 of the Estate Agents Amendment Act, 1984, not be altered by him without the prior written approval of the board.

As the proliferation of apartment and townhouse complexes in Namibia continues unabated due to an ongoing housing crisis, many residents around the country inevitably end up belonging to a body corporate, which in turn appoints a property management company to cater for the maintenance needs of the respective properties. However, the Namibia Estate Agents Board (NEAB) yesterday confirmed that currently, no legislation exists to regulate the mushrooming property management companies. Manager of the NEAB, Festus Unengu, explained to New Era that archaic legislation, the Namibia Estate Agents Act of 1976, still regulates the domestic property market. However, he emphasized that this legislation does not at all regulate property managers, property developers, property auctioneers and certainly not body corporates. Unengu clarified that through the industrialization and trade ministry as the custodian of the current Estate Agents Act, the NEAB embarked on the drafting of new legislation about five years ago to include all players in the property industry. “The new Bill was already submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation, who instructed the NEAB to make changes to the legislative proposal. Now, we intend to resubmit the Bill for approval by May this year,” he stated. Newspaper Article Link: https://neweralive.na/posts/new-regulations-on-the-cards-for-property-industry

The Namibia Estate Agents Board (NEAB) and the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) have embarked on a project through which estate agents rendering estate agency services to the public will soon be subjected to a compulsory market entry examination. The examination is aimed at improving public confidence in estate agency services and enhancing the level of professionalism of the estate agency industry. The NEAB intends to endorse and enforce the examination for all estate agents as a pre-requisite for licensing and registration. Estate agents currently registered by the NEAB will be catered for in terms of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes. Link - Announcement Document: https://neab.co.na/Files/Download/41

(1) Any estate agent shall be guilty of improper conduct if he- (a) receives any remuneration for any act performed by him as an estate agent from two or more than two persons whose interests are not in all respects identical in respect of the performance of such act, unless such persons agreed thereto in writing; (b) fails in respect of any act performed by him as an estate agent to give proper account, within 30 days of being called upon in writing to do so, to any person having a material interest in the performance of such act; (c) fails to pay any moneys due by him to the board or in respect of the fund within one month after such moneys become due; [Para (c) substituted by sec 16(a) of Act 28 of 1987.] (d) fails to furnish within such period as the board may determine such information as the board may request and reasonably require in order to exercise its powers properly under this Act; (e) contravenes any provision of the code of conduct referred to in section 8(b) or fails to comply with any such provision; (f) commits any deed of insolvency referred to in section 8 of the Insolvency Act, 1936 (Act 24 of 1936); (g) fails to comply with any provision of section 16(1), (2) or (4), 29 or 32, or contravenes any provision of section 26 or 32A(2)(a) or (b); [Para (g) substituted by sec 16(b) of Act 28 of 1987.] (g A) in his capacity as a director of a company which is an estate agent and which fail to comply with the requirements of section 29 or 32, did not take all reasonable steps to prevent such failure; and [Para (gA) inserted by sec 16(c) of Act 28 of 1987.] (h) commits an offence involving an element of dishonesty. (2) The board may in the prescribed manner bring and investigate any charge of improper conduct against any estate agent. (3) When any estate agent is found guilty of improper conduct by the board, the board may- (a) withdraw the fidelity fund certificate of such estate agent and- (i) if such estate agent is a company, of every director of such company; (ii) if he is a director of a company which is an estate agent, of such company; or (iii) if he in partnership acts as an estate agent, of every partner in such partnership; (b) impose on such estate agent a fine not exceeding R1000 which is payable to the board; [Para (b) substituted by sec 16(d) of Act 28 of 1987.] (c) reprimand such estate agent. (4) The acquittal or conviction of an estate agent by any court of law upon any criminal charge shall not be a bar to proceedings against him under this Act on a charge of improper conduct, notwithstanding the fact that the facts set forth in the charge of improper conduct would, if proved, constitute the offence set forth in the criminal charge on which he was so acquitted or convicted or any other offence on which he might have been convicted at his trial on the said criminal charge. (5) If the improper conduct with which the estate agent is charged amounts to an offence of which he has been convicted by a court of law, a certified copy of the record of his trial and conviction by such court of law shall, upon the identification of such estate agent as the person referred to in the record as the accused, be sufficient proof of the commission by him of such offence, unless the conviction has been set aside by a superior court: Provided that the estate agent charged shall be entitled to adduce evidence to show that he was in fact wrongly convicted. Download the document below and fill it to start the process;

No fidelity fund certificate shall be issued to - a) any estate agent who or, if such estate agent is a company, any company of which any director, or if such estate agent is a close corporation, any corporation of which any member referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of 'estate agent' - i) has at any time by reason of improper conduct been dismissed from a position of trust; ii) has at any time been convicted of an offence involving an element of dishonesty; iii) is an unrehabilitated insolvent in respect of whom the trustee of the insolvent estate has not certified that the insolvent is a fit and proper person to assume a position of trust and to be issued with a fidelity fund certificate; iv) is of unsound mind; v) has been dealt with in accordance with section 30(3)(a); vi) does not comply with the prescribed standard of training; vii) does not have the prescribed practical experience; A) any estate agent who - i) has failed in respect of his financial year which has expired before the date on which application for a fidelity fund certificate is made, to comply with any provision of section 29(b) or section 32(3)(b); or ii) has at any time been guilty of any act or omission in respect of which any person had to be compensated pursuant to the provisions of section 18 from the fund, unless the estate agent has repaid the relevant amount in full to the board, or the board is of the opinion that satisfactory arrangements for the settlement of such amount have been made and has confirmed such arrangements; B) any estate agent referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of 'estate agent' if such estate agent carries or intends to carry on business as an estate agent under a trade name which is identical or confusingly similar to the trade name of an estate agent - i) already issued with a fidelity fund certificate; or ii) whose fidelity fund certificate is suspended or has lapsed or been withdrawn in terms of this Act; b) any estate agent who is a director of a company, or who is a member referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of 'estate agent', of a close corporation - i) of which the fidelity fund certificate was withdrawn by the board in terms of section 28 or 30; ii) which was prohibited in terms of section 32(6) from operating in any way on its trust, savings or other interest-bearing account referred to in section 32(2)(a), iii) or any estate agent who within a period of six months before or on the date on which such fidelity fund certificate was so withdrawn or such company or close corporation was so prohibited, was a director of such company, or such a member of such close corporation: Provided that if in respect of any person who is subject to any disqualification referred to in this section, the board is satisfied that, with due regard to all the relevant considerations, the issue of a fidelity fund certificate to such person will be in the interest of justice, the board may issue, on such conditions as the board may determine, a fidelity fund certificate to such person when he or she applies therefore.