KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — Anyone dealing with a broker in a property deal should insist on seeing the latter’s accreditation, a group representing real estate agents said today as they go full steam ahead in their bid to clamp down on “illegal” property agents and negotiators.

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) president Siva Shanker said there is no longer any excuse for property negotiators not to have valid accreditation with them, with 13,000 already registered and issued their real estate negotiator (REN) cards over the past year.

“We don’t really have specific numbers, but in our estimation we believe there are anything between 20,000 and 40,000 (illegal real estate agents) operating.

“It used to be you can’t tell who they are, but now you can,” he said at a news conference, referring to the use of the REN cards issued by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (Bovaea).

Siva, who has been a vocal proponent on the use of the REN cards, stressed that illegal real estate agents have been a bane on the industry for the past three decades, having taken advantage of the lack of enforcement to broker deals without paying a single sen in taxes, and in many cases failing to deliver on their promises despite having already taken a deposit.

By making REN cards compulsory, the senior real estate agent said the public are assured that their rights will be safeguarded as the accreditation will only be given to full-time staff of legal real estate agencies who have attended a two-day course that covers the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981, among other things.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong noted that the lack of enforcement is a real problem when dealing with illegal property agents, who he said will continue to try and muscle in on the country’s RM152 billion property market.

“Till today, nobody has been charged (for illegal property brokering). This allows illegals to flourish because there is no penalisation, no deterrent.

“I ask that the police take these cases seriously,” he said, adding that the authorities need to get up to speed with existing property laws.