KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — The slowing real estate market is causing more sellers to engage unlicensed entities in their bid to dispose of their property, the board governing real estate agents said today.

The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (BOVAEA) said that a six-month campaign that the board ran recently showed that even an undisclosed public-listed company was promoting properties for a developer.

The board’s chairman, Faizan Abdul Rahman, said any unregistered party that collected a brokerage fee for selling or promoting a property contravenes Section 30 of the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981.

“Many of these companies and unregistered parties are unaware that we are governed by this act and what they are doing is actually illegal,” he said.

The board said it informed the company that such practices are unlawful and expressed hope that such entities will be discouraged in the future.

“In the past, there has been an ambiguity in the Act whether the police have investigating powers,” Faizan said during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

“But the Attorney-General’s Chambers clarified this matter with the police now, and they do have investigating powers. Additionally, the board approved an amendment to the act to spell out provisions and clauses more clearly to give the police investigating powers,” Faizan added.

BOVAEA estate agency practices committee member K Soma Sundram, who was also at the press conference, said that the slowing property market had led to developers and sellers resorting to all available means to sell, including engaging illegal brokers.

“I understand, for them they want to sell properties because they have pumped in millions for the projects, but we have to observe the law,” he said.

Soma Sundram said engaging licensed estate agents under the board was also important for the public as the board would be able to step in in the event of a dispute.

“When you engage a non-registered entity, that’s when people cheat or abscond with the money,” he said.

Under the Act, those found guilty can be fined up to RM 300,000 or face three years in jail, or both.

BOVAEA said it discovered these practices through a six-month campaign called “Cheating, Absconding, Misinterpretation and Profiteering”, which intended to raise awareness among the public regarding the need to engage registered property agents.