Complaints against agents over property deals dismissed

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An arm of the new Real Estate Agents' Authority has dismissed four complaints against agents over property deals.

They included a wife complaining that her husband had listed her house as for sale despite the agent not having her approval.

Complaint assessments committees dealt with the cases and suppressed the names of all the agents at the centre of the disputes, their firms and most locations. Complainant details were also suppressed because the cases were dismissed.

On the wife complaint, the agent said he knew of a matrimonial dispute but said he thought the couple were about to sign documents to list the place soon.

The authority found the agent should have got written permission before putting up the For Sale sign.

The wife said she was surprised to drive past their place and see an agent's sign on the grass verge. The property was jointly owned and she was angry about the situation so she complained. But her complaints resulted in prompt action by the agent and the sign was removed so the complaint was dismissed.

An Auckland house-buyer felt "treated like a criminal" by a real estate agency over a deal which went wrong. So he complained to the authority but his case was rejected.

His case was over statements an agent made to him about whether a property being auctioned had a code compliance certificate giving its legal status.

The buyer complained that the agent said the LIM report had been lost and blamed a city council for the problem.

All the buildings on the property were legal and certified, the man said the agent had told him. So he bid on the property at auction but subsequently discovered from the council that a second house on the property did not have the certificate because of weathertightness and electrical issues.

So he tried to cancel his deposit cheque.

"The complainant alleges the licensee and the vendor forced him continuously to purchase the property and he alleges further that they 'spread rumours in the real estate field by saying we cancelled the cheque without any reason'," the committee said.

The man and his wife were also told they would be banned from bidding on other properties and they were worried. "We had bought several properties from your company before. This is the first time we were treated like a criminal," the man complained.

The committee said the couple had gone ahead with the purchase and did not accept claims they were misinformed. The licensee had taken steps to clarify information and did all he could reasonably be expected to. It found no evidence that rumours had been spread.

A committee rejected a complaint over the advertising of a property which referred to a 98-year lease. A lawyer complained about the words used to market the property, saying they were misleading and inaccurate. But the committee found the agent had withdrawn advertising so it was decided the law had not been broken.

The fourth case was a dispute over an agent's actions when a couple had listed their house for sale privately.

A dispute arose after an agent advertised their place and notified open homes, the couple claimed. Buyers were taken through the house when the couple were not at home, yet they were not notified, the complaint said. The committee found the licensee had signed a listing agreement which also allowed the couple to sell the house privately.

Yet the couple expected the agent to provide them with the same level of service and protection which a full sole agency agreement would have provided. It rejected the complaint.

An authority spokesman said if agents were found to have broken the law, both their firm and the agents' names would be made public.

He said the new system was far more transparent and robust than the old regime administered by the Real Estate Institute, which released decisions only where agents committed offences.