Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa has urged real estate agencies to curb the menace of quackery in the profession.
Obasa made the call on Saturday in Lagos at the First Annual Lecture and Banquet of the Association of Estate Agents In Nigeria (AEAN) Lagos Chapter on Saturday.
Represented by Mr Setonji David, Chairman, House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, Obasa said the estate sector in Lagos State had been high jacked by quacks making it insecure and unprofessional.
He said the onus was on the operators through their regulatory body to strategise and find ways to fish out the quacks among them who were tainting the image of the professionals on that field.
Obasa urged the operators to deliberate and come up with suggestions on how to restructure the estate agency sector to meet the set standard and enhance its contributions to the economic development of Lagos State.
“You should not allow quacks to take over the profession. Be honest in your dealings with the consuming public and ensure that everyone who practices is registered and certified by the association.
“The Lagos Tenancy Law of 2011 is enacted to protect the interests of both the Landlords and Tenants.
“You can look into the law to find out the sections that need to be reviewed in line with its operational guidelines,’’ Obasa said.
The lawmaker assured the association of the assembly’s support in that regard.
Mr Chudi Ubosi, the African President, International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI), called for more professionalism in real estate in Nigeria.
Ubosi, who spoke on the topic: “Improving the Standard of Professionalism in the Real Estate Agency: The Role Of Stakeholders”, said that the application of professional standards would make estate agents more relevant to the society.
He said the association had made provision for trainings aimed at upgrading skills of members.
Ubosi urged operators in estate agency to strive towards upholding the integrity of the profession by exhibiting professionalism, trust, honesty and commitment in their transactions with the public.
“Though, all over the world, there exists the perception that estate agents are fraudulent people who collect house rents from clients without service delivery.
“But we can change the perception through the way we present ourselves to the public in the course of doing business,’’ he said.
Earlier, Mr Adeolu Ogunbanjo, the Chairman of AEAN, Lagos Chapter, urged the Lagos State Real Estate Transactions Department, to moblise the assembly to enact a legislature that would regulate estate agency practice in the state.
According to him, lack of regulation is one of the major challenges hindering effective operations of estate agency in the country.
Ogunbanjo said that estate agency practice was regarded as an “all comers affairs’’, saying that such perception could be corrected through effective regulation and supervision.
“The biggest challenge before real estate agency practitioners is the negative public perception.
“The Police have reported that out of every 10 cases of fraudulent transactions, five are estate agency related.
“The state government must step up the courage and political will to ensure that real estate agency practice is properly regulated,” Ogunbanjo said. (NAN)