The REIV today welcomed the announcement from the Victorian Government that planned regulatory changes to commercial licensing in Victoria would be repealed.

The previous Government had announced that regulatory changes, to take effect on 1 July this year, would remove the need to involve an agent in large commercial transactions.

REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that the decision is a commonsense one by the Andrews Government.

“This provides security for thousands of consumers and small business owners in this state.

“The changes would have opened up the commercial sector to a range of unlicensed and untrained operators,” Mr Raimondo said.

Mr Raimondo said that the repeal of key sections of the Estate Agents Exemption Regulations 2014 is vital.

He said that commercial agent licensing is in place for a reason – and the changes would have shut licensed estate agents out of sales of $15million or more, or where the floor area was greater than 10,000 square metres.

“Agents undertaking these complex transactions are bound by a range of legislative measures, including the Estate Agents Act and Sale of Land Act.

“These agents are covered by codes of conduct and are bound by stringent probity checks.

“This delivers security to those buying and selling commercial real estate in Victoria.”

“Today’s decision is a win for small business and consumers in this state.”

Source – REIV Media Release 27 May 2015.