EAA moves to avert threat of delays in licensing of agents

The Estate Agents Authority (EAA) has mapped out a contingency plan to ensure agents could continue operations in the event of the processing and issue of conditional licences falling behind schedule.

Conditional licences will be issued to property agents from January 1 next year as a transitional measure to allow them to sit and pass licensing examinations within three years.

EAA licensing committee chairman Yeung Ka-sing said the authority would issue letters to applicants to confirm their applications for the licences were in the process if issue of conditional licences could not meet the January 1 schedule.

'Practitioners with the letters are allowed to perform their business until conditional licences are issued,' he said. 'We, of course, do not want to see such an emergency situation happen.

'EAA will try its best to achieve the target of issuing conditional licences to all qualified applicants on time.' He said the committee expected up to 16,000 agents would apply for the licences when it opened applications next week.

The applications estimate was based on a survey in June and July when the property market was hit hard by the depressed economy, he said.