Over-regulation of the NSW Real Estate Industry

Another quote from the REINSW website:

The State Government recently introduced the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (uncommenced as at October 2010), a highly prescriptive piece of legislation with 227 sections. When you consider that equivalent Acts in the ACT and Western Australia have 120 sections, it is clear that real estate professionals in NSW are over-regulated.

(And elsewhere in the REINSW website)

The property industry is one of the most heavily regulated by NSW Fair Trading. There are 236 sections in the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002, compared to just 130 in the legislation governing car dealers.

The government claims it is protecting the interests of consumers. But how can real estate professionals be expected to deliver tailored service in a highly prescriptive regulatory environment?

That’s why REINSW, in its Real Agency policy, is calling for the relaxation of inhibitive regulation.

Rather than trying to control the many processes of our complex industry, the government should focus instead on the desired outcome – the delivery of a high quality service, with an adequate safety net in the form of mandatory professional indemnity insurance.