The purpose of this Act is to promote and protect the interests of consumers in respect of transactions that relate to real estate and to promote public confidence in the performance of real estate agency work.

The Act achieves its purpose by—

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

To avoid doubt, the sale, purchase, or other disposal or acquisition of shares comes within the definition of transaction in subsection (1) if, and only if, the shares entitle the holder to a licence that is registrable under subpart 6 of Part 3 of the Land Transfer Act 2017.

This Act binds the Crown.

A person must not carry out any real estate agency work unless the person—

No person may hold himself or herself out to the public as ready to carry out any agency work if that person is not licensed under this Act or exempt from the licensing requirement under any of sections 7 to 9 or under another enactment.

For the purposes of this section, it is immaterial whether or not a person carries out any agency work as a business in its own right or as part of, or in connection with, any other business.

This section applies to any person who is—

A person to whom this section applies may carry out any real estate agency work but, in respect of the sale or other disposal of any land or business, is not entitled to be remunerated for that work by commission in addition to, or instead of, the professional charges of that lawyer or conveyancing practitioner.

When any person to whom this section applies carries out any real estate agency work, that person—

A person who is registered as an auctioneer under the Auctioneers Act 2013 may sell or offer to sell any land by auction.

A person who is exempted by a regulation made under section 156(1)(a) may, in accordance with that regulation, carry out real estate agency work.

This section establishes the Real Estate Agents Authority.

The Authority is a Crown entity for the purposes of section 7 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

The Crown Entities Act 2004 applies to the Authority except to the extent that this Act expressly provides otherwise.

The functions of the Authority are to—

The Authority may, where it considers it appropriate to do so, consult with representatives of the real estate industry about any matter that relates to the functions of the Authority.

To avoid doubt, nothing in subsection (1) affects the role of an industry skills board established under section 362 of the Education and Training Act 2020 or a workforce development council continued for the time being under clause 170 of Schedule 1 of that Act (as applicable) for the real estate industry.

The Authority consists of no more than 7 members.

Members of the Authority are the board for the purposes of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

The Minister must appoint 1 member to be the chairperson of the board and that member must be a lawyer of not less than 7 years’ legal experience.

The Minister must appoint at least 2 members who are licensees or former licensees.

The Minister must consult with REINZ when making the first appointment of licensees or former licensees under subsection (4).

In addition to the criteria for appointments set out in section 29 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, the Minister must, when making any appointment, consider the need for the Authority to represent the views of a broad range of interests, including consumer and industry interests.

The Authority may make any practice rules to enable it to discharge the duty imposed on it by subsection (2).

The Authority must have rules that include or provide for a code of professional conduct and client care, which will be a reference point for discipline and which will focus on, but need not be limited to, the duties of agents to their clients.

Practice rules under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The Authority may make practice rules that—

Practice rules under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Practice rules may be made by the Authority only after the Minister has approved, and the following people have been consulted on, the proposed rules:

The Minister must, in deciding whether to approve any practice rules, have regard, among other things, to—

If the Minister considers any practice rules to be deficient in any respect, the Minister may, by notice and subject to subsections (2) and (3), make any amendments to those rules that are necessary to remedy the deficiency.

Amendments made under subsection (1) to practice rules may relate only to matters in respect of which practice rules may be made.

The Minister, in deciding whether to make amendments under subsection (1) to any practice rules,—

A notice that amends rules under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

This section applies to—

The rules and notices come into force on a date specified in them, which must be not less than 28 days after the date of their publication under the Legislation Act 2019.

The Authority may from time to time, by notice, prescribe the fees payable for any action that a person wishes the Registrar to perform under this Act.

Different fees may be prescribed under this section for different kinds of action and for different classes of person, depending on the kind of licence that they have, or wish to obtain or renew.

Any notice prescribing any fee under this section may exempt any class or classes of person from liability to pay any such fee, and may provide for the waiver or refund of any such fee.

A notice under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The Authority may from time to time, by notice, impose on every licensee an operational levy of any amount that the Authority thinks fit for the purpose of funding the costs arising from any or all of the following:

Any notice imposing any levy under this section may do either or both of the following:

A notice under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The Authority may from time to time, by notice, impose on every licensee a disciplinary levy of any amount that the Authority thinks fit for the purpose of funding the costs arising from any proceeding of the Tribunal.

Any notice imposing any levy under this section may do either or both of the following:

A notice under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Every notice under any of sections 20 to 22 comes into force on a date specified in the notice, being not less than 28 days after the date of publication of the notice under the Legislation Act 2019.

Every levy imposed by the Authority under sections 20 to 22, is payable, and recoverable as a debt due, to the Authority.

The Authority receives any levies imposed under section 22 as agent for the chief executive of the Ministry of Justice.

If any fee is payable to the Authority under this Act, the Registrar may decline to do any act, or to permit any act to be done, or to receive any document in respect of which that fee is payable, until the fee is paid.

All fees and levies required to be paid under this Act are payable to the Registrar or the Authority, except fees paid under regulations made under section 156(1)(g), which must be paid to the Ministry of Justice.

All fines imposed on a person by a Complaints Assessment Committee or by the Disciplinary Tribunal are payable to the Registrar.

The grounds for exercising a power conferred by any of sections 26 to 28 in respect of any agent are—

In this section, documents includes financial records and deeds.

If the Authority is satisfied that 1 or more of the grounds specified in section 25 apply to an agent, the Authority may, if in its opinion it is appropriate to do so, by notice, require any person to give the Authority possession of any documents that—

If the Authority is satisfied that 1 or more grounds specified in section 25 apply to an agent, the Authority may, if in its opinion it is appropriate to do so, make an order appointing a suitable person as the administrator of the agent’s trust account for a period specified by the Authority.

A copy of every order made by the Authority under this section must be served on the banker, and on receipt of that copy the bank in which the trust account is kept must allow the person appointed by the order to administer the trust account.

The Authority may make an order appointing an appropriate person as an interim administrator of an agent’s trust account if the Authority—

The function of the interim administrator is to preserve the assets until the termination of the order under subsection (1).

An order under subsection (1) is terminated when—

Section 27(2) applies, with all necessary modifications, to an order made under this section.

The Authority may direct an audit of an agent’s trust account at any time and appoint an auditor to carry out that audit.

No person is qualified for appointment as an auditor of the trust account unless the person is a qualified auditor (within the meaning of section 35 of the Financial Reporting Act 2013).

This section applies if the Authority has reasonable grounds to believe that any money entrusted to an agent or to any person acting on behalf of the agent has been stolen by any of the following persons:

The Authority may, by notice, require any person (including, without limitation, any banker) who has possession or control of financial records or other records that relate to any money received by any person specified in subsection (1) to produce those records to a person authorised by the Authority and to permit that person to inspect and copy those records.

Upon taking possession of any document under section 26, the Authority must, without delay, serve on the agent concerned a notice giving particulars of the document and the date on which it was taken into the Authority’s possession.

Within 14 days after the notice has been served, the agent, or any of his or her partners, may apply to a District Court Judge for an order directing the Authority to return any document specified in the order to the person from whom it was received, or for any other order that the District Court Judge thinks fit.

If the Authority makes an order, under section 27 or 28, appointing an administrator or interim administrator, the Authority must, without delay, serve a copy of the order on—

A person on whom a copy of the order is served may, within 14 days after service of the order, apply to the High Court for an order under subsection (4).

The following persons may, at any time while an order under section 27 or 28 is in force, apply for an order under subsection (4):

On an application under this section, a High Court Judge may, by order—

The Authority must appoint one of its employees as Registrar of the register of licensees.

The functions of the Registrar are to—

Except as provided in subsection (2), the Registrar may delegate to any person (whether an employee of the State services or not), either generally or particularly, any of the Registrar’s functions, duties, and powers.

The Registrar must not delegate the Registrar’s general power of delegation and must not, without the prior approval of the Authority, delegate any of the Registrar’s functions, duties, and powers set out in section 34(b) or (c).

A delegation—

A person to whom any functions, duties, or powers are delegated may perform those functions and duties and exercise those powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred directly by this Act and not by delegation.

A person who appears to act under a delegation is presumed to be acting in accordance with its terms in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

An individual may be licensed as an agent or branch manager if the individual satisfies the Registrar that he or she—

An individual may be licensed as a salesperson if the individual satisfies the Registrar that he or she—

A company may be licensed as an agent if at least 1 officer of the company satisfies the Registrar of the matters set out in subsection (1).

The following persons are not eligible to hold a licence:

A person is not eligible to hold an agent’s licence if he or she is an undischarged bankrupt or is subject to subpart 4 of Part 5 of the Insolvency Act 2006.

An application for a licence under this Part must—

The applicant must advertise the application for a licence in the prescribed manner.

A person may, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, give the Registrar written notice of his or her desire to object to the issue of a licence to the applicant.

No objection may be made under subsection (1) except on 1 or more of the following grounds:

The notice of objection must include a statement of the grounds relied on and any prescribed matters.

The notice of objection may include a request for a hearing under section 42(4).

The Registrar must send a copy of the notice to the applicant.

An applicant to whom a notice of objection has been sent may, within the prescribed time, send to the Registrar a written submission in response to the notice of objection.

If an applicant sends a written response to the Registrar, the Registrar must send a copy of it to the person who gave notice of an objection.

A written response to the Registrar may include a request for a hearing under section 42(4).

This section applies if notice of an objection to an application is made under section 40.

Unless subsection (4) applies, the Registrar may consider the application and notice of objection to that application on the papers or by a hearing in accordance with subsection (5).

If the Registrar considers the application and notice of objection to that application on the papers, he or she must consider any written submission in response that is provided by the applicant under section 41.

If the Registrar has received a request for a hearing under section 40(3A) or 41(3), the Registrar must hold a hearing in accordance with subsection (5).

If the Registrar elects to hold a hearing under subsection (2) or is required to hold a hearing under subsection (4), the Registrar must,—

The Registrar must grant a licence to the applicant if, after considering or hearing any objection to the issue of a licence, the Registrar is satisfied that—

The Registrar, on granting the licence, must—

If the Registrar is not satisfied that the applicant is entitled to be licensed as an agent, branch manager, or salesperson, the Registrar must—

A person must not, after the issue to him or her of an agent’s licence, enter into partnership with any person in respect of his or her business as an agent without the prior approval of the Authority; and the Authority must refuse to grant its approval unless it is satisfied that the proposed partner holds an agent’s licence.

If a company is the holder of an agent’s licence, at least 1 officer of the company must, at any given time, hold an agent’s licence.

A licensee must, if asked by any person, produce for inspection by that person either—

A licence continues in force for a period of 12 months commencing on the date that the Registrar enters the applicant’s name in the register, unless—

A licence may be renewed for further periods of 12 months in accordance with section 52.

A licence may not be transferred and may not vest by operation of law in any person other than the person to whom the licence was granted.

An agent’s licence authorises the licensee to carry out real estate agency work on his or her own account, whether in partnership or otherwise.

An agent’s licence authorises the licensee to sell or offer to sell land by auction, and operates as an exemption from the requirement in the Auctioneers Act 2013 to be registered as an auctioneer.

However, every licensee who conducts an auction of land must comply with the rules about the conduct of auctions set out in sections 36Y to 36ZE (but not the rule in section 36ZF) of the Fair Trading Act 1986.

A branch manager’s licence or a salesperson’s licence authorises the licensee to carry out real estate agency work for or on behalf of an agent.

The licence also authorises the licensee to sell or to offer to sell, on behalf of the agent, any land by auction, and operates as an exemption from the requirement in the Auctioneers Act 2013 to be registered as an auctioneer.

However, every licensee who conducts an auction of land must comply with the rules about the conduct of auctions set out in sections 36Y to 36ZE (but not the rule in section 36ZF) of the Fair Trading Act 1986.

A salesperson must, in carrying out any agency work, be properly supervised and managed by an agent or a branch manager.

In this section properly supervised and managed means that the agency work is carried out under such direction and control of either a branch manager or an agent as is sufficient to ensure—

A salesperson may be employed by an agent as an employee or may be engaged by an agent as an independent contractor.

Any written agreement between an agent and a salesperson is conclusive so far as it expressly states that the relationship between the agent and the salesperson is that of employer and independent contractor.

An agent who engages a salesperson as an independent contractor is liable for the acts and omissions of the salesperson in the same manner, and to the same extent, as if the agent had employed the salesperson as an employee.

An application for renewal of a licence must, before the date on which the licence expires,—

Subject to subsection (3), sections 36, 37, and 43 apply, with any necessary modifications, to an application for renewal of a licence.

The Registrar must, in addition to the matters specified in section 43(1), be satisfied that the applicant for renewal of a licence has completed any continuing education required by practice rules made by the Authority pursuant to section 15.

If an application for renewal of a licence has been made but not determined before the date on which the licence is due to expire, the licence continues in force until the application is determined.

The grant of a renewal of a licence takes effect from the date of expiry of the previous licence.

If no application for the renewal of a licence is made on or before the date on which the licence would otherwise expire, the Registrar must record the expiry of the licence in the register as soon as practicable after that date.

The Registrar must cancel a person’s licence and remove that person’s name from the register,—

The process for cancellation of a licence, other than by determination of the Tribunal under section 110 or at the request of the licensee under section 54(b), is as follows:

If the Registrar decides to cancel the licence, the Registrar must—

The cancellation takes effect on the date specified by the Registrar in the notice given to the licensee under section 55(1)(d), which must be a date after the date of that notice.

The Registrar must, on receiving notice from the Tribunal that the licence of a licensee has been suspended under section 110(2)(c) or 115, record that suspension on the register for the period specified in the notice.

A licensee may, by written notice to the Registrar, request that the Registrar suspend his or her or its licence for a period specified in the notice.

The Registrar must suspend the person’s licence and record the suspension in the register for that specified period.

A person whose licence is suspended under this section may, by written notice to the Registrar, request that the Registrar revive that person’s licence.

The Registrar must then revive that person’s licence unless there is some other ground for cancellation or suspension of that person’s licence under section 54, 110(2)(c), or 115.

A person is not a licensed agent, branch manager, or salesperson for the purposes of this Act for the period during which his or her licence is suspended.

At the end of the period of suspension the person’s licence is immediately revived unless there is some other ground for cancellation or suspension of that person’s licence under section 54, 110(2)(c), or 115.

The suspension of a licence under section 110(2)(c) or 115 takes effect on the date notified in the Tribunal’s decision communicated under section 113 or 115.

The suspension of a licence under section 58 takes effect on the date the suspension is recorded in the register.

A licensee may, by written notice to the Registrar, surrender his or her licence.

A written notice under subsection (1) must be accompanied by the licence.

The Registrar must cancel the person’s licence and record the cancellation in the register.

The cancellation takes effect on the date the cancellation is recorded in the register.

The surrender of a licence under this section does not affect the licensee’s liability—

A reference in this section to a licensee is a reference to a licensee who is an agent.

Any of the following persons may apply to the Registrar in the prescribed form for permission to carry on or appoint some other person to carry on the licensee’s business as an agent for a period specified by the Registrar:

If, under subsection (2), a person mentioned in that subsection has applied to the Registrar for permission to carry on or to appoint some other person to carry on a licensee’s business, then, until the application has been determined, the Registrar may, in writing, authorise the applicant to carry on the licensee’s business, either personally or by an agent, for any period not exceeding 2 months.

Despite subsection (3), an authority given under that subsection in any event ceases to have effect when the application for the Registrar’s permission under subsection (2) is determined.

The Registrar must establish, keep, and maintain, in accordance with this Act, a register of licensees.

The Registrar must enter in the register—

The Registrar must make any other entries in the register that may be required, permitted, or directed to be entered by or under this Act or the regulations.

The purpose of the register is—

The register may be kept—

The register must be operated at all times, unless the Registrar suspends the operation of the register, in whole or in part, in accordance with subsection (3).

The Registrar may refuse access to the register or otherwise suspend the operation of the register, in whole or in part, if the Registrar considers that it is not practicable to provide access to the register.

The register must contain all of the following information for each licensee whose name is entered in the register:

The register must also show—

Each applicant for a licence, and each licensee, must give written notice to the Registrar of any change in circumstances within 10 working days after the change.

In this section, change of circumstances means—

The Registrar may at any time make any amendments to the register that are necessary to—

A person may search the register, on payment of the prescribed fee (if any), for a purpose set out in section 64.

The Registrar must make the register available for public inspection—

The Registrar must supply copies of all or part of the register on request and on payment of a reasonable charge for the production of the copy if the provision of those copies is consistent with the register’s purposes.

A person who searches the register for a purpose that is not a purpose set out in section 64 must be treated, for the purposes of Parts 5 and 6 of the Privacy Act 2020, as having breached an information privacy principle under section 69(2)(a)(i) of that Act.

In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, licensee has the meaning given to it by section 4 and includes—

For the purposes of this Act, a licensee is guilty of unsatisfactory conduct if the licensee carries out real estate agency work that—

For the purposes of this Act, a licensee is guilty of misconduct if the licensee’s conduct—

Any person may, in accordance with regulations made under this Act, complain in writing to the Authority about the conduct of a licensee.

When the Authority receives a complaint under this section, the Authority must—

The Registrar may determine that—

The Authority must appoint as many Complaints Assessment Committees as, in its opinion, are required to deal effectively with complaints and allegations about licensees.

Each Committee consists of 3 members appointed from the panel maintained under section 76.

One of the members of each Committee must be a lawyer of not less than 7 years’ legal experience.

The Authority must designate one of the members as the chairperson of the Committee, and another member as the deputy chairperson.

The Authority must maintain a panel of up to 20 persons who are suitable to serve as members of Complaints Assessment Committees.

In considering the suitability of any person for inclusion on the panel, the Authority must have regard not only to the person’s personal attributes but also to the person’s knowledge and experience of matters likely to come before a Committee.

The knowledge and experience referred to in subsection (2) includes, without limitation, experience and knowledge of—

The name of a person must be removed from the panel when 5 years have elapsed since the Authority approved the inclusion of the person’s name on the panel or if the person resigns from the panel.

If subsection (4) applies, the name of the person must not be removed from the panel until any current matters that the person is considering as a member of a Committee have been disposed of by the Committee.

For the purposes of considering any matter before it, each Committee consists of—

The functions of each Committee are—

As soon as practicable after receiving a complaint concerning a licensee, a Committee must consider the complaint and determine whether to inquire into it.

The Committee may—

A Committee may, in its discretion, decide to take no action or, as the case may require, no further action on any complaint if, in the opinion of the Committee,—

Despite anything in subsection (1), the Committee may, in its discretion, decide not to take any further action on a complaint if, in the course of the investigation of the complaint, it appears to the Committee that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, any further action is unnecessary or inappropriate.

In any case where a Committee decides to take no action on a complaint, the Committee must promptly give written notice of that decision to—

The notice must—

If a Committee decides to inquire into a complaint or into matters raised by allegations about a licensee, it must inquire into the complaint or those matters as soon as practicable.

The Committee may authorise any person to assist it with its inquiry.

A Committee—

A Committee must exercise its powers and perform its duties and functions in a way that is consistent with the rules of natural justice.

The Committee may, subject to subsection (1), direct such publication of its decisions under sections 80, 89, and 93 as it considers necessary or desirable in the public interest.

The Committee may regulate its procedure in any manner that it thinks fit as long as it is consistent with this Act and any regulations made under it.

If the conditions stated in subsection (2) are satisfied, a Committee may, by notice in writing, require any person to produce to the Committee any papers, documents, records, or things.

The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are that—

A person who receives a notice under section 85 must, without charge, comply with the requirement stated in the notice in the manner and within the period (being not less than 10 working days after the notice is given to the person) specified in the notice.

Subsection (1) does not require a person to provide any information or produce any document that would be privileged in a court of law.

No person is required to produce to the Committee any papers, records, documents, or things if compliance with that requirement would be in breach of an obligation of secrecy or non-disclosure imposed on the person by an enactment (other than this Act, the Official Information Act 1982, or the Privacy Act 2020).

A Committee may give, in relation to any complaint received by it, a direction that, within a time or before a date fixed by the Committee, the parties both—

The Committee must not give a direction under subsection (1) if it considers that such a direction—

If the parties reach an agreed settlement in relation to the complaint or any issue involved in the complaint, the Committee—

No evidence is admissible in any court or before any person acting judicially or before the Committee or before the Disciplinary Tribunal of any information, statement, or admission disclosed or made to any person in the course of any negotiation, conciliation, or mediation conducted, in accordance with a direction given under subsection (1), for the purpose of resolving a complaint or any issue involved in a complaint.

Nothing in this section prevents the discovery or affects the admissibility of any evidence (being evidence which is otherwise discoverable or admissible and which existed independently of any negotiation, conciliation, or mediation conducted under a direction given under subsection (1) for the purpose of resolving a complaint or any issue involved in a complaint) merely because the evidence was presented in the course of the negotiation, conciliation, or mediation.

A Committee may receive in evidence any statement, document, information, or matter that may in its opinion assist it to deal effectively with the matters before it, whether or not the statement, document, information, or matter would be admissible in a court of law.

The Committee may take evidence on oath, and for that purpose, any member or officer of the Committee may administer an oath.

The Committee may permit a person appearing as a witness before it to give evidence by tendering a written statement and, if the Committee thinks fit, verifying that statement by oath.

The Evidence Act 2006 applies (subject to subsections (1) to (3)) to the Committee in the same manner as if it were a court within the meaning of that Act.

This section is subject to sections 84(1) and 87(4).

A Committee may make 1 or more of the determinations described in subsection (2) after both inquiring into a complaint or allegation and conducting a hearing with regard to that complaint or allegation.

The determinations that the Committee may make are as follows:

Nothing in this section limits the power of the Committee to make, at any time, a decision under section 80 with regard to a complaint.

A hearing conducted under section 89(1) by a Committee is to be a hearing on the papers, unless the Committee otherwise directs.

If the Committee conducts the hearing on the papers, the Committee must make its determination on the basis of the written material before it.

Consideration of the written material may be undertaken in whatever manner the Committee thinks fit.

If a Committee makes a determination that the complaint or allegation be determined by the Disciplinary Tribunal, the Committee must—

If, under section 91(a), a Committee lays before the Disciplinary Tribunal a charge against a licensee, the Committee may apply to the Tribunal for an order that, pending the determination of the charge, the licence of the licensee be suspended.

If a Committee makes a determination under section 89(2)(b), the Committee may do 1 or more of the following:

An order under this section may be made on and subject to any terms and conditions that the Committee thinks fit.

When a Committee makes a determination under section 89, the Committee must promptly give written notice of that determination to the complainant and to the licensee.

The notice must—

A person who is a member of a Committee or any person authorised by a Committee to assist it with any investigation or proceeding is not under any civil or criminal liability in respect of—

Subsection (1) does not apply if the person acts in bad faith.