Erasmus Shalihaxwe
The Minister of Industrialization and Trade, Lucia Iipumbu, has this week introduced the Property Practitioners Bill in the National Assembly, which contains the Fidelity Fund Certificate that aims to protect consumers against theft of money entrusted to a property practitioner.
In terms of the bill, once a Fidelity Fund Certificate is issued to a property practitioner, should that property practitioner then steal money held in trust, the consumer can claim the money back from the fidelity fund.
“This part of the bill also deals with the consequences of a property practitioner not having a Fidelity Fund Certificate. The bill also places an obligation on transferring attorneys or conveyancers to satisfy themselves whether a property practitioner has a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate before conducting and concluding any transaction,” Iipumbu said.
The minister clarified that by establishing an appropriate institutional and legal framework that is responsive to current realities, the proposed bill aims to transform the landscape of the property market.
This is because property practitioners deal with what are often their clients’ most valuable assets. The protection of consumers of agency services should be a fundamental guiding principle for the regulation and certification of property practitioners.
“In addition to the certification of ‘traditional’ estate agents, the bill has introduced the certification of, among others, auctioneers, property developers, and property managers who will collectively be known as property practitioners to adequately protect consumers of agency services. It is worth noting that this piece of legislation is consumer-centric and aims to protect the consumer within the property sector,” she argued.
Iipumbu emphasized that this is a necessary development in light of the progress that the ministry has made in relation to the consumer protection law.
According to her, adequate protection must be accorded to consumers when dealing with their property, and this is a fundamental right that is accorded protection under Article 16 of the Constitution.
