The housing rental sector would get fewer complaints if better education standards in property management were brought in, according to real estate industry training organisation chief executive Lesley Southwick.
The organisation is consulting the property management industry on qualifications for letting agents and property managers.
Level 3 and 4 papers will be introduced to tertiary institutions later this year.
Over the past 18 months, the Real Estate Agents Authority received 80 complaints related to property management rather than sales issues.
Such complaints make up about 10% of the total received.
Two years ago new education standards were introduced for real estate by the government.
The intention was to improve standards and protect the public while buying and selling property, but residential property management was not included.
Ms Southwick said the education of property management staff had been overlooked in terms of a national qualification.
“Real estate agent offices handle a large percentage of the housing rental market business,” Ms Southwick said.
The organistion estimates the market to have an annual turnover of around $7 billion, a figure it arrives at by assuming the Department of Building and Housing’s 2009/10 estimate of at least 400,000 New Zealand homes being rented and multiplying this by the median weekly rental figure of $338, multiplied again by 52 weeks.
“This is a very large industry where anybody can claim to be a property manager and start a business.
“There are fundamentals such as the Tenancy Act and Privacy Act, as well as skills to learn in managing tenant and landlord relationships.”
NBR staff
Thu, 05 May 2011
Thu, 05 May 2011
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Better education would cut complaints about property managers
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