Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, the Minister of Works and Housing, has stated that the Real Estate Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1047) has become a game-changer in the revitalisation of the real estate industry in Ghana.
He said the law would help address the menace of inefficiencies in the real estate sector, saying in the past, the absence of a regulator allowed for exploitation, fraud, and arbitrary practices and this led to several cases of consumer exploitation and fraud, among other arbitrary practices.
Considering the need to protect consumers, the Minister said it was important to take all necessary measures to ensure a free and fair market, as the real estate industry had a significant role in Ghana’s economic growth.
Mr Asenso-Boakye made these remarks during a three-day Real Estate Agency Council (REAC) Board workshop, which created a platform for all stakeholders to discuss and share their inputs on specific articles of the Act.
The engagement also aimed at presenting an opportunity for learning, knowledge sharing, and broadening stakeholders’ understanding of critical matters related to the latest development in the real estate sector.
It would be recalled that in November 2021 the REAC Board chaired by Mr Kojo Addo-Kuffour was inaugurated by the Government to regulate the real estate agency business, covering purchases, sales and the rental of Real Estate.
Mr Asenso-Boakye stated that the establishment of the Council brought with it the promise of sanitising the real estate industry in the country, to this end, “the Ministry will continuously support the Council to successfully implement the Real Estate Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1047).”
He charged the Board to bear the responsibility of ensuring that policies, plans, and programmes formulated to guide the mandate of the Council were well thought through and implemented in an effective and efficient manner.
Mr Kojo Addo-Kuffour, the REAC Board Chairman, said since its inauguration the Board had engaged various stakeholders, including, the Ministry of Finance, Attorney General’s Department and the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, to solicit for ideas to help operationalise the Act.
He said currently the real estate industry was not regulated and this created all kinds of risks for the public, hence, the need for an Act that would regulate the activities of individuals; with much emphasis on licensing real estate agents.
Mr Addo-Kuffour said: “You cannot be a real estate agent without a license and if an individual chooses to deal with the agent who doesn’t have a license, then they will have themselves to blame.”
The Board Chairman mentioned that there were aspects of this which touched on money laundering and all other concerns that arise when one thinks of large sums of money.
Mr Addo-Kuffour said the Act provided an excellent framework for the Council to address some of the concerns in a very structured manner and was hopeful that when the Council fully running real estate transactions would be subjected to the articles of the Act.
Source: Ghana News Agency
