Proposed Amendment to PD 957 to remove accreditation of brokers from HLURB

There are now two government agencies in charge of regulating real estate agents -- the PRC and the HLURB.  The latter obtained its mandate under an old law, PD 957; while the former under a more recent law, R.A. 9646.

Brokers and agents are now seeking to simplify this and a leading organization, the Manila Board of Realtors, Inc. has proposed the following:

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LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL

TO AMEND PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 957 July 12, 1976

REGULATING THE SALE OF SUBDIVISION LOTS AND CONDOMINIUMS,

PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

WHEREAS, P.D. 957 is a law that is now 40 years old and it has never been amended since its enactment;

WHEREAS, Sections 11 and 12 of this law requires the registration of brokers and salesmen who are engaged in the selling of subdivision lots or condominium units as a necessary safeguard to protect the public from unscrupulous and unprofessional real estate agents;

WHEREAS, Republic Act 9646 enacted in 2009 has professionalized the real estate service practice and now requires all real estate brokers to obtain licensure with the Professional Regulation Commission; and likewise requires all real estate salespersons to be accredited with said Commission;

WHEREAS, the registration requirement imposed by P.D. 957 is currently under the jurisdiction of the Housing & Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), while that of R.A. 9646 is under the jurisdiction of the PRC;

WHEREAS, it is the stated policy of the new administration under President Rodrigo Duterte to simplify government bureaucratic requirements, particularly those pertaining to registration of business and professions;

NOW THEREFORE, we, the Manila Board of Realtors, Inc. hereby propose the following legislative amendment to Presidential Decree No. 957:

PROPOSED AMENDMENT: 

That the entire article, entitled Title III – Dealers, Brokers and Salesmen, comprised of the following two sections, Section 11 and Section 12 shall be deleted in full, and the rest of the Sections shall be accordingly re-numbered.

  

Title III

DEALERS, BROKERS AND SALESMEN

Section 11. Registration of dealers, brokers and salesmen. No real estate dealer, broker  or salesman shall engage in the business of selling subdivision lots or condominium units unless he has registered himself with the Authority in accordance with the provisions of this section.  If the Authority shall find that the applicant is of good repute and has complied with the  applicable rules of the Authority, including the payment of the prescribed fee, he shall

register such applicant as a dealer, broker or salesman upon filing a bond, or other security in lieu thereof, in such sum as may be fixed by the Authority conditioned upon his faithful compliance with the provisions of this Decree: Provided, that the registration of a salesman shall cease upon the termination of his employment with a dealer or broker. 

Every registration under this section shall expire on the thirty-first day of December of each year. Renewal of registration for the succeeding year shall be granted upon writtenapplication therefor made not less than thirty nor more than sixty days before the first day of the ensuing year and upon payment of the prescribed fee, without the necessity of filing further statements or information, unless specifically required by the Authority. All applications filed beyond said period shall be treated as original applications.  The names and addresses of all persons registered as dealers, brokers, or salesmen shall be recorded in a Register of Brokers, Dealers and Salesmen kept in the Authority which  shall be open to public inspection.

Section 12. Revocation of registration as dealers, brokers or salesmen. Registrationunder the preceding section may be refused or any registration granted thereunder, revoked by the Authority if, after reasonable notice and hearing, it shall determine that such applicant or registrant:

1. Has violated any provision of this Decree or any rule or regulation made hereunder; or

2. Has made a material false statement in his application for registration; or

3. Has been guilty of a fraudulent act in connection with any sale of a subdivisionlot or condominium unit; or

4. Has demonstrated his unworthiness to transact the business of dealer, broker, or salesman, as the case may be.  In case of charges against a salesman, notice thereof shall also be given the broker or dealer employing such salesman.  Pending hearing of the case, the Authority shall have the power to order the suspension of  the dealer's, broker's, of salesman's registration; provided, that such order shall state the cause for the suspension.  The suspension or revocation of the registration of a dealer or broker shall carry with it  all the suspension or revocation of the registrations of all his salesmen.

JUSTIFICATION:

The registration requirement of PD 957 was necessary in the past but today it is already a duplication of the registration and licensure requirement of R.A. 9646.  The latter is more encompassing, qualifications are provided, examinations are required.  Likewise, the PRC licensure renewal is once every three years while that of the HLURB is once a year – thereby creating a lot of confusion, unnecessary servitude and bureaucracy for the real estate service professions.  Other professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.) need to register only with one regulatory agency, not two.

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Submitted by:

Manila Board of Realtors, Inc.                          Date