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The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) will consider a recommendation for the naming and shaming of agents who breach professional standards at its annual meeting tonight.
The recommendation was made by John Keating of Victorian-based real estate agency Woodend, who has been lobbying for 15 years for the names and penalties of agents in breach of professional standards to be published in REIV member publications.
Mr Keating told today’s The Australian Financial Review that members had a right to know about fellow members before doing business with them.
Mr Keating won support for the proposal at a special REIV meeting seven years ago after it was first passed unanimously by the Bendigo branch in 1994.
“Unfortunately, the REIV just do not seem to want to put the motion into practice and trying to get action on it by the REIV has been very exasperating” Mr Keating told the daily.
REIV’s chief executive Enzo Raimondo said the board had not previously adopted the proposal because of the risk that agents identified as breaching the body’s codes of practice could sue.
“If we named and shames agents there is a risk that, their businesses was impacted, then they could take action against us for affecting their business,” he said according The Australian Financial Review reported.
However according to Mr Keating, he had obtained a legal opinion that there was little defamation risk to the proposal.
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