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A Western Australia real estate property manager has been caught operating with an expired certificate of registration.
Wendy Maxine Caroline Vettler has been fined $1,500 for breaching the Real Estate and Business Agents Act.
Additionally, her employer Teevor Pty Ltd, trading as Remax Sunset Coast Real Estate of Scarborough, has been fined $5,000, and the agency’s director, Thomas Vincent O’Rourke, was fined $2,500 for not ensuring Ms Vettler’s registration was up to date.
They were all reprimanded and ordered to pay total costs of $700, and the agency surrendered its licence earlier this year in March.
She started working for the company back in July 2014, and a year later her certificate of registration expired. However, she continued working without the document and did not renew it until August 2018.
Consumer protection commissioner Penny Lipscombe said no one should carry out these duties without the right documents.
“The licensing system is essential in protecting consumers by ensuring that only suitably qualified and ‘fit and proper’ people operate in the real estate industry in WA,” she said.
“So, it’s important that licences and registrations do not lapse at any time and agents need to have a system of proper checks in place in their office to ensure that their employees are not working illegally.
“The consequences of failing to do so can be serious, with disciplinary action often resulting in penalties and damage to the agency’s reputation in the community.”
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