Activities

Contents

Notable Achievements
Recent Initiatives
On-Going Discussions
Members Contributions

Notable Achievements

The Association has been actively engaged in monitoring the activities of the Town Planning Department and other Government Agencies in the interest of Developers and the attainment of good administration, and has been successful in several initiatives which we have proposed to achieve social and economic development of the sector.

The Association introduced the Split Contract resulting in considerable saving of Government Fees

Real Estate Industry Regulation and Consumer Protection

The Association made valuable contributions to the Duffus Commission of Enquiry and to the introduction of the Real Estate Dealers and Developers Act in 1987.

DUFFUS COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY

The year 1975 was recorded as the commencement of the doldrums of Developers and Housing. The year opened with island wide cries of defalcations and abandonment of schemes by various types of Developers and Real Estate Agents.
Arising from the public outcry, the Government, by a proclamation on the 19^th March 1975, appointed Sir Herbert George Holwell Duffus, KT to be a Commissioner and authorized to:-
“To Enquire into and report on the conduct and practice of private Developers of land and housing schemes and to determine what factors have given rise to or are likely to give rise to complaints of suffering and hardship by persons who entered into contracts with such Developers for the purchase of plots of land or houses, and further to report on the propriety or otherwise of such conduct and practices, and finally to make such recommendations as may be considered appropriate for the enactment of legislation for affording better protection to members of the public who may wish to enter in contracts with such Developers for the purposes of aforesaid.”
The Association welcomed the Commission. The Commissioner was assured of the Association’s cooperation and a Memorandum was submitted to the Commissioner on the 10^th December 1975. Many important recommendations by the Association were made in the Memorandum and many of them were eventually included in the legislation that followed.
The Commissioner’s Report was made in three parts. The final Report was dated 30^th April, 1976.
Mr. Eustace Bird Secretary/Manager served on both Committees appointed to make detailed recommendations for implementing the Commissioner’s Report. After several years, the appropriate legislation, namely the Real Estate (Dealers and Developers) Act 1987 was assented to by the Governor General on 24^th July 1987 and came into force, with Regulations on 1^st September 1988.
The Association was represented by Messrs. Ian Don and Eustace Bird. Mr. Don was the first representative from the Association to sit as a Director on the Real Estate Board. He was replaced by Mr. Karl Vendryes in 1990. Mr. Vendryes assisted the late John Risden in drafting the current Code of Ethics which became law in 1998.