DOHA: All real estate brokers in the country will have to be licensed and registered, according to a draft decision of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce that was approved by the State Cabinet yesterday.
The draft decision also proposes to maintain a record with complete details of the people involved in real estate brokerage.
Under the existing law, a licence is mandatory for real estate brokers but illegal agents still rule the roost in the market. The Ministerial decision is expected to further regulate the sector and plug the loopholes.
According to the draft decision, the officials concerned must respond to an application from the potential brokers for registration within 30 days.
The registration will be given for two years, renewable for the same period. The licence for operating as the real estate broker/middlemen will be nullified with the cancellation of the registration of his company/office.
The decision includes an amendment in the law that attaches a fee to be paid by the real estate brokers/middlemen to all the services being provided by the ministries concerned.
The Cabinet approval follows the issuance of Law No. 6 of 2004 on Tuesday that regulates the real estate sector, by protecting the rights of buyers and investors.
Real estate experts believe that the decision is strong enough to create a trust on brokers. The brokers and middlemen with a licence mean that he/she will have to strictly follow the law.
“Middlemen legally do not represent any of the two parties — buyer or seller. His role is to bring the two parties together and facilitate negotiations. But if the broker represents one of the two parties he should do it in a legal way and needs to be licensed and registered,” said Qatari real estate expert Abdullah Al Khater.
He said, currently some people are coming straight from the airport and entering the real estate sector seeing it an open market.
“They have no knowledge of the country, its laws and traditions and they still operate as middlemen and brokers. This is putting people’s rights at risk and complaints in the court are on the rise. There is no monitoring from the authorities concerned,” said Al Khater.
He said the new law should clearly set the criteria for anyone to be licensed to work as a real estate agent/middlemen, including experience and knowledge of the market.
The person must be educated in Qatari law and the legal procedures and they have to sit for a practical examination, he added.
He said the new decision, once implemented, will create a legal foundation for the real estate market in the long run and it will encourage investment.
“There will not be hesitation from people to deal with the brokers if they are legally licensed.
However, majority of them do not have a licence,” said Al Khater.
The Peninsula
