The President of the Republic of South Africa his Excellency President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa in his address to the nation on 11 July 2021 as part of his interventions by the State to alleviate the effects of the Covid pandemic on human life and the economy announces the following:
“Cabinet has decided that all business licenses and permits that expired between March 2020 and June 2021 will remain valid until 31 December 2022. New business licenses and permits that are issued from the 1st July will also be valid until 31 December 2022 and no license fee will be payable”
The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) takes note of the pronouncements that have been made by His Excellency the President of the Republic. We have also received various queries from industry and interested third parties on whether these statements are applicable to the real estate sector in general and estate agents specifically with respect to Fidelity Fund Certificates.
We have therefore made a decision as the EAAB to be proactive on the matter and to proceed to engage the Department of Human Settlements and the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation in order to get an authoritative interpretation on whether this statement extends to Fidelity Fund Certificates.
While the EAAB endeavours to seek such clarity we wish to state that we hold the view that this is not applicable to Fidelity Fund Certificates issued by the EAAB and that the President’s announcement relates to new licenses as governed by the Business Act No. 71 of 1991, and issued by the Commission for Intellectual Property and Companies.
We therefore wish to state categorically that the EAAB expects all estate agents and agencies that fall within their jurisdiction, to continue to apply and pay for their fees for Fidelity Fund Certificates in terms of the EAA Act.
The EAAB will expect full and complete compliance with the law and regulations on FFC’s until such time as there is an announcement to the contrary, if any. Therefore for complete clarity the licensing framework remains in place undisturbed and is fully applicable.
Issued by:
ESTATE AGENCY AFFAIRS BOARD
July 2021
