The introduction of the register of intermediaries operating in the real estate market and the professional examination are two of the novelties that will bring more order to the real estate market in our country.

The Law on Mediation in trade and Lease of Real Estate, which came into force at the end of last year, set a framework for the regulating of market mediation and the by-laws, which are soon to be adopted, will further define the details that will bring order to the real estate market.

The Head of the Working Group for the preparation of these by-laws at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Željko Stojanović told Tanjug that the guidelines regarding the professional exams, the register of intermediaries, office space and the rules on the records that must be kept by intermediaries have been prepared.

The introduction of the register of intermediaries will enable the client to find all the companies that are registered for brokerage in the real estate market in Serbia in one place, said Stojanović.

He pointed out that the problem of unfair competition is widespread, in addition to false advertising of apartments for sale and renting that either do not exist or are not being offered on the market.

“For example, an ad for a 30 square meters efficiency apartment in Terazije for 40,000 euros is put out. A buyer calls, he is interested to come and see it, the broker tells him that the apartment was just sold yesterday, and takes him to see another apartment, he does not care for,” explained Stojanović and pointed out that the new legislation will thwart such behavior by intermediaries.

Another novelty is the professional exam, because the law stipulates that brokers in real estate must pass an exam, and they will have to start taking the exam by October this year, noted Stojanović.

Stojanović said that the professional exam will have a written and an oral part, and pointed out that the intention is to create a system which will enable testing as many candidates as possible in the most efficient way.

Only when an intermediary passes the professional exam, will the company be able to register in the register of intermediaries, explained Stojanović.

The deadline for creating the register is 18 months from the entry into force of the law, said Stojanović, adding that the entire process will be completed before the expiry of the legal deadline.