Self-regulating organizations are to regulate operations of realtors, says association of realtors
Kyiv, October 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Self-regulating organizations should regulate the realtor service market in Ukraine, and the cost of services should be linked to the agreement relations of the sides, according to President of the Association of Realtors of Ukraine Serhiy Zlyden.
"The association sticks to the positions of self-regulation – this is the only nongovernmental organization that since 2007 has decided not to support the strict regulation of realtor operations via the law," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
Zlyden also said that the latest version of a draft law drawn up by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry on the specifics of doing realtors' business also sets a tariff for realtor's services at 3% of the cost of the deal.
"We believe that in this situation these are agreement relations, and our concept [an alternative of the Association of Realtors of Ukraine to draft laws on realtors' operations] includes agreement relations. It's not obligatory to peg to certain percentage," Zlyden said.
He said that any regulation of the realtor service market by the state is not acceptable to its players. Today realtors set fees for their service at no more than 5% of the cost of the deal.
He also said that today the major part of realtors of the association jointly with the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) are conducting voluntary certification with additional training, which is foreseen in a mandatory manner in the draft law composed by the ministry.
"Now we're in talks with the Economic Development and Trade Ministry to join them to the certification," he added.
Zlyden said that today the association has around 700 certified realtors.
Thus, he said that if the draft law on self-regulating organizations is passed, the need for changes to Ukrainian law proposed by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry falls away, as the operation of realtors will be regulated under the principle of self-regulation.
According to the association, it is unlikely that the legal regulation of the realtor service market will be introduced in the autumn of 2012, as the legal initiatives require revision and the parliamentary election in Ukraine will be held in the autumn of 2012.
As reported, in July 2012, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine again proposed to regulate the realtor business, empowering the ministry with the right to issue certificates to realtors and keep the state realtors register, while in the previous draft law the functions were assigned to the SPF.
A new draft law on the specifics of doing realtor business drawn up under an order of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has been posted on the ministry's Web site.
On July 7, 2011, Regions Party MP Ihor Prasolov registered draft law No. 8781 on realtors' operations, which was mainly focused on the protection of the rights of realty service consumers.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in November 2011 ordered Ukrainian Premier Mykola Azarov by January 30, 2012 to submit to parliament a draft law on realtors' operations. The Economic Development and Trade Ministry drew up a draft law on specifics of doing realtors' operations, which has not been registered in parliament. Some nongovernmental realtor organizations addressed the country's leadership asking to approve the draft law on realtor operations drawn up by Prasolov, and not the draft law designed by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry.
The Association of Realtors of Ukraine was created in 1995. It unites representatives of 25 regions in 32 cities and towns of Ukraine.