Past Disciplinary Cases

The following are disciplinary cases brought by the Council for Estate Agencies against salespersons or estate agents for breaching the Estate Agents Act (Cap. 95A) or regulations made thereunder including the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care or the Code of Practice for Estate Agents.

These cases illustrate the misconduct which had been committed and the charges which were brought as well as the penalties that were imposed by the Disciplinary Committee upon the respective respondents. The cases are examples of breaches of the respective regulations and the penalties that are meted out for breaches would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case. They are meant to inform salespersons about the disciplinary cases which have been concluded and to remind them not to commit such breaches of the Act or Regulations.

The cases are also meant to provide respondents in on-going disciplinary proceedings (who may be facing charges similar to those cited in the cases and who wish to know about precedents e.g. for plea bargaining purposes) with information on the previous decisions on penalties which were meted out by the Disciplinary Committee.

Filter by Year :

S/N Case Title
08/2023 Marketing Units for Sale at Significantly Lower Prices than Developers' Prevailing Prices and Failing to Remove Advertisements once Properties were No Longer Available for Sale (PDF, 71KB)
09/2023 Failing to Act Ethically, Honestly, Fairly and in a Reasonable Manner towards Another Person by Issuing and Signing Off on a Cheque without Authorisation (PDF, 63KB)
10/2023 Withholding Information from Client, Failing to Act According to Client's Instructions and Failing to Ensure that Advertisement Accurately Described the Property (PDF, 60KB)
11/2023 Dishonestly Creating and Entering into Co-Brokerage Agreement Without Representing any Party in the Transaction (PDF, 60KB)
12/2023 Dishonestly Arranging for Wife to Enter into Co-Brokerage Agreement Despite Knowing that Wife Did Not Represent any Party in the Transaction (PDF 63KB)
13/2023 Fraudulently Creating and Submitting a Fictitious Option to Purchase to Deceive Estate Agent on Qualification for Recognition Awards (PDF, 56KB)
14/2023 Facilitating Room Rental in Breach of HDB's Regulations, Procuring Signing of Rental Agreement with Blank Commission Field and Failing to Declare Commission to Estate Agent (PDF, 61KB)
01/2022 Failure to Verify Eligibility and Perform Required Due Diligence Checks Before Facilitating Lease of Flat to Foreigners (PDF, 133KB)
02/2022 Bringing Disrepute to the Industry by Dishonestly Amending the Exclusive Estate Agency Agreement without the Clients' Knowledge in Attempt to Claim a Commission (PDF, 61KB)
03/2022 Misleading and/or Deceiving the Buyer's Salesperson into Believing that the Seller was Paying the Respondent a Commission of 1% instead of 2% of the Sale Price of the Property (PDF, 62KB)
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Contravention of HDB's rules

  1. Estate agents and salespersons must not undertake estate agency work in respect of Housing and Development Board flats unless they are fully conversant and comply with the applicable laws, regulations, rules and procedures that apply to transactions involving such flats.
  2. The following cases are meant to provide salespersons with a useful resource of past breaches. The cases can be accessed here (PDF,125KB). 

Advice to Salespersons

  • If the client's instructions are not in accordance with the law, the salesperson should advise the client accordingly. If the client persists, the salesperson should discharge himself.
  • Obtain consent to advertise before marketing any property.
  • Advertisements must provide accurate information.
  • If in doubt, the salesperson should verify the client's information.
  • Salespersons should not facilitate subletting of HDB rental flats.
  • HDB rental flats are not meant to be sublet and it is a serious matter to do so.