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
19/2021 Causing or Allowing to Be Made an Advertisement Containing False Statement and without Obtaining Seller's Prior Agreement (PDF, 60KB)
20/2021 Facilitating Lease of Property Despite Having Reason to Believe Property was Intended to be Used for Illegal Activities (PDF, 62KB)
21/2021 Facilitating Lease of Entire HDB Flat during Minimum Occupation Period (PDF, 61KB)
01/2020 Failure to Properly Advise Clients on Applicable Restrictions to Use of Central Provident Fund Monies for Purchase of Flat (PDF, 525KB)
02/2020 Failure to Accurately Calculate Expected Cash Proceeds from Sale of Client’s Flat (PDF, 422KB)
03/2020 Failure to Render Professional and Conscientious Service to Client by Withholding Relevant Facts or Information by Amending a Clause in a Prescribed Form (PDF, 319KB)
04/2020 Failure to Conduct Business and Work with Due Diligence and Care by Miscalculating the Respective Shares of the Sales Proceeds of the Matrimonial Flat for the Divorced Couple (PDF, 672KB)
05/2020 Failure to Conduct Work with Due Diligence and Care by Preparing a Letter of Intent for a Sub-lease of a HDB Commercial Unit that was in Contravention of HDB Policy (PDF, 527KB)
06/2020 Failure to Act in a Reasonable Manner Towards the Tenant (who were not her Clients) by Misrepresenting to the Tenant the Floor Area of the Leased Premises (PDF, 764KB)
07/2020 Failure to Submit an Offer to her Clients as soon as possible after receiving the Offer and Failure to Advise her Client to seek the Advice of Appropriate Professionals (PDF, 1148KB)
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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.