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
06/2019 Failure to Act in a Fair and Reasonable Manner to the Buyers of a Property by Misrepresenting to the Buyers the Prevailing Bridging Loan Interest Rate (PDF, 323KB)
07/2019 Failure to act Ethically, Honestly, Fairly and in a Reasonable Manner by Misleading a Prospective Buyer of the Property (PDF, 526KB)
08/2019 Failure to Conduct Required Due Diligence Checks Before Facilitating Lease of Property to Foreigner (PDF, 526KB)
09/2019 Failure to Conduct Work with Due Diligence and Care & Misrepresentation to Clients of Eligibility for CPF Housing Grant and HDB’s Purported Rejection of their Grant Application (PDF, 423KB)
10/2019 Failure to be Fully Conversant with the Relevant Laws that Apply to Property Transactions & Failure to Render Professional and Conscientious Service to Client (PDF, 426KB)
11/2019 Failing to Act with Due Diligence and/or Care by Facilitating a Sub-Sublease of 2 Classrooms when the Sub-lessee had Sub-leased only 1 Classroom (PDF, 530KB)
12/2019 Failure to Act with Honesty by Misrepresenting the Highest Price Offered by the Assignee to her Client the Assignor of a Lease; and Bringing Discredit to the Estate Agency Industry (PDF, 425KB)
13/2019 Failure to Act in a Reasonable Manner Towards Other Persons by Misrepresenting the Type of Floor Tiling to the Purchasers (PDF, 427KB)
14/2019 Failure to Conduct Work with Due Diligence and Care by Failing to Conduct the Due Diligence Checks Set Out in Section 57B(3) of the Immigration Act (PDF, 532KB)
15/2019 Failure to Verify Client’s Eligibility for Additional Buyers Stamp Duty Refund, Negligent Misrepresentation to Client of Eligibility for Additional Buyers Stamp Duty Refund (PDF, 424KB)
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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.