An estate agent who requested from house-hunters a €2,000 deposit to get on a priority waiting list for a new housing development has been sanctioned by a State property industry watchdog.
Details of the incident are contained in the 2023 annual report of the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA).
It records how the authority, under the heading of non-refundable deposits, made a finding of improper conduct against the estate agent over the complaint made against him.
An investigation was commenced after a member of the public accused the estate agent, who is not identified, of seeking to charge house-hunters a €2,000 deposit in exchange for a place on a priority waiting list.
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The PSRA said it was satisfied the estate agent did not charge any prospective purchaser a deposit to secure an allocation of a property. However, it found that by requesting a deposit of €2,000 from house-hunters, the estate agent “sought a monetary reward” for placing their name on the priority waiting list.
In the anonymised case study, the authority said, “this was improper conduct as it constituted a form of inducement within the meaning of the Minimum Standards Regulations”. It imposed “a minor sanction of a warning” on the estate agent.
In 2023, according to the report, 67 complaints against property service providers were concluded after investigations and in 44 cases (65.67 per cent), improper conduct was found and a minor sanction imposed. One case, relating to the misappropriation of client funds by an estate agent, led to a major sanction prohibiting the estate agent from applying for a new licence for a period of six months.
In a separate compliance case, the PSRA imposed a €10,000 penalty on a service provider over the handling of deposits and client funds.
The investigation found the lodgement of non-client money to the client account; cash withdrawals from the client account and the transfer of money from the client account to the office account to facilitate cash payments to persons other than clients.
A total of 14 breaches of the Client Moneys Regulations 2012 were identified by PSRA inspectors.
Sanction are imposed in two parts – a payment of €5,000 in respect of PRSA investigation costs and another payment of €5,000 by way of financial penalty.
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