The results are not very flattering for the profession. More than six professionals from real estate out of ten inspected in 2020 by the Directorate General for the Repression of frauds (DGCCRF) were in violation, according to a public administration investigation unveiled on Thursday.
Out of a thousand professionals in the real estate brokerage (agents, representatives, etc.) inspected, 62.5% did not comply with at least one of their professional obligations, a figure down slightly from the 64% recorded in 2019. The professionals inspected are not randomly inspected but as a result of consumer complaints and reports, or because they have not been inspected before.
Inconspicuous fees
“More than 50% of the shortcomings noted by the DGCCRF departments related to the information of the consumer and on the business practices of professionals,” she explains. Many lack of information related to the display of agents’ fees, which were not very visible or poorly indicated.
According to the survey, 21% of professionals also resorted to deceptive commercial practices, such as leaving advertisements posted for goods already sold or when the sales mandate has expired. Some professionals have also tried to obtain fees even when the sale had not been concluded by them, she notes.
The pressure will be maintained, warns the repression of fraud
The DGCCRF also mentions dubious practices in location, with a “succinctly” established entry inventory and an “exhaustive” and much more detailed exit inventory. “The formalism of the two documents must however be similar in order to be able to compare them”, it is recalled. Rental advertisements are too often incomplete, with important details (area, amount of charges or deposit, etc.) sometimes missing, adds the administration.
“Given the high rate of anomalies, control pressure will therefore be maintained in this sector, especially since the regulations have changed in 2022 with the introduction of the mandatory display of scales at maximum prices, the information on the supervision of rents and on the diagnosis of energy performance”, warns the DGCCRF.