RISM supports single property surveying board

The still subdued consumer sentiment against a backdrop of rising cost of living and elevated household debts is holding consumers back from committing themselves to the purchase of big ticket items like a house.

KUALA LUMPUR: Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) said it is standing by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVEAP), Malaysia to have a single board to govern the property-related practitioners.

In a statement, RISM said all varsities in Malaysia and overseas offer a programme based on a unified curriculum comprising property valuation, estate agency and property management. 

The local institutions will face difficulties in the preparation and auditing of curriculum if there is a separation of the regulatory bodies.

“The practice of valuation, estate agency and property management services, was historically known as General Practice Surveying. So it is common for a company to provide all the three services,” RISM president Mohammad Azmi Mohd Zin said.

The current system of registering the three related professions has resulted in expediency of functions under one roof, the statement said.

RISM said different regulatory bodies for the real estate industry will result in confusion to the public and create distress among practitioners.

There will be duplication and overlapping of functions in administering complaints, disciplinary procedures, professional practise standards, RISM said.

For the regulators, they will not be informed of the disciplinary issues of their registrants in other boards. If all comes under a single board, the regulator will be aware of the registrants’ tendencies.