Many brokers are not licensed.
Research data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS) shows that at the peak of the real estate market, there were about 300,000 - 400,000 individuals working as brokers. However, only about 40,000 people had real estate brokerage certificates, had undergone professional training and had certificates issued by the Department of Construction.
According to the survey results of this unit, many real estate brokers do not participate in training courses, professional knowledge improvement courses and professional certification exams because they are not "afraid" of being fined.
Accordingly, Decree 16/2022/ND-CP on "Regulations on administrative sanctions for construction", effective from the beginning of 2022, has provisions on administrative sanctions for individuals conducting independent real estate brokerage services without a practice certificate.
However, up to now, there has been no information about any cases of punishment. Even in some localities with a primitive real estate market, many "land brokers" are not aware of these new regulations.
There is also an objective reason, because the organization of real estate brokerage certification exams has not been implemented synchronously and widely across the country.
Accordingly, many brokers intend to stick with the profession for a long time, have undergone professional training in a systematic way, have participated in real estate brokerage knowledge training courses, are ready to take the exams but have to wait a long time to have the opportunity to take the exam. This causes difficulties for those who are practicing or want to quickly get a certificate.
Up to now, the new Law has been in effect for 2 months, but no province/city has announced plans to organize the exam.
Because according to the new legal regulations, the responsibility for organizing the examination and granting certificates is transferred to the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities - units without experience and without specialized agencies to carry out this task. Therefore, it is likely that brokers will continue to have difficulty accessing certificates because localities are still "afraid" and not ready to implement.
Strengthen training and foster professional knowledge
According to VARS experts, in order for the exams to be organized soon with guaranteed quality, meeting the actual needs of the market, the Department of Construction or agencies and units with the function of organizing real estate brokerage practice certificate exams according to previous regulations, can advise localities on policies and regulations related to organizing exams and granting certificates.
The People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities will ensure that the exam organization process takes place in accordance with legal regulations, and at the same time monitor the quality and transparency of these exams.
In particular, currently, the supervision of brokerage activities is not strictly implemented, leading to the situation that many brokers do not attach importance to studying and taking exams to obtain certificates. Even though they have certificates, they still lack practical experience, or practice without meeting professional ethics standards.
Therefore, in addition to implementing regulations on agencies receiving and handling information on violations, the State needs to improve post-inspection work after granting certificates. And have mechanisms to monitor brokers' activities to ensure they fully comply with legal regulations and professional standards.
VARS recommends that, in order to improve the professionalism and transparency of the market and prevent and minimize market risks caused by brokerage activities, State management agencies need to strengthen inspection and supervision of both necessary conditions - training activities and professional knowledge development.
State management agencies need to develop and publicize a list of qualified training facilities. Ensure that training facilities are strictly inspected for quality and have a standard training process for lecturers. And have strong enough sanctions to strictly handle individuals or training organizations that do not ensure quality or do not comply with regulations.
