– Bill to be laid in National Assembly as soon as practicable says AG 

ATTORNEY General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, stated that the draft Real Estate Bill would be presented to Cabinet for approval and laid before the National Assembly as soon as is practically possible.

This is according to a press release from the Attorney General’s chambers following his meeting with members of the Realtor Association of Guyana and the Guyana Association of Real Estate Professionals on Tuesday.

During this meeting, Nandlall presented a copy of the draft Real Estate Bill 2023 to the stakeholders and highlighted its provisions and objectives.

He said, “The Bill will provide the requisite accountable and transparent legal framework in which real estate agents will operate and by which their transactions will be governed.”

Nandlall added that the economic expansion in Guyana results in billions of dollars passing through the sector, which is currently without necessary regulation. He said this is a grave risk, and this state of affairs cannot continue.

The bill was drafted after consultations with local real estate bodies and the consideration of industry best practices and international standards.

The release added that while the bill allows the sector to be as self-regulatory as possible, it includes a structure that brings together the government, private sector and real estate operators.

The bill further addresses the licensing of realtors, the required qualifications, ethical rules governing transactions, disciplinary procedures, and the establishment of a governing authority, and also creates offences for non-compliance.

He then explained that Guyana’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework is set to undergo evaluation in September by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FTAF), and as a result, the real estate sector has been pegged as one of the areas WHERE regulatory framework is needed.

As such, agents present from the two organisations were given two weeks to offer comments in writing on how the draft could be improved.

Over two weeks ago, Nandlall said that his chambers had completed drafting the Real Estate Legislation following extensive engagement with stakeholders and other key parties.

At that time, he noted that the draft bill would be circulated and the consultative process would continue.

Nandlall indicated that key components of the legislation include a code of conduct for real estate agents, formalisation of the current transaction process with enhancements, and improved protection for buyers, sellers, agents, and brokers.

In June 2022, at the launch of the Realtor’s Association of Guyana, it was said that, as the country’s real estate sector continues to grow, the industry needs heavy regulation.

He indicated that while legislation was in the pipeline, the government would only play a regulatory role and would only pass a law to establish a structure to regulate the players in the industry.