Erring property assessors to be penalized in KSA

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has decided to take strong penal measures against those who tamper with the regulations governing property evaluation and price assessment. The punishments to the violators of the price assessment regulations drawn up by the ministry include a fine up to SR 200,000 and a full year jail term, an informed source said. The newly set up Real Estate Evaluation and Assessment Authority will supervise the professional activities of property assessors and evaluators. According to the regulations that will be implemented shortly, the ministry will not permit anyone to practice the property assessment without its license. “The ministry will launch a register for accredited real estate assessors shortly. This is in line with a decision of the Council of Ministers taken a few months ago,” Al-Madinah daily reported quoting an informed source on Tuesday. The source added that the new regulations, which comprise 44 clauses, aim at improving the professional standard and skill of assessors. The authority will monitor the activities of assessors if any violations are taking place. The regulations stipulate that the violator’s operations will be suspended over a period of one year with a fine of up to SR 200,000 if the violation is committed once. The license of an assessor will be canceled if he violates the rules a second time. A special committee of financial consultants and legal experts appointed by the ministry drew up the regulations. The authority will also organize workshops and training programs for accredited assessors. The authority, the establishment of which was ordered a few months ago by the government, also aims to put an end to the unreasonable rise in property prices and manipulations in property pricing. The authority, a non-profit institution, has a corporate entity with an independent budget. A member of the real estate committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Abdullah Al-Maghlouth, said in a recent statement, “Property evaluation and assessment is a crucial profession, and the new authority will offer official and authoritative assistance to those who deal with the real estate industry.” He added that the authority enabled the common man looking for loans to get a fair treatment from banks and other financial institutions that provide housing loans. The assessment authority will serve as a reference for the real estate industry, especially when the property sector is booming,” a real estate expert said. Arab news