Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko responded to a petition on regulating the activities of realtors in Ukraine and instructed relevant agencies to address this issue, taking into account economic conditions and the state's priority needs, UNN reports.
What the petition asks for
A petition on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the need to regulate the activities of realtors in Ukraine gathered the required number of votes.
The petition proposes that the Cabinet of Ministers develop a draft law or other regulatory act that would establish:
- mandatory registration of real estate agents' activities in the form of a sole proprietorship or legal entity;
- minimum requirements for the qualification and certification of real estate agents;
- mandatory presence of a contract or written confirmation of cooperation;
- prohibition of charging commission without the client's request;
- administrative responsibility for violating these requirements
Government's response to the petition
In response to this petition, Yulia Svyrydenko noted that currently in Ukraine, the activities of real estate agencies and realtors are carried out without special legal regulation within the framework of legislation governing economic activity, in particular, the provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine.
Also, according to her, realtors are registered as business entities on general grounds in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Formations" and pay taxes in accordance with the requirements of the Tax Code of Ukraine. Carrying out real estate activities without proper registration is illegal.
The real estate market in the EU is largely regulated at the national level of the EU member states, as the regulation of issues of professional competence of realtors and detailed rules of the real estate market is carried out at the state level. At the same time, the EU sets general frameworks through directives and regulations that concern consumer protection, financing, sustainability and the overall functioning of the market.
She reports that the petition was processed with the participation of relevant executive authorities, including the State Property Fund and the Ministry of Economy.
Svyrydenko noted that legislative regulation of real estate activities in Ukraine can contribute to increasing transparency and strengthening competition in the real estate market, protecting consumer rights, increasing budget revenues, and professionalizing the sphere of real estate services.
However, Svyrydenko noted that, in the opinion of the State Property Fund, legislative regulation of real estate activities would lead, on the one hand, to an increase in the bureaucratic apparatus and, accordingly, an additional increase in budget expenditures, and on the other hand, to an increase in the costs of the real estate business, which could affect the price of the service. The Prime Minister emphasized that in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine, the priority areas of state funding remain the security and defense sector, healthcare, infrastructure restoration, and economic support.
At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, given the significant volume of housing transactions and the need for proper protection of the rights of consumers of services in this area, supports the need to streamline the real estate services market, taking into account economic conditions and the state's priority needs.
Given the above, I have instructed the State Property Fund, together with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Development, to address this issue and inform you about the measures taken.