Government is moving to establish a professional body for real estate practitioners as authorities seek to bring brokers and other professionals under common standards and a formal accountability system.
The initiative, led by the National Land Authority (NLA), is at the stakeholder consultation and validation stage, with the regulatory framework expected to be published before the end of 2026.
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NLA Director General Marie-Grace Nishimwe said the body will be responsible for licensing practitioners, setting professional standards, organising continuous training and handling complaints related to professional conduct.
It will also participate in inspection and enforcement activities, she said.
"The guidelines will support organisation and professionalisation of the real estate sector,” Nishimwe told The New Times.
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The proposed body is being developed with input from government institutions, private-sector representatives and professional bodies. NLA has already held a technical validation workshop, after which participants were given additional time to submit comments for consideration in the final framework.
The membership arrangements have not yet been settled. NLA is still discussing the criteria professionals will have to meet to join the body and whether membership will be mandatory.
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What the body will address
Nishimwe said the initiative is partly aimed at addressing problems that have emerged in the real estate sector, including misleading property advertisements and inadequate verification of property information before transactions.
She also pointed to unprofessional brokerage practices and limited accountability for practitioners.
"Weak mechanisms for handling clients' complaints and professional misconduct” are among the issues the framework is expected to address, she said.
Members of the public also face difficulties determining whether someone offering real estate services is a legitimate practitioner, according to Nishimwe.
The regulatory framework is expected to provide a system through which practitioners can be licensed and held accountable for professional conduct.
The planned body follows NLA's ongoing work to introduce a formal regulatory framework for real estate brokerage and property management. In July, NLA said the framework would define who is allowed to operate in the sector and the requirements they must meet.
The latest stage focuses on validating the wider framework and incorporating comments from stakeholders before it is finalised.
Nishimwe urged members of the public to work with licensed practitioners once the framework takes effect.
"Once the regulatory framework is in place, they should only engage licensed practitioners in real estate transactions to avoid any loss in the process,” she said.
She added that licensed professionals may be held accountable for professional misconduct.
NLA expects the regulatory framework to be published before the end of this year, after which details on the professional body's membership and operation will be clearer.