A good real estate agent can be invaluable when buying or selling real estate. They can help you find the perfect home, negotiate a good price and handle all legal and administrative matters. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that a real estate agent fails to meet the client's expectations and in some cases even acts unethically.
But suppose you have a complaint about a real estate agent, what are your options for follow-up action? In this blog, we explain how to file complaints about real estate agents and why this matters.
Misunderstanding or malpractice?
First, it is important to determine whether there is a misunderstanding, or actual wrongdoing. In the past, it was quite difficult to distinguish the two. Because there was virtually no disclosure of bids or communications in a sales process, consumers were often left guessing.
With the introduction of online bidding and the bid log, a central place has been created where all information is collected and logged. By means of the information in the bid log, the consumer can now find out at a glance what has taken place in the sales process.
What kind of complaints can you report?
Before going into the types of complaints, it is first important to know what kind of real estate agent you want to file a complaint about. Briefly, you have brokers who are affiliated with a trade association (NVM, Vastgoedpro or VBO) or registered with a real estate register(Stichting Vastgoedcert or the Stichting Certificering Voor Makelaars), and you have the "free" brokers.
The first group has a code of honor, which will be tightened this year at the request of Minister Hugo de Jonge. Once a broker has acted in violation of this honor code, a complaint can be filed.
The "free" brokers are not united and therefore do not have a code of honor. This makes it a lot harder to judge when something is actually a complaint, because there is nowhere to test it against.
The most common complaints about real estate agents relate to: brokerage fees, damages, quality of service and withdrawal fees.
Where can I file a complaint about a real estate agent?
Do you have a complaint about an association broker? Then it is advisable to first discuss the complaint with the broker in question. If it does not work out together then you can go to the complaints desk
Previously, each association had a separate disciplinary committee; at the end of 2022, an umbrella disciplinary tribunal will be installed to enforce the honor code. In this way there will no longer be separate handling of, for example, NVM complaints, but regardless of the association you can go to the same desk
The advantage of disciplinary law is that it is a lot more accessible to make a report. For example, you can go there when there is no directly traceable financial loss. In addition, disciplinary law is many times cheaper than civil proceedings.
Making a report about a free agent is already a lot more difficult, as you soon have to rely on civil law. Added to this, there are often high litigation costs involved.
Update 2022: complaint report broker
Following the signed covenant: Improvement Plan Trust in the Buying Process, the three trade associations (NVM, Vastgoedpro and VBO) have planned to set up a central hotline. Through this hotline, abuses can be raised about association brokers. Because no account has to be taken of the specific association, the idea is that it will become more accessible for consumers to file a complaint.
Update 2023: complaint report broker
In 2023 the umbrella complaints desk is housed at De Geschillencomissie in The Hague. If you cannot come to an agreement with the broker, then the complaint can be filed here. You can only file a complaint here if the broker or professional is affiliated with the NVM, VBO, Vastgoedpro, Stichting Vastgoedcert or the Stichting Certificering Voor Makelaars.
Litigation costs for reporting a complaint
Unfortunately, it still costs money to file a complaint about an estate agent, currently €77.50. If the disciplinary committee rules in your favor, this amount will be refunded to you.
Procedure complaint broker
To file a complaint about a real estate agent, there are a number of steps you need to take. First, the complaint must be registered, then it is investigated and additional information may be requested. After the payment of process fees, the complaint will be processed. If there is no impediment, the hearing can take place and a judgment can be rendered.
Below you can see the full timeline for complaint processing, including the duration for each stage:
What are the implications?
Again, this depends on the "type" of broker about whom a complaint is made. In the case of association brokers, a disciplinary committee may decide to dismiss the case early (when no violation has been found), or have the independent disciplinary judge issue a ruling.
In the latter case, the disciplinary judge can issue a fine, for example, or in extreme cases even expel the broker from the association or register. In practice, in some cases, such brokers can still sign up for other associations, or continue as free brokers.
Violation free brokers
A violation by a free broker is very difficult to try. Because no honor code applies, you cannot go to a disciplinary court. As a consumer, you therefore have to rely on (expensive) civil proceedings.
Once the case goes to trial, there is almost never any financial loss. Therefore, in the absence of an actual violation, a judge cannot impose sanctions. Unfortunately, therefore, a consumer is almost always left empty-handed in the event of a dispute.
Why file a complaint about a real estate agent?
Filing a complaint can be time-consuming and frustrating, but it is important to stand up for your rights as a client. By filing a complaint, you can not only find a solution to your particular problem, but also help protect other clients from bad brokers.
How does Eerlijk Bieden contribute?
Eerlijk Bieden goes the extra mile for consumers in complaint handling. With us, candidates or sellers can file a complaint about a real estate agent at any time. Because an automatic bid log is generated for each property, it can be determined early on whether an honor code is being violated. In this case, as an independent party, we can transfer the bid log to the civil or disciplinary courts.
Eerlijk Bieden is a quality mark for real estate agents, we therefore attach great importance to the reliability of affiliated real estate agents. Only brokers who are listed in a register can join our platform. In advance we screen all brokers who apply, so we can be sure that a broker has not previously been convicted of an offense. Should an affiliated broker commit an offense, we may decide to suspend the broker until further notice, depending on its severity.
In this way Eerlijk Bieden continues to build a real quality mark every day, not based on selective reviews and experiences, but on reliability and ethics.
