FEA revises Code of Ethics

During the Federation of Estate Agents' (FEA) annual general meeting, held recently at the Chamber of Commerce in Valletta, the council for the coming year was voted in and a number of important issues were tackled.

This year's council is made up of Douglas Salt (president), Trafford Busuttil (vice-president), Manjri Borg Bindra (secretary), Steve Sant Fournier (treasurer), Ian Casolani (PR), Joseph Sullivan (legal), and Joe Mercieca (Gozo).

During the meeting, the council outlined last year's achievements, which included: lobbying with Government and relevant authorities on issues relating to the property market; securing HSBC as sponsors of the federation; a detailed course for property negotiators; and more importantly the drafting up of a revised code of ethics.

In fact, the latter, one of the main items on the agenda, is a project which the council had been working on for a number of months.

This code of ethics is now chaired by an independent panel made up of a reputable lawyer and two notaries (one being the president of the Chamber of Notaries).

All federation members have signed their commitment to this code of ethics and are obliged to honour the conditions and responsibilities that have been agreed. The aim of this practice is to regulate agencies between themselves and more importantly with their customers, ensuring that at all times the customer is protected and dealt with in a professional and ethical manner.

The ethics committee has obliged itself to being available for any cases that may arise and have set up a penalty structure that carries heavy fines for any member in breach of this code. Should a member default more than once, they will risk being suspended or expelled from the federation.

The AGM ended with a call for all members to inform their staff of their individual responsibilities towards clients and their competitors and more so, to urge them to honour these obligations. The FEA's aim is to help promote the marketing and selling of property in both Malta and Gozo in an ethical and professional manner, and all members agreed that during the first year of its resurrection, the council has done a great job in building a sound foundation to ensure the success of this federation.