Commission for Tenant Agent

[luminoso]

CEA not IEA.

How much power does the CEA really have to regulate the conduct of real estate agents?

After all, isn't the CEA a professional/industrial body comprised of real estate professionals (probably ex-agents or agency executives) themselves, much like the law society or medical society?

Why would they want to come down hard on their own kind when it would be in their interests to just give the errant agents a light slap on the wrist?

I would be more inclined to pursue such matters through CASE or the Small Claims Tribunal (is it even possible)?

[beppi]

The CEA is a government agency founded to improve the (very bad) reputation property agents have here and thus probably has an interest in achieving that goal.
They also control (and thus can revoke) licenses for agents.
In reality, they will usually only issue a warning letter to errant agents. But that might well scare them into not doing it again.
In addition, most agents work as part of companies like ERA or PrpNex and might lose standing there if not behaving properly. (I assume the companies will be informed of warning letters.)

x9200: Thanks for pointing out my IEA/CEA error. I will edit my post.

[x9200]

I would be more inclined to pursue such matters through CASE or the Small Claims Tribunal (is it even possible)?

CASE may take it although they do not handle direct LL/tenant related disputes so I am not that sure they will do it for agent / tenant problems (plus the problems with legal relation I mentioned below). SCT, they handle LL/tenant with the lease term not exceeding two years but for the tenant - agent, esp. if the agent is of the LL? The landlord's agent is not a legal (contract) party to the tenant so (s)he has no legal obligation towards the tenant. IMO only the ethical part can be questioned here so CEA seems to be the best option.