Colliers International agency compliance

Compliance

Real estate compliance - know your property rights and obligations

Real estate compliance encompasses a set of rules and regulations which cover the marketing and sale of property.

Colliers International agency compliance

Clear and compliant processes at every step

Working with industry regulators to ensure best practice at every client touchpoint, Colliers Otago offer full transparency to protect our customers. We’ll take time to explain the regulatory landscape and ensure you understand responsibilities pertaining to both your and our actions.

Real Estate Authority

Real Estate Authority

The REA is responsible for regulating the real estate industry, increasing professionalism and giving consumer protection.

Protecting real estate clients in New Zealand

As a New Zealand real estate agency, we’re governed by the rules and regulations set by the REA. This government body covers every aspect of industry procedures, from managing salesperson licenses to overseeing annual education requirements, and assisting with resolution of customer complaints.

They offer guidance to property buyers and sellers for every step of the process. Buying and selling is one of the biggest financial decisions most people will make and can be a daunting process. The REA provide independent information to help you feel in control of the process. You’ll find on this page the current REA guides available for download.

 

Anti Money Laundering

Anti Money Laundering

When you are leasing or selling your property, Colliers are required to undertake Customer Due Diligence.

 

Customer Due Diligence (CDD) centres around verifying the identity of individuals, trusts and companies representing a property for sale or lease. This ensures we comply with our obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism Act 2009, which stipulates that we must complete Customer Due Diligence before we can act on a vendor’s behalf. In some situations, we may also be required to verify the identity of purchasers.

The CDD process will begin as soon as we start discussions around selling your property. The process of identity verification can take days and sometimes weeks if a Trust or company is involved, and can also be complicated when parties reside overseas.

In order to keep this process as easy, professional and confidential for clients as possible, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks for Colliers are being completed by TIC, a company working specifically within the AML sphere.

Please see more information about TIC here https://ticc.nz/about

What does this mean for Colliers clients?

Vendors may receive a phone call or email from one of the friendly analysts at TIC requesting further information and/or documents that will assist them in completing the required checks. These mostly involve verifying the identity of the individuals who are beneficiaries of the property transaction.

 

AML documents


If you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to contact your Colliers sales consultant or the compliance officer at Colliers.

If you would like more information regarding AML in New Zealand, please see https://www.keepourmoneyclean.govt.nz/ prepared by the New Zealand Ministry of Justice.

Complaints procedure

Complaints procedure

As a New Zealand real estate agency, Colliers have a clear procedure to work through client complaints in the unlikely event of any issues with our behaviour or actions in the property transaction process.

Colliers Otago complaints procedure is as follows:

In accordance with Rule 12 Real Estate Agents Act (Professional Conduct and Client Care Rules) 2012

Our complaints and dispute resolution procedures are designed to provide a simple and personalised process for resolving any complaint you might have about the service you have received from our agency.


STEP 1:
Contact our agency principal, (Fred Bramwell, 021 435 694 or 03 441 0790). Tell the agency principal who you are making a complaint about and what your concerns are. Let the agency principal know what you would like to be done about your complaint.


STEP 2:
The agency principal may ask you to put your complaint in writing so that it can be investigated further. The agency principal will need a brief period of time to talk to the team members involved. We will respond to your complaint within 10 working days. That response may be in writing. As part of that response we may ask you to meet with members of our team to discuss the complaint and try to agree a resolution.


STEP 3:
If we are unable to come to an agreed resolution after a meeting, or if you don’t wish to meet with us, then we will provide you with a written proposal to resolve your complaint.


STEP 4:
If you do not accept our proposal, we ask that you advise us in writing within five working days. You can, of course, suggest another way of resolving your complaint.


STEP 5:
If we accept your preferred resolution, we will attempt to implement that resolution as soon as possible. If we decline your preferred resolution, we may invite you to mediate the dispute.


STEP 6:
If we agree to mediate the complaint but don’t settle the complaint at mediation, or we do not agree to mediate the dispute, then that will be the end of our process.


Remember: You can still make a complaint to the Real Estate Authority in the first instance and, even if you use these procedures, you can still make a complaint to the Real Estate Authority at any time.


The Real Estate Authority
c/ ‐ PO Box 25371
Wellington 6146
New Zealand
Phone 0800 367 732 or +64 4 471 8930
Otago Realty (NZ) Limited
Licensed under the REAA 2008
Complaints/Dispute Procedures

Overseas Investment Act

Overseas Investment Act

Investing in New Zealand as an overseas purchaser may be restricted dependent upon your New Zealand residence status.

Buying property in New Zealand

Rules governing the purchase of property in New Zealand by overseas buyers are managed by the Overseas Investment Office. The regulations are designed to strike a balance between realising the benefit of overseas investment, while protecting New Zealand’s land and assets.

Finding out if you need consent to invest in New Zealand property is an essential first step in the process if you reside in a country other than New Zealand. New Zealand, Australian or Singaporean permanent residents who live in NZ do not require consent. If you have New Zealand permanent residency or resident visa and do not live in New Zealand, you may need to apply for consent to buy a home. View the downloadable documents for more information.