Construction Chamber urges Akufo-Addo to Sign Real Estate Authority Bill into law

The Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GCCI) has joined calls for the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to accent to the Real Estate Authority Bill.

According to the Chamber, this will contribute significantly to sanitizing the sector.

Parliament in September 2020 passed the Bill pending the assent of the President.

In a monitored interview, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, Emmanuel Cherry, intimated that the law would help rid the system of unscrupulous and unqualified people within the real estate space.

“We are hoping that since the swearing-in has taken effect, we are expecting that within the first quarter, the President must be able to come out and assent to the Bill. It will mean a lot to us because it’s going to sanitise the real estate sector of construction as well as curb corruption or fraud. Because, a lot of people are taking advantage of that, and they have been duping people so if this comes in it’s going to serve as checks and balances. So, there are a lot of benefits that the country is going to derive from this. It’s also going to rake in revenue for the government of the day as well.”

The law will regulate real estate agency practice, the conduct of real estate practitioners, commercial transactions in real estate including the sale. It also covers the purchase, rental, and leasing of real estate, as well as other real estate transactions.

It will also establish the Real Estate Agency Council to license real estate brokers, issue real estate transfer certificates, and monitor the performance of the brokers.

A memorandum of the bill underscored the need to regulate real estate agency services to rid the industry of fraud, laundering of illegal income, and tax evasion to minimize the effect of these vices on the national economy and the image of the country internationally.

There have been earlier calls by some stakeholders in the real estate sector for the bill to be made law.