PL supporters
Desmond Zammit Marmarà (February 11) divides Labour supporters into two: a small minority of those with brains and a vast majority of ‘brainless and uneducated sheep’ (the Ġaħans of Edward Zammit Lewis).
Will the ‘brainy’ ones dare to spoil their vote come election time? If they do, the vast brainless majority are still forecast to elect Labour again but maybe not with a head-swelling majority. They will have sent a message to the Labour Party to mend its very errant ways.
But will they?
Carmel Sciberras – Naxxar
Corrupt politicians
Mark Twain’s quote on the subject of corrupt politicians gives a wise choice to all voters worldwide. “Politicians and governments are like diapers, they need to be changed frequently.”
This quote is to be kept in mind every time an election is held.
No matter how ingrained your party is in you, vote sensibly, vote for a change and a new era for your future and country.
Alfred Gauci – Sliema
Estate agents in Malta
Estate agents are seen as the least of trustworthy professionals. Photo: Shutterstock.com
Estate agents in Malta must face an unwelcome truth. They are seen as the least of trustworthy professionals.
Estate agents have a duty to the public to exercise their profession with the highest standards of competence, fairness and professional integrity. Estate agents are entrusted by their clients with what are probably the largest decisions of their lives. They are expected to act according to the basic tenets of any profession, namely knowledge, fidelity, diligence and high integrity. They must send a message to the public and their clients saying “we can be trusted”.
Before 2021, when chapter 615 of the Laws of Malta, the Real Estate Agents, Property Brokers and Property Consultants Act was introduced, the profession was unregulated and, to this day, it still lacks a recognised code of ethics. The act provided for estate agents to be licensed and trained but is wanting where the public interest is concerned. It fails to spell out the duties and obligations of estate agents. The public still has to look to the provisions of the Civil Code when seeking redress for any breach of fiduciary duty by any member of this trade.
Estate agency as we know it today was born in the 1960s during the six penny boom when a number of English estate agents set up business in Malta. They did so with a marked difference to recognised practice in England; the difference being a commission agreement setting their fee at five per cent plus VAT. The standard fee in England is 1.47 per cent inclusive of VAT. In special cases, the fee can be lower or higher up to a maximum of three per cent. Online estate agencies charge a fixed fee usually £999, making selling or buying a property easier and more affordable.
The code of ethics of the Estate Agents Authority in England embraces these principles: compliance with the law, a good understanding of the law and the market enabling estate agents to advise their client in a responsible manner, diligence and good ethical and moral standards when estate agents exercise their activities, avoidance of conflict of interest, in particular involvement in a property in which estate agents have a beneficial interest, and restraint from any activity where estate agents represent both the vendor and the purchaser to the prejudice of their mandator.
Generally, estate agents are required not to seek unfair advantage or disparage the business of other estate agencies, adhere to the principles of fair competition and refrain from restrictive business practices.
I suggest it is both in the public interest and in the interest of the conduct of estate agency work in Malta for estate agents to take a leaf from the code of ethics of the Estate Agents Authority in England.
Gerald Montanaro Gauci – St Julian’s
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