It is no more news that the term “estate agent” is now almost synonymous to fraudster in Nigeria. The umbrella body of real estate professionals in Nigeria, Estate Rent and Commission Agents Association of Nigeria (ERCAAN) however holds the view that majority of the problems of the Nigerian housing sector that bedevil the masses today can actually be traceable to the incompetence and/or greed of quacks pretending to be real estate personnel; since there are certain attributes, qualifications and standard minimum requirements (e.g. an office address, an operational name registered with C.A.C., etc.) which one must possess; and also, “professional relationship(s) with landlord(s) and prospective tenants, based on well-defined legal agreements” that one must have entered into, to be qualified to be called an estate agent.

This is what has led ERCAAN to rise to the rescue of the masses, in a platform that has been instituted to re-establish the bond between the populace and estate agents by revealing the identity of all estate agents operating in Nigeria.

On Thursday, the 8th of September 2016, Estate Rent and Commission Agents Association of Nigeria (ERCAAN) partnered with Shelterz Housing Directory Ltd. to eradicate fake estate agents from Nigeria and eliminate every unhealthy and unprofessional dealings between landlords, as well as property touts, and prospective tenants. In this partnership, the housing directory shall be conducting a biometric registration exercise for all estate agents that are operating legally within the country, beginning from Lagos state; and listing all trained, certified and ERCAAN recognized agents online. The biometric data so collated shall be hosted on an online platform, to make the activities of all agents in the country transparent and create a medium for appropriate government regulations.

By this new development on ground, the public is therefore informed that ERCAAN claims responsibility for every authorized agent; who is also subject to appropriate verifications, government regulations and should need be, sanctions. Nigerians are therefore implored to be highly attentive to new developments in the housing sector and warned to beware of fake estate agents, as dealing with unrecognized individuals would be at your own peril henceforth!


Sources (read more):
1. http://thenationonlineng.net/estate-agents-fight-impostors-biometric-registration/
2. http://pulse.ng/real_estate/ercaan-agency-partners-with-shelterz-housing-to-fight-fake-estate-agents-id5491361.html