PPRA Audit: What It Entails

Have you received that dreaded letter from The Authority telling you they will conduct an audit at your premises to check your overall compliance?

Are you 100% certain you are compliant in all departments and with all authorities over and above the PPRA?

Contraventions and Penalties

Proclamation 47 of 2022 sets out the regulations applicable to the commencement of the Property Practitioners Act No22 of 2019 in Section 38.  Penalties are applied to all regulations and differ in magnitude. 

The maximum penalty that you will be charged per offence is R25 000.00.

FIC has been internationally grey-listed as they do not have conclusive records of all reporting sectors, including Real Estate. Any non-compliance with Section 45C(3) of the FIC Act may lead to the sanctions.

FIC has started a public campaign targeting high-risk estate agency professions as a part of its plan to get the country off the grey list.

FIC financial penalties are

Natural person R10 000 000.00

Legal person R50 000 000.00

We can help!

We know what the PPRA look for.  We know how they are going to present their questions.  We know how to ensure that you are compliant. Contact us, and we will do the rest, or visit our Principal Services page for more info!

Some items we will check and rectify with you where required:

• Are you registered in all your specialised fields?
• Are you registered with other regulated authorities outside of the PPRA?
• Has your BEE status been verified, and do you need assistance managing that?
• Has the POPI Act been dealt with throughout your administration and marketing?
• Do you need us to train your staff and agents in FIC so that you can tick this box? –  this service is included in the annual fee.
• Do you have an FIC RMCP contract, or would you like us to form one for your firm?
• Have you submitted your FIC Declaration 6?
• Are all of your agents compliant with their regulated education?
• Are your agents compliant in their Continual Professional Development submissions?
• Does your firm or your agents have endorsements on their FFCs?
• Has your FIC reporting officer submitted and filed the FIC-regulated forms with each contract?
• Is your Trust Account managed correctly, or have you applied for an exemption from holding a trust account?  – let us help!
• Do you have adequate records of interest due to the PPRA?
• Is your auditor registered with the IRBA?
• Is your payroll on record for audit?
• Have you kept up and adhered to the PPRA notices?

These are some of the checks that must be compliant if you want to avoid penalties.

Acronyms:

PPRA: Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority

FFC: Fidelity Fund Certificate

B-BBEE: Broad-based black economic empowerment

FIC: Financial Intelligence Centre

IRBA: Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors