PHOTO: With cases potentially going back six years, one Melbourne estate agent who asked not to be named said the claims by vendors could be in the billions.
Thousands of Victorian estate agents could be forced to pay back hundreds of millions of dollars in commissions after they used contractual documents sold by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) and approved by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) that did not comply with state real estate laws.
The 82-year-old industry body, which represents 5000 estate agents in Victoria, had for years sold Exclusive Sales Authority (ESA) forms – a legally binding contract giving the agent the authority to sell a vendor’s home and be paid commission and any other outgoings such as marketing and advertising costs.
