Licence fees and procedures a burden on real estate brokers

Real estate brokers have found that the administrative procedures for renewing licences are cumbersome and excessive licence fees cause a greater burden on their business operation, legislator Chan Meng Kam wrote in an enquiry to the government yesterday.
The application procedure for licence renewal and new applications for real estate brokers is almost the same, notes the legislator. However, supporting documents such as education qualifications – required when submitting a new application to the Housing Bureau before – are also required for the licence renewal process, the legislator wrote in his interpellation questioning the necessity for re-submission of the same documents for renewal.
The legislator asked in the written enquiry whether the government could simplify administrative procedures by providing residents with more convenient services to reduce duplicate document submission for new licence and renewal applications.
The legislator also noted that brokers need to pay about MOP6,000 (US$750) once every three years to renew their licence. This same fee is applied for new registrations, with Chan Meng Kam suggesting the government reduce the fees, especially setting apart fees charged when getting a new licence compared to a renewal application.