October 27 2026 17:40
Estates must now defend their fees case by case, and agents who pay them could still face action
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Residential estates across South Africa have lost their bid for a court order declaring that the accreditation fees they charge estate agents are lawful.
On 20 October 2026, the Gauteng Local Division in Johannesburg dismissed the Residential Communities Council’s (RCC) application for an order that estates charging agents a fee before letting them market or sell inside the estate are not engaged in an undesirable business practice under regulation 35 of the Property Practitioners Regulations, 2022. The RCC brought the application with the Association of Residential Communities (ARC).
Acting Judge NS Krüger also ordered the applicants to pay costs. These include the fees of two counsel on Scale C, the highest cost scale, which is reserved for cases of exceptional complexity, importance or value.
The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has argued for several years that estates may not make agents pay to trade inside their walls. In November 2025, it suspended enforcement of the relevant parts of regulation 35 against arrangements between agents and HOAs while the RCC and ARC’s court application was pending. In the meantime, agents were to give estates a written undertaking to pay the fees if the court ruled in the estates’ favour.
The RCC, which represents 181 estates, argued that the Property Practitioners Act regulates agents, not estates, so the PPRA has no say over what HOAs and body corporates charge. Estates have long said the fees cover training on estate rules, security on show days, advertising and administration.
The PPRA opposed the application, while the Minister and the National Property Practitioners Council both abided by the court’s decision. Rebosa, whose members employ about 17 800 registered practitioners, filed an affidavit supporting the PPRA. propertyprofessional
The PPRA told the court that annual fees range from about R5 000 to R50 000 per estate, on top of what agents already pay for PPRA registration and their Fidelity Fund certificates. Among the examples placed before the court was a homeowner charged a R10 000 penalty for selling through his own wife, a registered practitioner, because she hadn’t paid the estate’s accreditation fee. propertyprofessionaliol
Why the estates lost
The court found that the RCC hadn’t made its case for blanket relief. According to the government’s summary of the ruling, the court held that whether such fees are lawful depends on the circumstances of each case: the type of organisation, the functions it performs, the fees it charges and the conditions under which it charges them.
The RCC conceded that fees differ from estate to estate, and no individual member estate filed a supporting affidavit. The judge warned that seeking blanket relief of this kind is “fraught with risk”.
She said depending on the facts, these fees could limit consumers’ choice of agent, push up costs and create another barrier for emerging practitioners.
The ruling cuts both ways. It does not make every estate accreditation fee unlawful, but it doesn’t give estates permission to charge them either. The dismissal refuses the estates’ relief without granting the PPRA a declaration in its favour. The judgment is also marked not reportable, was handed down by an acting judge, and could still be taken on appeal.
For agents, the risk may now be greater than it is for estates. The judge noted that agents who pay these fees may fall foul of the undesirable business practice rules. Even if an estate falls outside the PPRA’s reach, the agent who paid does not.
Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane welcomed the judgment. She said dismissing the declaratory order lets the department, through the PPRA, keep working towards a fair, transparent and inclusive property sector in which practitioners operate within the law and consumers are properly protected.
It is not yet clear whether the PPRA’s suspension of enforcement still stands. The November 2025 notice tied it to a final court decision, and the RCC can still apply for leave to appeal.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
