Property agents rack up most offences for due diligence, advertising, HDB eligibility failures

/ EdgeProp Singapore

June 12, 2026 10:22 AM SGT

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Singapore residential skyline, for illustrative purposes only. One repeat offender claimed he was a "#1 Agent"; another submitted a fake OTP to qualify for an award. (Photo: Pexels)

Errant property agents in Singapore most frequently flout the rules when it comes to due diligence, advertising and marketing, and HDB estate agency work — making these among the top industry offences over the past three years.

Data extracted and analysed by EdgeProp Singapore, based on the latest industry statistics recently published by the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), also showed that nine agents were repeat offenders, with more than one enforcement action taken against them between 2023 and 2025.

Last year, there were 82 key enforcement actions — including letters of censure, disciplinary committee actions, and court prosecution — against real estate salespeople from nine agencies.

That is up from 61 cases in 2024 and 58 in 2023, bringing the total to 201 cases over the last three years.

The key enforcement statistics released by CEA exclude letters of warning, stern warnings, and compositions of offence. These may be issued for minor disciplinary breaches.

Consumers are encouraged to check an agent’s record on the CEA public register before engaging their services to buy, sell or rent property.

On June 10, CEA updated its public register and website to publish more information on disciplinary records.

Where errant agents tend to flout the rules

Failing to exercise due diligence and care was the most common type of offence, with 70 cases recorded during 2023–2025. Most of these agents received letters of censure, while the others were subject to disciplinary committee actions.

Common offences in 2023–2025, breakdown by category:

Offence category	Cases	Court Prosecution	Disciplinary Committee Action	Letter of Censure
Failing to exercise due diligence & care	70	0	14	56
Advertising / marketing misrepresentation – website, name & licence, false/misleading statements	62	0	4	58
HDB estate agency work without meeting eligibility / conditions	62	0	22	40
Conflict of interest / improper disclosure	59	0	16	43
Anti-money-laundering / customer due diligence failures	38	0	3	35
Failing to act ethically, honestly, fairly & reasonably	24	0	9	15
Illegal handling of clients' transaction monies	8	8	0	0
Co-broking / dual representation / referral breaches	8	0	4	4
Furnishing false information / suppressing a material fact to CEA	8	4	4	0
Failing to properly explain documents / advise the client	4	0	0	4
Improper conduct towards other salespersons	3	0	0	3
Cheating / criminal dishonesty	2	2	0	0

Source: Council for Estate Agencies, EdgeProp Research. Note: Each case can breach more than one provision, thus categories sum to more than 201. Classified from each case's "Show Details" text. (Extracted June 11, 2026.)

Next, 62 cases arose from advertising and marketing misrepresentation, in relation to websites, names, licences, and false or misleading statements.

Property agents must correctly and clearly identify themselves in all their advertisements and promotional materials, including stating their registration numbers, according to the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care (CEPCC).

Other advertising rules stated in the Code include: ensuring all materials accurately describe the property, and substantiating any claims of expertise or success rate with verifiable facts and records.

Also with 62 cases is the offence of taking on HDB estate agency work without meeting eligibility requirements.

Property agents must not perform estate agency work unless they have the relevant knowledge to do so — which includes being familiar with the laws and procedures for transactions involving HDB flats.

Other common disciplinary breaches include conflict of interest or improper disclosure; anti-money-laundering failures; failing to act ethically, honestly, fairly and reasonably; illegal handling of clients’ transaction monies; and co-broking or referral breaches.

Several errant agents failed to properly explain documents or advise their clients, displayed “improper conduct” towards other salespersons, or resorted to cheating or criminal dishonesty.

Repeat offenders censured by CEA

As for repeat offenders during the three-year period, data compiled by EdgeProp Singapore showed that one property agent first racked up an offence in 2023 — when she fraudulently created and submitted a fictitious option to purchase (OTP) to her agency to deceive the firm that she qualified for an award.

She was then censured for several breaches in 2025. For instance, she failed to verify the immigration status of the tenants and occupiers in relation to a lease, and advised a tenant to provide false or misleading information to HDB.

The said agent also included transaction information of 24 transacted condo units without obtaining the written consent of all the parties.

In May 2025, she was convicted for committing offences of handling transaction monies and fined $6,000. She has since filed an appeal against the revocation of her salesperson registration.

Another property agent who has been censured multiple times was recently suspended and fined for providing inaccurate or misleading information in advertising or marketing materials, such as claiming that certain units were priced lower than they actually were.

For example, he had stated that a 904 sq ft unit was priced at $2 million, and a 1,808 sq ft unit was priced at $3.5 million — when the prices provided by the developer were higher.

He also stated that buyers could get further discounts on the advertised prices, preferential treatment, and customise units — when these were not offered by the developer.

In addition, he claimed that he was a "#1 Agent" in his marketing messages sent to recipients, which was not substantiated by verifiable facts or records.

ERA, PropNex top the list

Among real estate agencies, ERA Realty Network had the most enforcement actions taken against its salespeople, with 68 cases over the past three years. ERA is the second-largest agency by headcount in Singapore.

PropNex Realty, which has the biggest agent pool in the country, followed with 64 cases.

Huttons Asia was next with 27 cases. OrangeTee & Tie recorded 16, while SRI had nine.

Each enforcement action is attributed to the agency that the agent was registered with at the time of the breach.

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Property agents rack up most offences for due diligence, advertising, HDB eligibility failures

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