How to check that an estate agent is legally allowed to practise in South Africa

General South African property-buyer literacy only. This page is not legal, financial, tax, valuation, investment, property-condition or contract-interpretation advice, and it is not advice about your particular situation.

Most people meet an estate agent for the first time at a show house and never think to ask whether that person is licensed to do the job. In South Africa a property practitioner must hold a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate to practise lawfully and to be paid a commission. Confirming it takes a few minutes, it is a normal thing to ask, and a professional will not mind being asked. This page shows you how to check for yourself — Nostoi does not check, confirm or vouch for any agent.

Is the person or firm dealing with you legally allowed to practise?

This is the question that matters, and it needs no explanation of funds or insurance. Under section 48(1) of the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, no person or entity may act as a property practitioner without a Fidelity Fund Certificate — and section 48(2) extends that to every director, member, trustee or partner of the firm. Acting without one is an offence under section 48(3). Section 56(1) goes further: a practitioner is “under no circumstances entitled to any remuneration” for the work unless they held a certificate at the time they did it.

What confirms it:: Section 53(1) of the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019 requires a certificate holder to prominently display the certificate at every place of business from which they conduct property transactions, so that consumers can easily inspect it, and to carry the prescribed wording on marketing material. So look for it, and ask to see it. Confirm what you are shown with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority rather than relying on the copy alone.
Who to ask:: The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), which is the regulator for property practitioners in South Africa. Ask them for their current route to confirm a certificate.
What Nostoi cannot decide:: Nostoi does not verify, confirm or vouch for any agent's certificate or status. Where an agency supplies credential details, Nostoi shows them only as declared by that agency, never as something Nostoi has checked.

What does the Fidelity Fund actually cover?

Precisely, and narrowly. Section 35(1) of the Act says the Fund reimburses people who suffer a money loss by reason of either (a) theft of trust money by a practitioner WHO HELD A CERTIFICATE AT THE TIME OF THE THEFT, or (b) a practitioner’s failure to comply with section 54(1) or (3) — the duties to keep trust money in a proper trust account and to hold it until lawfully entitled or lawfully instructed in writing to pay it out. Two things follow. The certificate is not merely paperwork: on limb (a) the protection is conditioned on the practitioner having held one. And the Fund is not general cover — it is about trust money, not a bad property, defects, bad advice, overpaying, misrepresentation, or a deal going badly. Those are different problems with different remedies.

What confirms it:: Sections 35, 43 and 54 of the Act set out what the Fund covers and its limits — including that you cannot recover more than your loss less anything you receive from elsewhere (s43(2)), and that claims by a practitioner’s own family or co-practitioners are excluded (s43(3)). The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority is the source for how a claim is actually made and for anything that has changed since this page was written.
Who to ask:: The PPRA for the Fund's scope; a conveyancing attorney for what your own transaction actually exposes you to.
What Nostoi cannot decide:: Nostoi cannot tell you whether YOUR loss would be reimbursed, how a claim would be decided, or how limb (b) applies to any particular set of facts. It describes what the Act says; it does not apply it to your situation. That is what the regulator and a conveyancing attorney are for.

Who is holding your deposit, and who protects that money?

A deposit may be held in an estate agency's trust account or in a conveyancing attorney's trust account, and the protection that applies is not the same in both cases — attorneys' trust money falls under a different fund entirely. Knowing which applies to your money is more useful than assuming.

What confirms it:: The sale agreement states who holds the deposit and on what terms. Your conveyancer can confirm which account it goes to and what protection attaches.
Who to ask:: A conveyancing attorney. Separately, before transferring any money, confirm the banking details by telephoning the firm on a number you have obtained independently — never on a number or bank detail supplied in an email. Interception of payment instructions is a real and recurring problem in South African property transactions.
What Nostoi cannot decide:: Nostoi cannot tell you who holds your deposit, which fund applies, or whether any particular payment instruction is genuine. It never sends banking details and would never ask you to pay anyone.

What should you do if a certificate cannot be confirmed?

A certificate that cannot be confirmed is a reason to pause and ask, not proof that anyone is dishonest. Certificates lapse, renewals take time, and administrative gaps happen. What it does mean is that you should not simply proceed on the assumption that everything is in order.

What confirms it:: Ask the agent directly and give them a chance to explain — a current certificate, a renewal in progress, or the firm's own certificate may resolve it. Confirm whatever you are told with the PPRA.
Who to ask:: The agent first, then the PPRA. A conveyancing attorney if you are already committed to a transaction and are concerned about your position.
What Nostoi cannot decide:: Nostoi cannot tell you whether a particular agent is compliant, whether an explanation is truthful, or what to do about a transaction you have already entered. It does not police agents and makes no finding about anyone.

What this page cannot tell you

Nostoi does not verify or confirm any agent's Fidelity Fund Certificate, and shows agency-supplied credentials only as declared by that agency.
Nostoi does not state what the Fidelity Fund covers or excludes, or what happens to a claim where no valid certificate was held — ask the PPRA.
Nostoi cannot tell you whether any particular agent or agency is trustworthy.
Nostoi cannot advise you on a transaction you have already entered into; that is a matter for a conveyancing attorney.
This page reflects the Property Practitioners Act as read on 29 July 2026. Law and regulator practice change — confirm the current position with the PPRA before relying on anything here.
Even where the Fund applies, recovery is capped at your loss less anything you receive from elsewhere (s43(2)), and claims by a practitioner’s own family or co-practitioners are excluded (s43(3)).

Primary sources

Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019 — Sections 35 (purpose of the Fund), 43 (limits on claims), 48 (prohibition on practising without a certificate), 53 (mandatory display), 54 (trust accounts) and 56 (no remuneration without a certificate). Read against the gazetted text, 29 July 2026.
Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) — The regulator. The source for confirming a certificate and for what the Fidelity Fund covers.
Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 — Named because a conveyancing attorney's trust account falls under a different statute from the one above. Nostoi has NOT read this Act, so it does not describe what it provides — ask a conveyancing attorney.