47DDirector may require substantiation

47D Director may require substantiation (1) The Director may give an estate agent who is engaged or appointed to sell any residential property a written notice requiring the agent— (a) to give information or produce documents to the Director to substantiate the reasonableness of one or more of the following— (i) the estimate of the selling price of the residential property contained in the engagement or appointment to sell the residential property; (ii) any revision under section 47AE(2) of the estimate contained in the engagement or appointment; (iii) any advice provided to the seller or a purchaser or prospective purchaser by the agent or a representative employed by the agent, whether orally or in writing, in relation to the estimated selling price or the indicative selling price included in a statement of information; (iv) any determination of the 3 most comparable residential properties for the purposes of section 47AC; (v) any statement of the selling price or likely selling price of the residential property made by the agent or representative while marketing the residential property; and (b) to give any other information or to produce any other document to the Director of a kind specified in the notice. (2) A notice given under subsection (1) must— (a) specify the agent to whom the notice is given; and (b) specify the residential property to which the notice relates; and (c) state the purposes for which the information or documents are required; and (d) state that the agent must, within 21 days after the notice is given— (i) comply with the notice; or (ii) apply for an extension under subsection (5); and (e) explain that the agent may refuse or fail to give the information specified in the notice if the agent is a natural person and giving that information would tend to incriminate the agent. Under section 70U, it is a reasonable excuse for a natural person to refuse or fail to give information if doing so would tend to incriminate the person. However, that excuse does not apply to the production of a document. (3) A notice given under subsection (1) may— (a) apply to one or more engagement or appointment of the agent to sell residential property; and (b) apply to one or more estimate of the selling price of residential property that the agent has been engaged or appointed to sell. S. 47D(4) amended by No. 6/2025 s. 81. (4) The agent must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with a notice given under subsection (1) within— (a) 21 days after the agent is given the notice; or (b) if the Director grants an extension under subsection (5)—the time specified in the extension. As an alternative to a charge under subsection (4), the Director may apply to a court under section 70WA for an order directing the agent to comply with the notice. (5) On the application by the agent within 21 days after a notice under subsection (1) is given, the Director may in writing grant an extension of the time within which the agent must comply with the notice. The offence under section 70V of giving false or misleading information applies to information or documents required to be given or produced to the Director under this section. S. 48 amended by Nos 10028 s. 29(a)-(d), 86/1994 s. 47(zd)(i)(ii), substituted by No. 41/2003 s. 35.