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Make a complaint

We are responsible for dealing with complaints about the conduct of licensed real estate professionals. This includes real estate salespeople, branch managers, agents, agencies or any director of a real estate agency.

What we consider:

  • Work that falls short of the expected standards or is unacceptable
  • Work that is incompetent or negligent
  • Work that breaches the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and any regulations or rules, including the Code of Conduct
  • Conduct outside of real estate work that would be regarded as disgraceful
  • Allegations of unlicensed trading

What we cannot consider:

  • We can’t get involved in a real estate transaction or stop a sale going through. If you find yourself in that situation, you need to talk to a lawyer.
  • We can’t give legal advice.
  • We can’t assist with complaints about residential property managers, unless they are also licensed real estate professionals – If you are a tenant, you could contact the Tenancy Tribunal. If you are the property owner, you may wish to seek legal advice.

If we cannot consider your complaint, there are other ways to get support that could help address your concerns. Here is some useful information to guide you.

Before you get started, please read the how to make a complaint information sheet.

Translated copies of the how to make a complaint information sheet are in Teo reo Māori, Simplified Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tongan, Samoan

Assisting you to make a complaint

The following questions will assist you to know if REA is the right place for your complaint.

Is your complaint about a current or former licensed real estate professional?

We maintain a Public Register of licensed salespeople, branch managers, agents and agencies, which includes their contact details. You can search the Public Register to check if the person or agency you wish to complain about holds a current real estate licence.

If the person or agency you wish to complain about does not appear on the Public Register, this may mean that their licence has expired and that they do not hold a real estate licence. If you are not sure if your complaint is about a licensed real estate professional or agency, you can contact us.

If your property manager is not a licensed real estate agent, you could consider contacting the Tenancy Tribunal.

Does your complaint involve one of the following?

REA can only consider complaints about a real estate professional’s conduct outside of real estate work or real estate transaction if the behaviour is serious enough to: 
•    Raise doubts about whether they are fit to work in real estate
•    Be considered disgraceful conduct.

This is what REA calls a misconduct complaint. The threshold for proving misconduct is high.

If you are not sure if your concern is something we can look into, you can contact us here.

Where to go for other support
Sometimes there are issues with real estate transactions that we’re unable to help with. Here are some other avenues for support that could help address your concerns.
https://www.rea.govt.nz/buyers-and-sellers/make-a-complaint/other-avenues-of-support/

Have you raised your complaint with the real estate agency?

Question 3: Have you raised your complaint with the agency?

Real estate agencies must have procedures to deal with complaints. Details of their complaint process are usually available on their website. Talking to the real estate agency first may be an effective way to resolve the issue.

If you haven’t contacted the real estate agency, we recommend you do so first. 
It is a good idea to keep a written record of all interactions with the agency. If you contact the agency via phone, it is good to follow up after the call via email.

If you remain dissatisfied, you can contact us. If the conduct is serious you may choose to contact us first.

Evidence to support your complaint

In order for REA to progress your complaint you need to provide any available evidence you have of the conduct you are complaining about, and the reasons you consider it is a breach of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008, the regulations, rules, or the Code of Conduct. It is important that you provide us with all supporting evidence with your complaint. If you do not it will take us longer to consider your complaint. 

Please include all supporting evidence, to help us consider your complaint in a timely way.  Please note that any information you provide to us may be shared with the licensee you are complaining about so they have the opportunity to respond to the concerns.

Supporting evidence relevant to your complaint may include one or more of the following:

  • Agency agreement (between vendor and agency)
  • Sales and purchase agreement/s
  • Multi offer form
  • Disclosure form or declaration, and information disclosed in the transaction
  • Emails or texts with the licensee or real estate agency
  • Marketing materials (flyers, online listings, photos)
  • Registered valuation or appraisal (CMA)
  • Council files, such as a LIM report or Property File
  • Statements from witnesses
  • Building inspection report
  • The real estate agency’s response to your complaint (if you've made one)

Please note: If you choose to use AI tools to help you prepare your complaint, you must check what has been written is correct and provide suitable evidence to support your complaint.

Do you have the relevant evidence to support your complaint?

Documents and other evidence that you submit to support the complaint are important to the outcome. You can find more information on evidence to support the complaint here. Evidence to support the complaint | The Real Estate Authority

If you are unsure about the evidence required, you can contact us 0800 367 732

You are now ready to make a complaint

Next steps to make a complaint to REA

  • Gather your supporting evidence
  • Download and complete the complaint form
  • Send the completed complaint form and evidence to complaints@rea.govt.nz
  • Please note that your complaint may be provided directly to the licensee and agency for comment
  • If you have questions, please contact us

Download the complaint form

We can support you through the process. This may include:

  • Arranging translation services
  • Complaint information in your language

What happens after you make a complaint?

After we receive your complaint, we will:

  • let you know we have received the complaint within three working days,
  • consider the issues raised in the complaint,
  • contact you if we need to make sure we’ve understood the complaint or need further information,
  • invite the real estate professional or agency to provide initial comments

If we cannot deal with the complaint, we’ll let you know why.
You can find more information about the complaints process here, - https://www.rea.govt.nz/buyers-and-sellers/make-a-complaint/the-complaints-process/