As graphic designers, we often find that what we have to follow strict rules when creating work for various industries.

One industry that is limited by rules is the Real Estate industry.

As of 17th November (not far away!) a new regulatory regime under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 will take full effect, replacing the Real Estate Agents Act 1976.

As well as meaning that all agents, branch managers and even salespeople will have to be individually licensed, there are new restrictions on what information must be provided in all marketing material (including your website) and all printed and electronic documents.

Section 121 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 basically states that your name information must include the name of the agent and the fact that the agent is licensed under this Act. This license information must be included on all:

- notices
- advertisements
- letters
- accounts
- contractual documents
- agreements

and all other documents sent or handed out by or on behalf of the agent.

The actual words that must be shown prominently on each of these items is open to variation. Examples include:

“Licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008″
“Licensed Real Estate Agent (REAA 2008)”
“Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Agents Act 2008″

Other changes are that it is no longer compulsory to display your “MREINZ” membership (as you no longer have to be a member).

What does this mean for your stationery and documents?

Your logo doesn’t need to be changed in itself, and there’s currently no need to change your “For Sale” or “For Rent” signs, but the required name information must be included on all the above places from 17th November 2009.

For that reason, you’ll need to amend your current stationery, website, office signage and advertising to present this license info.

Making it easy

Best practice is to do all of these changes at once, i.e. update your business cards, letterheads, presentation folders, contract templates, agreement templates and website all in one go.

If you currently have large supplies of letterheads for example, you could keep the amended artwork on file so that it’s ready for your next order. In the meantime, just add the required text to the bottom of your signature when you write each letter.

Carrying out all the changes in one go will save you costs with your graphic designer.

If you need to speak to a graphic design agency that can take care of all this work, and currently deals with real estate clients on a regular basis (see a sample of our real estate design work for quality rental agency, Rent Right, or visit the Harcourts Beckenham website as designed by Hot PJ), don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We provide graphic, website and print management work and we work closely with sign writers so can cover all your needs from one office.

We also have a sense of style! We’ll do our best to amend your current material to make the transition as seamless as possible – clients will think your marketing material has always featured the license info. Much more professional than a sticker slapped across your current business card!

Visit the Real Estate Agents Authority (a new authority set up by the Act) to view further details on the display of information.

Posted on November 9th, 2009 by Mark Lincoln
Filed under: Marketing