Norway's Department of Finance proposes Real Estate Brokerage Act amendments to ban secret bids and tighten suitability and sanctions

Norway's Department of Finance has presented proposed amendments to the Real Estate Brokerage Act aimed at strengthening consumer protection in housing transactions, including a statutory ban on secret bids and tougher suitability requirements for broker staff, alongside expanded supervisory and enforcement powers for the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet). Under the proposal, assistant real estate brokers and settlement assistants would be subject to suitability requirements and required to produce a police certificate, and brokers who have lost their authorisation would no longer be able to work as assistants without further assessment. Real estate brokerage firms would have a clearer, ongoing duty to monitor staff and take necessary measures where conduct may make an employee unsuitable, with failures in follow-up capable of being pursued by Finanstilsynet. The amendments would also prohibit brokers from communicating bids intended to be hidden from other bidders and interested parties, and would put into statute an existing regulatory rule that brokers should encourage sellers not to accept bids directly from bidders but refer them to the broker. Finanstilsynet would be given a legal basis to impose administrative infringement fees for breaches of essential duties under the Act. The Department has tasked Finanstilsynet with proposing any necessary regulatory amendments to support the legislative changes.