<p>Real estate agents will likely have their deadline for proving expertise extended.</p>

Prague - Real estate agents will likely be able to demonstrate their expertise for their work until early March next year instead of the beginning of this September. The Senate is expected to approve the government bill without changes according to today's recommendation from the Economic Committee and the Constitutional and Legal Committee. Some agents are currently unable to take exams due to measures against the spread of the new coronavirus. Brokers need them to convert their business into a regulated one. The Senate plenary will vote on the bill at Thursday's session.

"Currently, it is not possible to conduct the exams; the law does not allow online testing," states the explanatory report. The exams include written, individual oral, and practical parts and last three to five hours. The Ministry for Regional Development considers this the most transparent way to demonstrate expertise.

The bill also relaxes conditions for potential new brokers who would operate under large real estate agencies. Six months after the law comes into effect, they could operate on the basis of a free trade, but they would not be allowed to provide money escrow services.

According to the current law, a broker has six months from the law's effective date, March 3, to apply for a change from a free trade to a regulated trade, meaning they must provide proof of education, experience, or pass an exam, which would be until September 3. The amendment extends this period from six to 12 months, until March 3, 2021. If a real estate agent fails to prove expertise under the current conditions and continues to operate after September 3, they could be committing the crime of unauthorized business, the explanatory report states.

The law provides five options for practicing the profession. The first is a university degree in legal, economic, construction, or other relevant fields. The second is another university, higher vocational, or secondary school education. In this category, three years of relevant experience are required. Furthermore, there are international recognitions or a bachelor's degree combined with an MBA in real estate and one year of practice. Agents who do not meet these conditions must take the exam.

The number of residents per real estate agent in the Czech Republic is about half that of the EU average. It is 909 people per agent in the Czech Republic, while the EU average is 1,653. This is according to the latest available data from the European statistical office for the year 2017.