Code of Ethics

The EAA Code of Ethics: its seven heads, from obeying the law to fair competition, and how a breach leads to discipline through the fit-and-proper test. Exam questions describe a licensee's conduct and ask which paragraph it breaches, or what the licensee should have done, so you need each paragraph's core idea and one typical breach.

Part I · Stand-alone questions7 min read8 sections

Checked against the EAA Code of Ethics, Preamble paras 1–2 and paras 3.1.1–3.7.3 (web page dated 1 Feb 2007, stating it is the same version as issued on 1 Jan 2002), eaa.org.hk; EAA, A Study Guide to Estate Agency Law and Practice, Part 2, paras 80–93; Estate Agents Ordinance (Cap. 511), s.30; Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619); EAA Practice Circulars Nos. 13-06 (CR), 16-01 (CR) and 24-01 (CR); checked 11 Oct 2026.

Must-know for the exam

The Code is issued by the EAA to guide estate agency work. The current version is the same as the one issued on 1 Jan 2002.
Breach may make a licensee not fit and proper to hold a licence, and disciplinary action may follow (Preamble, para 2).
3.1.1: avoid any activity in practice that may break the law, such as helping an illegal HOS sale or intercepting cars at a first-sale site.
3.2.1: know and follow the EAO, its subsidiary legislation, the Code and EAA guidelines, including Practice Circulars. 3.2.2: keep up with laws and market developments.
3.3.1: serve clients with honesty, fidelity and integrity, and protect them against fraud, misrepresentation and unethical practices.
3.4.1: protect and promote the client's interests, follow instructions under the estate agency agreement, and be impartial and just to all parties.
3.5.1: exercise due care and due diligence, such as warning of negative equity and suggesting solicitor stakeholders for deposits.
3.6.1: avoid appointments involving property you have a beneficial interest in. This goes further than the common law, which only requires disclosure.
3.6.2: disclose possible conflicts such as dual agency, and disclose any pecuniary or other beneficial interest fully to all parties.
3.7.1–3.7.3: do not disparage other agencies, avoid conduct that discredits the trade, and compete fairly without restrictive practices.

On this page · 8 sections

Traps that cost marks

Treating a Code breach as a criminal offence rather than a fitness-and-propriety and disciplinary matter.
Inventing an EAA-approval step for dual agency, or disclosing to only one side.
Thinking a market-level price or rent makes an undisclosed personal interest acceptable.
Picking a general honesty paragraph instead of the specific fair-competition rule.
Believing a private remark to a client falls outside the rule against injuring another agency's reputation.
Assuming a mortgage disappears at completion even when the price is lower than the debt.
Choosing the broad disrepute paragraph instead of the specific honesty duty owed to the client.
Thinking a good price excuses ignoring a client's express instructions.

Why this matters in the exam

The Code is short, and the exam tests it in a fixed pattern: a scenario describing what a licensee did, then 'which paragraph has been breached?' or 'what should the licensee have done?'. The options are often all good-sounding values, so you must match the conduct to the right head. Learn each paragraph as one idea plus one typical breach.

The Code also sits behind many Practice Regulation and circular questions. When the conduct breaks a specific rule (for example signing a provisional agreement with blanks), the Code paragraph that catches it is usually 3.2.1, the duty to know and follow the EAA's guidelines.

What the Code is and how it is enforced

The Code is issued by the Estate Agents Authority (EAA) to guide licensees in estate agency work (Preamble, para 1). The EAA's web page is dated 1 Feb 2007 and states that the text is the same version as the one issued on 1 Jan 2002.

The Code is not an ordinance and breaching it is not a crime. Its force comes from Preamble, para 2: a licensee who does not follow it may be found not fit and proper to hold a licence, which affects grant, renewal and continued holding of the licence, and disciplinary action may be taken under the Estate Agents Ordinance (Cap. 511), s.30 (reprimand, conditions, suspension for up to 2 years, revocation, fine up to HK$300,000, costs). A licensee who shows all reasonable steps and all due diligence has a defence (s.30(3)).

Notice the wording. Paragraphs 3.1.1, 3.3.1, 3.5.1, 3.6.2 and 3.7.1 say licensees shall; 3.2.2, 3.4.1, 3.6.1, 3.7.2 and 3.7.3 say they should. Both are enforced through the fit-and-proper test.

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