The day-to-day rules for residential agency work under the Practice Regulation (Cap. 511C), section by section from first contact to after the sale, plus the EAA Practice Circulars the exam draws on most: advertisements, land searches, provisional agreements, vendor identity, commission and anti-money laundering. This is the largest Part 2 topic and it is tested at Level 3, mostly through short scenarios.
Part I · Stand-alone questions·8 min read·9 sections
✓Checked against the Estate Agents Practice (General Duties and Hong Kong Residential Properties) Regulation (Cap. 511C), ss.2, 5, 6 and 8–16; Estate Agents (Licensing) Regulation (Cap. 511A), s.14; EAA Practice Circulars Nos. 09-04, 09-05, 12-02, 13-03, 13-06, 14-01, 15-04, 16-03, 17-02, 18-02, 22-01, 23-01, 23-02, 24-01 and 26-01 (CR), from the list of circulars in force at eaa.org.hk; EAA Code of Ethics, paras 3.4.1 and 3.5.1; checked 11 Oct 2026.
★
Must-know for the exam
✓Before doing any estate agency work for a person, a salesperson must tell them he is licensed and give his licence number (Cap. 511C, s.5).
✓Keep listing records and estate agency agreements at least 3 years; EAA officers may inspect without notice (s.8(2)). Receipts, deposit slips and commission invoices: also 3 years.
✓Get the vendor's prior written consent before passing his information to a sub-listing agent (s.8(3)) and before advertising his property (s.9(2)).
✓Never advertise at a price or terms different from instructions; say if the flat is to be sublet; remove adverts as soon as practicable when no longer available (s.9).
✓Circular 18-02 (CR), effective 1 Dec 2018: each advertised property gets a unique Property Number, shown with the Advertisement Date; information must be accurate at that date.
✓Accompany the purchaser on viewings unless told otherwise, with the vendor's consent, and prepare a written inventory before signing (s.10).
✓No fictitious offers; record every offer in writing; present offers promptly, in order and objectively until the sale agreement is signed; then stop marketing (ss.11, 13(2)).
✓Client money: written receipt immediately; trust account at an authorised institution; release deposits only after checking the vendor's identity and authority (s.12).
✓The vendor's agent does a land search immediately before the provisional agreement and gives the purchaser a copy (s.13(4); Circular 13-03 (CR), effective 1 Apr 2013).
✓AML (Circular 23-01 (CR)): customer due diligence before the business relationship, on sale and purchase only, not leasing; records kept at least 5 years.
▸On this page · 9 sections
⚠
Traps that cost marks
→Adding requirements the Regulation does not impose.
→Excluding Saturdays, or forgetting that a typhoon (gale warning) day does not count as a working day.
→Treating a recorded phone call as consent, when the Regulation requires the vendor’s written consent first.
→Assuming agreements may be discarded once the deal completes, or that an inspection needs advance notice.
→Believing a rival agent is completely barred from approaching a vendor under sole agency, instead of having to give the extra-commission warning.
→Thinking the duty starts only once a client is signed up.
→Relying on the 7-working-day window when the agency is about to advertise, which brings the deadline forward.
→Thinking a lower price is harmless.
Why this matters in the exam
Most questions here put a salesperson in a short scene (posting an advert, showing a flat, holding a cheque) and ask what the rule requires. Learn the sections in the order of a deal: first contact, listing, advertising, viewing, negotiation, money, signing, commission.
The Practice Regulation (Cap. 511C) applies to Hong Kong residential property. The EAA's Practice Circulars fill in the detail; ignoring one can breach para 3.2.1 of the Code of Ethics and lead to discipline. Circulars marked * apply only to residential property.
First contact, listing and viewing
•s.5: a salesperson must tell a person he is licensed, and his licence number, before doing any estate agency work for them. The estate agent must do the same before the person becomes its client.
•s.6: sign the estate agency agreement on time (vendor: within 7 working days, before advertising or before signing, whichever is earliest; purchaser: before arranging a viewing or before signing). Take the vendor's HKID details and record them in the agreement; do not list on oral instructions alone (Circular 16-03 (CR)).
•s.8(1): no false or misleading information when seeking instructions.
•s.8(2): keep listing records and agreements for at least 3 years; EAA officers may inspect without notice.
•s.8(3): pass the vendor's information to a sub-listing agent only with his prior written consent.
•s.8(4): you may approach a vendor whose flat is under another agent's exclusive agency only after warning him he may have to pay additional commission.
•s.10: with the vendor's consent, arrange viewings (including car parking spaces and common areas) and the purchaser unless he says otherwise. Before the sale agreement or lease, establish what is included and prepare a .
Premium
Every note. Every question. One pass.
7 more sections of this note are part of Premium.
Every section of every study note
Every SQE and EAQE question, Part II case studies included
EAA Prep