The State ordered to take the decree on the training of real estate employees: the risk of a victory at the Pyrrhus

Free tribune

The Council of State has just enjoined the government to take the decree of implementing the 2014 ALUR law relating to the minimum obligation of aptitude for collaborators of real estate agencies and firms of property administration. This raises a number of questions about the terms of this training, according to Henry Buzy-Cazaux, founding president of the Institute of Real Estate Services.

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Seized by the National Real Estate Federation, the Council of State has just enjoked the ministries concerned to take the decree of implementing the ALUR law of March 24, 2014 relating to the minimum obligation of aptitude of collaborators of real estate agencies, networks and firms of property administration. The cause was so good that some are surprised that this action was not initiated earlier. These perhaps support without wanting to do it with a painful place of the social real estate body: the real estate community, its tenors in particular, want in its entirety that this legal constraint comes into force? Not so sure, not so sure in any case that everyone in this community wants the same rules … Analysis of discrepancies and misunderstandings.

First, many think, in the sector and outside, among journalists for example, that this provision only targets real estate negotiators, that is to say transaction specialists. Simply because the most shown the finger at the heterogeneity of the skills of its members is undoubtedly that of real estate agent, in its traditional form as in its advanced forms, the network of agents. There is no question here to judge whether it deserves suspicion more than the administration of goods, but the observation does not seem questionable. In opinion, the judgment is even underpinned by another reality: the public puts behind the term real estate agent all service activities, sale, rental, rental management, or even condominium management. The assimilation, which is due to the fact that the store – the agency often hosts all the trades, leads to designating a profession for all the others. In any case, the 2014 legislator took the same perimeter as the law of January 2, 1970, no more no less, and targeted the two large branches of activity, transaction and management. Clearly, those who would like to distinguish the two in the sector, especially for some to be subject to training at the longer entry than the other would not have success.

Who will pay the cost of training?

It is then understood that this legal victory of one of the real estate unions would have been engaged to create barriers at the entrance to the networks of independent commercial agents. We will not risk probe the kidneys and hearts, to borrow the expression from the Bible, and we will just note that the law of 2014 had absolutely not this intention. On this point, it resulted from the faithful transposition by Minister Cécile Duflot of the White Paper of the three unions, Fnaim, Unis and SNPI, finally signed by the first two. In short, it reflected the intention to enhance the qualification of the whole professional body of real estate services, without any other thought. Moreover, the networks of agents, to which the rest of the profession made from their massive proceedings fifteen years ago a lawsuit in incompetence, very quickly equipped themselves with training devices and they are undoubtedly not today the actors who form their members the least … To say it differently, they do not have to fear more than the other actors to see their development more disturbed or embarrassed.

On this subject, we could nevertheless support that the cost of the training will be heavier for large … as we could defend the opposite, relating to turnover! Because in the rank of objections, the cost comes quickly: who will pay? Companies of course, but with the moderator of skills operators (OPCO). Will the manna collected by these organizations to date be enough? This subject is to be looked closely with them by the representation of the professional branch, knowing that they will have to lighten the invoice for companies as much as possible. Regarding the self -employed, they will be up to them to assume the cost, except probably if they are in a network of agents: these brands to date mostly finance the training of their sales agents, without soliciting dedicated OPCOs, whose collection is relatively modest.

What training methods?

The price refers to another consideration: the terms and duration of the training. There, the Athenians will be tackling. A priori an informal consensus was created for 42 hours of training, a week, but it is far from being recorded. He formed without the SNPI, which brings together most of the family and craft structures of transaction and management to a lesser extent … and the national leader, Foncia. His opinion will count. In addition, we heard three years ago thanks to the congress of one of the two unions very present in the administration of goods a position of a representative of this activity believing that it should be exempt from the obligation as soon as the managers were all well trained … The debates promise to be fed. As for the methods, FNAIM requests a mix between face -to -face and distancing: it has teaching reason, but its position is certainly not dominant among real estate entrepreneurs, now used not to move to train and hostile to induced expenses.

Another subject is due to the content of this training. If it does not belong to the text to specify it excessively, it is still necessary to place safeguards, so as not to miss the subject. What are we looking for? That a new skill has general legal and economic culture to accomplish its mission by being serene and by not jeopardizing the customer. Of course also he has essential commercial reflexes. The only commercial dimension is not enough. We will indeed understand that a negotiator must know the logic of the condominium or the rental reports, to sell to an investor or rent a housing, as a manager will have to hold the basics of property law and are not aware of basic taxation. This means that many companies will have to review their program, exclusively based on commercial efficiency.

Who will have to follow this training?

Finally, will we eat recent graduates from a real estate cycle, BTS, license or bachelor, master, or will they be exempt from this training obligation, for example up to three years after obtaining their diploma? FNAIM also suggests that the collaborators in place are not concerned, and this clause of acquired rights seems normal … except perhaps for employees who have never been empowered to replace the manager by delegation and who are called to be, going from a low-responsibility position to another increased responsibility. Moreover, this question brings out a throbbing subject: who leaders him, himself holder of the professional card delivered every three years by the CCI, should he be empowered? Who is responsible in his places and who is not? Who is it in direct contact with customers and performs engaging acts? A co -ownership or rental management assistant? A manager only? An alternating during training? What was only a declarative constraint will take financial consequences that will lead professionals to an authentic finesse of appreciation … if not to a minimalist reading of the Hoguet law and its implementing decree … Another point of vigilance.

And then a final subject of conjectures: the time of training for authorized employees. The ALUR law makes it the condition of the authorization of the persons concerned, which means that no enabling process with the CCI can be initiated by a leader for a member of his team without having been trained. This provision is controversial: the bosses highlight that they may train, at their expense, employee employees who will be able to leave the company during the trial period. Others would like the collaborator to be productive without delay, while the training and then the authorization procedure will differ this reality several weeks. Problem: to grant their wish, a modification of the law would be necessary.

Six months to take the decree

The government has been six months since the decision of the Council of State to take the right decree. They will not be too much to conduct consultation with the professional organizations of the transaction and real estate management which promises not being easy. The stake is considerable: to increase the quality of the professional body for the benefit of households that use it and to restore its image in passing. He must lead the signatory ministries, that of accommodation in mind, not to empty the measure of his meaning. The pitfall of fundamentalism and excess would also be guilty: these professions must not close and the requirement of minimum competence should not exclude. Especially since it is coupled with the continuing education obligation of employees. It would be desirable, moreover, that it is controlled by the CCIs: everything suggests that it is now neglected.