If someone has filed an REA complaint against you, act quickly and carefully. Don’t ignore the notice, don’t contact the complainant directly, and don’t draft your response on impulse.
Collect every document from the transaction, get legal advice before you respond to the Real Estate Authority, and treat every communication as part of the formal record.
Your earliest decisions will shape how the complaint is assessed and can change the outcome. A complaint can feel personal, but the process is procedural and strictly time-bound. If you do not provide sufficient evidence when responding to a complaint that has been referred to a Complaints Assessment Committee, there is no right to file further evidence – even when appealing a decision to the Tribunal. An application for leave to file further evidence is required.
Understanding what happens next, where the real risks sit, and what your rights are will give you a real shot at protecting your licence and your livelihood.
What Should You Do Immediately After Receiving Notice of an REA Complaint?
Treat the notice as urgent and confidential. Discuss the complaint with your agency and get legal advice before you respond. The Real Estate Authority will share the complaint with you and invite your initial comments.
Your response is technically optional, but what you say or fail to say at this early stage will influence whether the matter is resolved informally, referred to a Complaints Assessment Committee, or escalated to a misconduct charge.
The first 24 to 48 hours after receiving notice matter the most.
What Documents Should You Gather First?
Pull together everything connected to the transaction before anything else.
That means the signed agency agreement, the sale and purchase agreement and any amendments, marketing material and listing copy, vendor disclosure statements, property files, building reports if you saw any, and every text, email, and call note in your CRM or personal devices.
Don’t delete anything, even material you think makes you look bad, because deletion of records during an active complaint will almost certainly be treated as a separate aggravating factor.
Tell your branch manager or licensee agent so the agency can support your response and meet its in-house obligations under Rule 12 of the Real Estate Agents Act (Professional Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2012.
Should You Contact the Complainant Directly?
No. Don’t contact the complainant once a formal REA complaint has been filed.
Direct contact may be characterised as pressure, intimidation, or an attempt to influence a witness, and that can turn a routine complaint into something far more serious.
If the complainant approaches you, refer them to the REA and document the contact in writing on the same day.
Any further communication about the substance of the complaint should go through your lawyer or the REA, never directly between you and the person who filed.
Why Is Legal Advice Critical at the Early Stage?
The REA’s initial comment request is the first formal step in a regulated disciplinary process, and what you put in writing now can be used against you all the way through.
Many licensees only seek legal help after a Complaints Assessment Committee finding is made, by which point the most important opportunity to shape the outcome has already passed.
A lawyer can review the complaint, identify which sections of the Act or rules are actually engaged, and help you present the facts in a way that addresses the concerns without conceding things you don’t need to concede.
That early framing often makes the difference between an early resolution and a published adverse finding against you that sits on the public register for three years.
How Does the REA Complaints Process Work in New Zealand?
The REA complaints process moves through four main stages:
- Initial assessment
- Early resolution
- A Complaints Assessment Committee inquiry
- Possible referral to the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal.
Each stage has different powers, different timeframes, and different risks for the licensee.
Most complaints don’t reach the Tribunal. In the year to 30 June 2025, the REA received 487 complaints, up 35 per cent on the prior year, and 341 of those were resolved through the early resolution process before reaching a Complaints Assessment Committee.
Forty-three of those complaints ended up before the Disciplinary Tribunal, and only 9% of licensees who were the subject of a complaint had findings of unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct against them.
What Happens at the Initial Assessment Stage?
The REA decides whether it can look into the complaint, which is called the jurisdiction check, and aims to complete this within 30 working days.
The Authority considers whether the conduct relates to a potential breach of the Code of Conduct or the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and whether there is credible supporting evidence.
The REA will contact you, share a copy of the complaint, and request your initial comments. If the complaint is frivolous, vexatious, made in bad faith, or not sufficiently serious, the Authority can close it under section 79 with a written decision and tell both parties.
What Is the Early Resolution Process?
Early resolution is a facilitated discussion between the parties run by an REA facilitator to resolve the complaint without a formal investigation.
The process typically involves a private conversation with each party, followed by a joint phone meeting to explore options.
If the parties reach a resolution, the REA may decide not to refer the complaint to a Complaints Assessment Committee at all.
Early resolution avoids the cost, time, and public record that come with a formal inquiry, but it isn’t appropriate for every matter, especially where you dispute the facts or there’s a serious allegation that needs to be tested.
How Does the Complaints Assessment Committee Investigate?
A Complaints Assessment Committee is an independent three-person panel made up of a lawyer, a real estate industry member, and a consumer affairs representative.
If the Committee decides to inquire, an REA investigator will request your formal written response and any supporting documents under section 85, and you must comply within the time stated in the notice.
The Committee then weighs the evidence on the balance of probabilities and decides to take no further action, find unsatisfactory conduct under section 89(2)(b), or refer the matter to the Disciplinary Tribunal for a misconduct charge under section 91.
The REA expects the Committee process to be completed within 90 working days, but complex matters take longer.
When Is a Complaint Referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal?
A Complaints Assessment Committee refers a complaint to the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal under section 91 when the conduct is serious enough to amount to misconduct under section 73 rather than unsatisfactory conduct under section 72.
The Tribunal is appointed by the Ministry of Justice and is independent of the REA.
It also hears appeals from Committee decisions, applications to suspend a licence pending the outcome of charges under section 115, and reviews of Registrar’s decisions on licensing.
If your case is referred to the Tribunal, the stakes change significantly because the Tribunal’s powers are much wider than a Committee’s.
What Are the Possible Penalties If a Complaint Is Upheld?
The penalties depend on whether the finding is unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct, and on whether the decision is made by a Complaints Assessment Committee or the Disciplinary Tribunal.
A Committee can fine you, order training, censure you, and refer the case to the Tribunal for compensation.
The Tribunal has stronger powers and can cancel or suspend your licence on top of significant fines.
The table below sets out the main differences between the two.
| Feature | Complaints Assessment Committee (section 93) | Disciplinary Tribunal (section 110) |
|---|---|---|
| Type of finding available | Unsatisfactory conduct under section 72 | Misconduct under section 73, or unsatisfactory conduct on a charge |
| Maximum fine (individual) | $10,000 | $15,000 for misconduct |
| Maximum fine (company) | $20,000 | $30,000 for misconduct |
| Compensation power | None directly; can refer to Tribunal under section 93(1)(ha) | Up to $100,000 |
| Licence suspension or cancellation | No | Yes, suspension up to 24 months or cancellation |
| Mandatory training orders | Yes | Yes |
| Censure or reprimand | Yes | Yes |
| Appeal route | Disciplinary Tribunal within 20 working days | High Court under section 116 |
A Committee can deal with most complaints itself, but it has no power to suspend or cancel a licence, which sits exclusively with the Tribunal under section 110.
A Committee decision will also be published on the REA’s public register and remain there for three years after the appeal period ends, which is a serious commercial and reputational consideration even where the financial penalty looks modest.
What Counts as Unsatisfactory Conduct Under Section 72?
Unsatisfactory conduct under section 72 is real estate agency work that falls short of the standard a reasonable member of the public is entitled to expect from a reasonably competent licensee.
It also covers conduct that contravenes the Act, the regulations, or the rules, conduct that is incompetent or negligent, and conduct that other agents of good standing would regard as unacceptable.
Common examples include misleading advertising, failing to provide the approved guides before signing, poor disclosure about a property’s condition, and breaches of the duty to deal fairly with all parties under Rule 6.
What Counts as Misconduct Under Section 73?
Misconduct is the more serious finding and covers conduct that agents of good standing or members of the public would regard as disgraceful, conduct that is seriously incompetent or seriously negligent, and wilful or reckless contraventions of the Act or rules.
Failing to disclose a personal interest in a transaction, manipulating signatures on contractual documents, and providing false information to the regulator can all support a misconduct charge.
In a 2022 decision, the Tribunal found two licensees guilty of misconduct under section 73(b) after they inserted previous signatures and initials onto a new offer document, fining one licensee $10,000 and the other $4,000, censuring both, and awarding costs to the REA.
The Tribunal noted the conduct wasn’t a deliberate forgery, but the seriousness of the negligence was enough to cross the line from unsatisfactory conduct into misconduct.
Can You Be Ordered to Pay Compensation?
Yes. Since 29 October 2019, the Disciplinary Tribunal has been able to award compensation of up to $100,000 to a consumer who has suffered loss from unsatisfactory conduct, not just misconduct.
Before that change, compensation was only available where a misconduct finding was made.
A Complaints Assessment Committee can’t order compensation directly, but it can refer the question to the Tribunal under section 93(1)(ha).
Compensation is reduced for contributory negligence and is only awarded where the financial loss is causally connected to the licensee’s conduct, so the amount finally ordered is often well below the headline cap.
How Should You Prepare Your Formal Response to the REA?
Your formal response should address the specific allegations point by point, attach the supporting documents that contradict or contextualise the complaint, and avoid emotional or accusatory language about the complainant.
The Complaints Assessment Committee is assessing whether your conduct met the standard of a reasonably competent licensee, not who’s the more sympathetic party, so focus on what you did, why, and what records back it up.
If the complaint touches on disclosure, advertising accuracy, supervision, or trust account handling, expect the Committee to scrutinise those areas closely and ask for the underlying documents.
What Should Your Written Response Include?
Include a clear factual chronology of the transaction with dates, a direct response to each specific allegation, and copies of every document that supports your account.
That generally means the agency agreement, the sale and purchase agreement, marketing material, vendor disclosures, building reports, contemporaneous file notes, and key emails.
If supervision is in issue, include the branch manager’s involvement and the agency’s compliance with section 50 of the Act.
Don’t speculate about motive, don’t editorialise, and don’t include irrelevant criticism of the complainant, because all of it dilutes the parts of your response that actually matter.
Should You Admit Fault If You Made a Mistake?
It depends on what the mistake actually was and how it maps onto the Act and the rules. A small administrative slip that caused no loss is very different from a failure to disclose a known weathertightness risk to elderly purchasers.
A measured acknowledgement of an honest error, paired with steps you’ve taken to fix it and prevent a recurrence, will often lead to a lower penalty or even no further action.
A blanket admission of unsatisfactory conduct without legal advice, by contrast, will lock you into a published finding that affects your licence, your supervision file, and your record for years.
Can You Appeal a Complaints Assessment Committee or Tribunal Decision?
Yes. You have 20 working days from the date of the notice of a Committee determination to appeal to the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal under section 111 of the Act.
The appeal is by way of rehearing, which means the Tribunal reconsiders the evidence rather than just checking for legal error in the Committee’s decision. If you did not file sufficient evidence at the outset, an application for leave to file further evidence is required.
A Tribunal decision on a misconduct charge can then be appealed to the High Court under section 116, and onwards to the Court of Appeal on a question of law under section 120.
How Long Do You Have to File an Appeal?
You have 20 working days from the date of the notice given under section 81 or 94, with a $37 filing fee paid online through the Ministry of Justice.
The Tribunal can extend that to 60 working days under section 111(1A) in exceptional circumstances, but only on a clear and substantiated application explaining why the appeal couldn’t be filed in time.
Since the 2018 amendments to section 111, the appeal clock runs from the date of notice of the conduct finding, and a separate 20-working-day clock runs from notice of any penalty decision.
Don’t wait for the penalty decision to file an appeal on the conduct finding, because that will be too late.
What Happens on Appeal?
The Tribunal will receive written submissions from both parties and may hold a hearing, especially where credibility is in dispute.
You can introduce new evidence in limited circumstances, with leave from the Tribunal. The Tribunal can confirm, vary, or reverse the Committee’s decision and substitute a different penalty, including a lower fine, training orders only, or no order at all.
You can also be ordered to pay costs under section 110A, so the merits of any appeal need to be carefully weighed before filing.
What Common Mistakes Should Licensees Avoid?
Several recurring mistakes turn manageable complaints into career-threatening decisions, and all of them are avoidable with the right early advice.
The first is ignoring the REA’s request for initial comments and assuming the matter will go away on its own.
The second is responding without legal advice, especially when the licensee writes a long, emotional email that ends up being read as an admission of unsatisfactory conduct.
The third is contacting the complainant, the vendor, the purchaser, or any other witness to set the record straight, which is almost always treated as inappropriate interference.
The fourth is missing the 20-working-day appeal window after a Committee determination because you were waiting for the penalty decision, and finding out later that the right of appeal on the conduct finding has gone.
The fifth is treating an unsatisfactory conduct finding as harmless because the fine looks small, while the public register entry sits there for three years and shows up in every future supervision review, agency renewal, and subsequent complaint.
The sixth is failing to involve the branch manager or agency, particularly where supervision under section 50 may itself be part of the issue.
The seventh is deleting messages, file notes, or social media posts in a panic, which the Tribunal treats as a serious aggravating factor on its own.
Need Help Responding to an REA Complaint?
A complaint to the Real Estate Authority puts your licence, your livelihood, and your professional record at risk, and the right legal strategy from day one will often change the outcome.
As real estate agent lawyers, Evolution Lawyers can help you respond to REA complaints, prepare for Complaints Assessment Committee inquiries, defend charges before the Disciplinary Tribunal, and lodge appeals against adverse decisions.
Contact our team today to discuss your REA complaint.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the REA take to deal with a complaint in New Zealand?
The Real Estate Authority aims to complete its initial assessment within 30 working days and expects a full Complaints Assessment Committee inquiry to take 90 working days, although complex matters take longer. Most complaints are resolved through the early resolution process before reaching a Committee, and only a small proportion progress to a published Committee decision or a Disciplinary Tribunal hearing.
Do you have to respond to an REA complaint against you?
Your initial comments on an REA complaint are technically optional, but in practice, they are critical. The Real Estate Authority and any Complaints Assessment Committee use your response to decide how to handle the matter, and silence is rarely interpreted favourably. A measured, legally reviewed written response is almost always in the licensee’s best interests at every stage of the process.
Can the REA suspend or cancel a real estate licence?
A Complaints Assessment Committee can’t suspend or cancel a real estate licence on its own. Only the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal can do that, under section 110 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008, after a misconduct finding. The Tribunal can also fine an individual licensee up to $15,000 and a company up to $30,000, plus award compensation up to $100,000.
How long does an REA decision stay on the public register?
Complaints Assessment Committee and Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal decisions are published on the REA’s public register and remain there for three years after the 20-working-day appeal period has ended. The decision will identify the licensee and summarise the conduct, so the reputational impact often lasts well beyond the fine, training order, or other penalty.
What’s the difference between unsatisfactory conduct and misconduct?
Unsatisfactory conduct under section 72 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 is real estate agency work that falls below the standard a reasonable member of the public would expect from a competent licensee. Misconduct under section 73 is more serious and covers disgraceful conduct, seriously incompetent or seriously negligent work, and wilful or reckless contraventions of the Act or rules.
How long do you have to appeal a Complaints Assessment Committee decision?
You have 20 working days from the date of the notice of the Committee’s determination to file an appeal with the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal under section 111. The filing fee is $37. In exceptional circumstances, the Tribunal can accept an appeal up to 60 working days late under section 111(1A), but only on a clear application showing why the appeal couldn’t be filed in time.