The Slovenian left’s parliamentary intervention to limit brokerage fee in the real estate sector had irked realtors and property dealers in the country. On July 12, Friday, the Slovenian National Assembly accepted proposals by the Levica (Left) to amend the Real Estate Brokerage Act.
According to the left’s proposal, landlords will fully pay the commission fee charged by a real estate agency for a service commissioned by them. This means tenants will no longer have to shoulder part of the fee. Earlier, the middlemen used to take two months rent as brokerage – one month from the owner and one month from the tenant. A demand for fixing a cap for such a brokerage is also there in the Levica’s proposal.
The real estate groups had strongly opposed the bill and on their instigation, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia also raised concerns about the bill. Total Slovenia News reported that real estate agencies had even threatened to petition the Constitutional Court against the new law.
Levica said the concerns raised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia was unfounded. “The very fact that we have the Real Estate Brokerage Act in force indicates that the state has recognized the necessity of regulating these services for years. The fixing of the maximum price for payment for real estate is already in force”.
“We do not introduce new regulation, but only additionally regulate the amount of the payment for mediation in the rental of real estate. That this is necessary gives a very comprehensive overview of the market”, Levica added.
