The real estate sector appears to be rife with scams and bad actors as another warning has been issued and the public urged to be vigilant.

Marinos Kineyirou, president of the Council for Registration of Real Estate Agents, warned on Thursday that “it’s very important for the public to always ask to see a real estate agent’s documentation”.

“Ask for evidence, such as their annual professional licence or professional identity card for the current year so that they can confirm that they are licensed real estate agents,” Kineyirou urged.

He emphasised that these can easily be confirmed at the council’s website, listed as sek.com.cy, where they will also publish the names of those convicted.

Kineyirou also urged the public to report any shady estate agents to the authorities – as these are the people most likely to encounter the unsavoury characters.

The president of the council previously stated that there are on average three to nine complaints daily of malpractice within the sector.

In November, it was announced that one of the two suspects in a €275,000 property investment scam case is not a registered real estate agent.

More recently, in December, the council stated that a slew of dodgy agents and companies were convicted during 2022 for illegally practicing without a license.