28 November 2017

A Wandi property manager has been fined $5,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court for operating without a licence and a current triennial certificate.

Josephine Wei-Wei Liau was also ordered to pay costs of $1,784 after being convicted on 20 November 2017 for holding herself out as a real estate agent and demanding and receiving monies in respect of services as an agent while unlicensed. Ms Liau was managing a property in Willetton through her unregistered business Emerald Property Management after her registration expired in March 2013.

Between June 2013 and November 2015, Ms Liau collected rent, negotiated lease renewals, arranged repairs and charged management fees to the owner of the Willetton property while not being licensed, in breach of the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 (the Act).

This is Ms Liau’s second conviction under the Act. In March 2014 she was fined a total of $10,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court for 16 breaches under various legislation, including holding herself out as a real estate agent without a licence and current triennial certificate, claiming to represent an agency which had no knowledge of the properties being under their management and misrepresenting the actual amount of rent she was collecting on behalf of property owners. Further informaiton of the case is available from the page Property manager fined $10,000 for misleading conduct.  

In the previous court case, Ms Liau was fined $1,000 on each offence for two offences under the Act. During sentencing of the recent matter, Magistrate Heath stated that it must have been clear after her first conviction that Ms Liau could not continue to operate and continue to receive payment.

Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said Ms Liau’s continued misconduct shows she has little regard for the laws regulating the real estate industry.  Despite having received a substantial fine for deceptive and illegal conduct in 2014, Ms Liau went on to operate without a licence.