The fourth wave of Covid-19 is expected soon, so how can estate agents stay safe?
The world has moved on from the Level 5 lockdowns experienced at the start of the pandemic almost two years ago. But as the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus takes root, agents need to take all the necessary precautions to ensure they stay safe and healthy - and keep their clients out of harm’s way.
Extra vigilance is especially important during the holiday season when it is all too easy to let your guard down.
Requirements
To ensure the safety of all estate agency staff and clients, Real Estate Business Owners of South Africa’s (Rebosa) has provided guidelines for its members, which include the following:
- Before entering the agency premises, staff and visitors must have their temperatures checked. Anyone with a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or higher must be denied access.
- Staff and visitors must confirm that they have no Covid-19 symptoms, such as fever, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, loss of smell or taste, coughs, sore throats, red eyes, body aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fatigue and/or weakness.
- Staff must wear face masks while at work or using public transport. Only visitors wearing face masks will be allowed access.
- Hand sanitisers must be provided, and both staff and visitors must use them.
- Social distancing, work stations should be more than 1.5m apart, or screens placed between stations that are closer. In addition, visitors must be reminded to keep a distance of 1.5 m from others in the office at all times.
- If a staff member has been diagnosed with Covid-19, the agency must inform the Department of Health and the Department of Employment and Labour. In addition, it must give administrative support to any contact-tracing measures implemented by the Department of Health.
Viewing properties
Showhouses are by appointment only, and meetings with clients should take place by phone or video calls as far as possible. Initial property viewings should ideally be done virtually.
Once a buyer or a tenant has expressed definite interest in a particular property, a physical viewing of the property can be arranged in line with the following protocols:
- Estate agents must meet clients at the property to be viewed by appointment only, and only one agent may represent the agency during an appointment. Agents may not travel with clients in the same vehicle.
- Agents must confirm to clients that they are free of any observable symptoms associated with Covid-19, and clients must do the same.
- Agents and clients must wear face masks during the viewing and sanitise their hands before entering and exiting a property.
- The occupants of properties to be viewed must be asked to sign relevant consent forms before viewings. All potential clients must have received all the safety protocol information before the viewing and must agree to adhere to these. Occupants will be asked to open all doors and windows before a viewing.
- Occupants must be asked to vacate the property during viewings. If this isn’t possible, they should remain in one section of the property.
- Only two viewing clients may walk through the property at a time. To observe social distance guidelines, others who need to view the property must wait outside.
- Estate agents and potential buyers or tenants may not make physical contact with anyone in the property and must keep a distance of at least 1.5m from each other. If possible, they must avoid touching any surfaces on the property. Estate agents must carry sanitiser and wipes to clean any surface accidentally touched. Estate agents and viewers may not use bathroom facilities on the property.
- Estate agents must capture the contact details of potential buyers and tenants who have visited any property in the agency’s database, along with the property address and time and date of viewing.
Stay safe
The wearing of masks, social distancing and hand sanitising may seem onerous at times. However, until most people are vaccinated, these are still the best means of keeping safe from Covid 19.
