Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Estate Agents Act 1980 - SECT 42

Advertising

42. Advertising



(1) Any estate agent who publishes any advertisement relating to or in
connexion with his business without specifying therein a name under which the
agent carries on business and the address of his registered office his
principal office or any one of his branch offices shall be guilty of an
offence.

(2) Any person who wilfully and falsely advertises or in any way wilfully and
falsely represents that as an estate agent he has a particular property or
business for sale shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) Any person who in any way wilfully and falsely represents that as an
estate agent he has sold a property or holds a deposit in respect of the sale
of a property shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) Any estate agent who publishes or permits or authorizes to be published as
part of any advertisement any false or misleading statement or representation
concerning any property or business which is or is stated or represented to be
for sale shall be guilty of an offence.



(5) For the purposes of this section an advertisement shall be deemed to be
misleading-

(a) if it refers to the "gross profit" or the "clear profit" of a business
stated or represented to be for sale; or

   (b)  if it mentions any amount as being the profit of a business stated or
        represented to be for sale which is not the average weekly net profit
        of the business for the period of three years immediately before the
        publication of the advertisement or for the whole of any lesser period
        during which the business has been carried on by the vendor.

(6) In any proceedings under this section-

   (a)  production of a newspaper containing an advertisement having specified
        therein the name of an estate agent or of an advertisement published
        in any other form having specified therein the name of an estate agent
        shall be prima facie evidence that the estate agent published or
        authorized to be published the advertisement and all statements and
        representations made therein; and

   (b)  evidence on oath that an advertisement was published and that any
        statement or representation was made in or as part of the
        advertisement and that the name of any estate agent was specified or
        mentioned in or as part of or as having authorized the publication of
        the advertisement shall be prima facie evidence that the agent
        published or authorized the publication of the advertisement and the
        statement or representation.