In a bid to crack down on bait-and-switch advertisements, several of Japan’s major real estate portals will soon start penalising agencies by removing all of their listings from the sites for a month or more.
Bait-and-switch advertisements involve an agency either intentionally leaving up an old listing many months after the property has been tenanted, or creating an entirely fake listing in order to attract inquiries from potential customers. A customer will call the agency to inquire about the property only to be told that it has just gone under contract and be recommended a more expensive rental. This shady practice is widespread in the real estate industry in Japan. Under the Real Estate Brokerage Act, intentionally deceptive or misleading advertising can result in a cancellation or temporary suspension of a real estate agency’s license.
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