Jamaica’s property industry has entered the age of TikTok, Instagram and artificial intelligence. Its ethical framework was written for a different world. The question is no longer whether standards matter, but whether those standards are fit for the future.
KINGSTON, Jamaica — TikTok is not a newspaper. Instagram is not an office window. Facebook is not a printed property brochure.
Yet Jamaica’s real estate industry continues to operate under a Code of Ethics introduced in 1998, when property marketing was dominated by newspapers, printed brochures, telephone calls, roadside signs and visits to estate agents’ offices.
Twenty-eight years later, a Jamaican property can be filmed on a smartphone, advertised internationally and viewed by thousands of prospective purchasers before the agent has returned to the office.
The technology has changed. Consumer expectations have changed. Even the meaning of professional communication has changed.
So why should a property market operating in 2026 continue to rely on an ethical framework written for 1998?
This is not an argument against regulation. It is an argument for regulation that understands the industry it is supposed to govern.
THE LAW IS 28 YEARS OLD. THE MARKET ISN’T.
Jamaica’s Real Estate (Dealers and Developers) (Code of Ethics) Regulations were introduced in December 1998.
Regulation 13 requires specified information in advertisements concerning properties for sale, including the dealer’s or developer’s name and address and relevant licensing or registration details.
The provisions also require accurate property information and, in the case of advertisements placed by dealers, written authorisation from the owner.
These are important protections. Nobody purchasing a house should have to guess who is responsible for its advertisement or whether the person handling the transaction is authorised to do so.
But there is a legitimate question about whether the method of delivering that information should remain unchanged across every modern advertising format.
Consider a 30-second property video on TikTok.
The presenter walks through a house in St Ann, explains the asking price, highlights the bedrooms and encourages interested purchasers to request further details.
Should digital advertisements continue to reproduce information using essentially the same framework developed for traditional advertising? Or should the law eventually recognise verified digital profiles, accessible licensing records and other reliable electronic methods of identification?
The existing requirements remain legally binding. Reform would require appropriate changes to the law.
But the underlying question deserves serious consideration.
Does repeating an address establish trust, or could a reliable digital verification system provide better protection?
Those are not necessarily competing objectives. Jamaica should be capable of achieving both transparency and simplicity.
PROFESSIONALISM IS NOT A HAIRSTYLE
The conversation about modern real estate practice extends beyond advertising disclosures.
It raises a more uncomfortable question: what does professionalism actually look like in Jamaica?
Must a property agent wear a suit to command respect?
What about dreadlocks, tattoos, sneakers, bright clothing or an unmistakably Jamaican accent?
Should someone presenting a property be expected to speak formal English throughout, or should Jamaican Patois have an equally legitimate place in professional communication?
Can an agent use humour? Can a video be entertaining? Can a presenter show personality without compromising professional standards?
These questions do not arise because any particular hairstyle, accent or presentation style has been prohibited. They arise because modern professional codes must be sufficiently clear to distinguish legitimate cultural expression from conduct that genuinely harms consumers.
Professionalism is not a hairstyle. Integrity is not a suit. Competence is not an English accent.
A beautifully dressed agent can misrepresent a property. An agent wearing jeans can provide excellent service, accurate advice and complete transparency.
Clothing is not proof of integrity.
Neither is popularity proof of misconduct.
Jamaican culture has always influenced how the country communicates with the world. The warmth, humour, confidence and individuality that characterise much of Jamaican life should not automatically disappear when someone enters a regulated profession.
There must, of course, be limits.
Humiliating homeowners, exploiting vulnerable people, making discriminatory remarks or exposing private family information in property videos cannot be excused as creativity.
But reasonable standards should address harmful conduct rather than impose an unnecessarily narrow picture of respectability.
Regulate deception. Not creativity.
A VIRAL VIDEO IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL OFFENCE
Social media has transformed advertising because audiences respond to people, stories and experiences.
A traditional property advertisement might present a photograph, an address, a price and a telephone number.
A modern video might show the journey from Kingston to a hillside property in St Mary, the surrounding community, nearby services and the lifestyle a prospective purchaser could enjoy.
It might be funny. It might be dramatic. It might attract hundreds of thousands of views.
None of those characteristics makes it inherently unethical.
What matters is whether the information is accurate, the presentation is authorised and the audience is being misled.
A video attracting enormous attention should still comply with applicable advertising requirements. But regulators, policymakers and professional bodies should also recognise that communication methods evolve.
The challenge is to preserve accountability without treating every unfamiliar marketing technique as a threat.
The international marketplace is no longer waiting for Jamaica to catch up.
THERE ARE REAL PROBLEMS WORTH REGULATING
None of this should distract from the serious risks facing property consumers.
A fake listing can cost someone money. An unauthorised advertisement can interfere with a legitimate transaction. A misleading photograph can persuade an overseas purchaser to spend thousands of dollars pursuing a property that looks nothing like its online presentation.
The industry’s priorities should include preventing these practices and ensuring effective enforcement.
Property should not be advertised without the necessary authority.
Prices, locations, descriptions and material property information should not be deliberately misrepresented.
Professionals should be transparent about their licensing status, the brokerage responsible for their activities and any relevant conflicts of interest.
Consumers should be protected from deceptive payment requests, manufactured bidding pressure and false claims about investment returns.
Where advertising uses artificial intelligence to alter the appearance of a property, there should be clear standards requiring disclosure when the changes could materially mislead viewers.
A digitally staged bedroom is one thing. A fabricated ocean view, additional room or nonexistent swimming pool is quite another.
These are genuine consumer-protection questions.
And several existing Jamaican ethical requirements already address inaccurate advertising, unauthorised marketing and the responsibilities of licensed practitioners.
The goal should be to strengthen those protections, not replace them with superficial measures.
The public deserves accurate properties, accountable professionals and meaningful protection against fraud.
BUILD A SYSTEM THAT MAKES HONESTY EASIER TO VERIFY
Imagine a modern Jamaican real estate verification system.
An agent publishes a property video on Instagram. Alongside the advertisement, a recognised digital identifier allows viewers to check the relevant licensing information, responsible dealer and professional status.
A prospective purchaser in Toronto can verify the information before arranging a viewing or sending documents.
A homeowner in Manchester can check that the person offering to market a property has the necessary authority.
A buyer in Kingston does not need to rely solely on an attractive social-media profile or an individual’s claims.
Jamaica already maintains a public registration system. That provides a foundation on which more integrated digital verification could be developed.
Such a system would not automatically replace existing disclosure requirements. Legislation and regulatory guidance would need to determine whether, when and how approved electronic identification could satisfy particular obligations.
But the concept deserves examination.
Imagine verified professional identifiers, searchable registers, electronic authorisation records and clear processes for reporting suspected misrepresentation.
It would not eliminate dishonesty. No system can.
But it could make verification faster, more accessible and more useful to the people regulation exists to protect.
Make the truth easier to check. Make deception harder to hide.
NOT EVERY PROPERTY WEBSITE IS AN ESTATE AGENCY
There is another question that deserves attention as digital property marketplaces develop.
What separates a property advertising platform from a business conducting regulated estate agency activities?
A homeowner advertising their own property, a website displaying paid advertisements and a licensed agent negotiating a transaction do not necessarily perform identical functions.
Some platforms simply publish information. Others introduce prospective customers, organise enquiries, arrange viewings, negotiate terms or become more directly involved in transactions.
The legal consequences depend on the activities undertaken and the applicable statutory definitions, not merely the description a business gives itself.
This distinction matters.
A company should not be able to avoid licensing obligations by describing regulated brokerage services as technology.
Equally, a legitimate advertising service should not automatically be assumed to be acting as a real estate dealer simply because homes appear on its website.
As digital business models evolve, clearer guidance could benefit everyone: consumers, licensed professionals, property owners and technology businesses.
Regulate what a business actually does, not simply what it calls itself.
THE FUTURE NEEDS MORE THAN A NEW RULEBOOK
Jamaica’s property industry is not operating in isolation.
Buyers increasingly compare properties internationally. Overseas Jamaicans use digital platforms to research investments. Younger professionals are entering a marketplace where technology, video, data and electronic communication are ordinary tools of business.
A modern ethical framework should reflect those realities.
It should provide clear standards for truthful digital advertising, data privacy, professional identification, client protection, artificial intelligence and online conduct.
It should distinguish property advertisements from general educational commentary, professional discussion and lifestyle content where the law permits.
It should recognise the different roles of licensed dealers, salespersons, developers, homeowners and independent advertising platforms.
It should encourage proper verification without creating unnecessary complexity.
And it should be developed through meaningful consultation with experienced practitioners, newer entrants to the profession, consumers, digital specialists and the wider property industry.
Those developing the framework must also confront a difficult question.
Are we designing standards for the world in which real estate was once practised, or the world in which Jamaicans are buying homes today?
The answer cannot simply be more rules.
It must be better rules.
HERE IS THE REAL TEST
A regulator should protect consumers. A professional code should uphold standards. A licence should identify those authorised to practise.
Those principles are not in dispute.
But regulation must also be capable of adapting to new technology, changing consumer behaviour and legitimate forms of professional expression.
It should not be necessary to choose between accountability and innovation.
Jamaica can insist on accurate advertising while supporting creative marketing.
It can require professional identification while exploring modern digital verification.
It can demand respectful conduct without treating Jamaican personality, language or culture as inherently unprofessional.
And it can strengthen enforcement against unlawful activity without unnecessarily complicating the work of responsible professionals.
The strongest professional standards should be measured by their outcomes: informed consumers, transparent transactions, competent practitioners and greater public confidence.
Not by whether every advertisement resembles one that might have appeared in a newspaper in 1998.
A licence does not automatically make someone ethical. A suit does not automatically make someone competent. And a viral TikTok does not automatically make someone unprofessional.
Jamaica’s property market has moved into a new era.
Its regulatory thinking must be capable of moving with it.
Because the fundamental question is no longer whether real estate agents should be regulated.
Of course they should.
The question is whether Jamaica wants a real estate industry fit for the future, or one permanently trapped in the past.
And perhaps the most important question of all:
Are we protecting Jamaican consumers in the most effective way possible, or simply preserving methods because they are familiar?
That is the conversation Jamaica should be having.
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