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Real Estate Agents' retainers must be in writing |
Despite criticism from judges that the law can be harsh and unfair in the way it operates against 'reasonable' agents who fail to have a written agreement with clients, there's no relenting: real estate agents must put their retainers in writing. |
A recent change has introduced some flexibility, though not a great deal. As the law currently stands, where a copy of an agreement is not served within the required time, a commission or expense may be claimed only if a judge is satisfied that:
- the delay was inadvertent;
- the commission or expense is fair and reasonable; and
- disallowing the claim would be unjust.
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But agents will still be unable to recover or retain a commission unless:
- an agreement has been made in writing;
- the agreement complies with Regulations; and
- the agreement is concluded before services are rendered.
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| In a case last year, an agency which merged its operations with another and failed to sign a new agreement with a client was ordered by a Tribunal to repay the commissions it had retained and, moreover, pay damages for breaching the very same management agreement the Tribunal said it had failed to sign with the client. |
julia.scully@cmlawyers.com.au
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