339.151. No commission or consideration unless reasonable cause for payment or contractual relationship exists.
No commission or consideration unless reasonable cause for paymentor contractual relationship exists.
339.151. 1. No licensee shall pay a commission or any other valuableconsideration unless reasonable cause for payment exists or a contractualrelationship exists with the licensee. Reasonable cause does not existunless the party seeking the compensation or other valuable considerationactually introduces the business to the real estate licensee before arelationship is established between the licensee and a principal to thetransaction, including, but not limited to:
(1) A subagency relationship;
(2) A transaction brokerage relationship; or
(3) A cooperative brokerage relationship.
2. It shall be a violation of this section to:
(1) Solicit or request compensation or other valuable considerationfrom a real estate licensee without reasonable cause;
(2) Interfere with a written representation relationship of anotherlicensee or attempt to induce a customer or client to break a writtenrepresentation agreement with another licensee for the purpose of replacingsuch agreement with a new representation agreement in order to obtain acommission or other valuable consideration. Interfering with the writtenrepresentation agreement of another licensee includes, but is not limitedto:
(a) Threatening to reduce or withhold employee relocation benefits orto take other action adverse to the interests of a customer or client of areal estate licensee because of an existing representation agreement inorder to obtain compensation or other valuable consideration; or
(b) Counseling a customer or client of another real estate licenseeon how to terminate or amend an existing relationship agreement in order toobtain a commission or other valuable consideration.
Communicating corporate relocation policy or benefits to a transferringemployee shall not be considered interference as long as the communicationdoes not involve advice or encouragement on how to terminate or amend anexisting relationship agreement.
3. The fact that reasonable cause to solicit or request a commissionor other valuable consideration exists does not necessarily mean that alegal right to the commission or other valuable consideration exists.
4. Any violation of this section shall be grounds for investigation,complaint, proceedings and discipline pursuant to section 339.100.
5. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent any consumer from joiningany organization in which one of the benefits of membership may be thatsuch organization can negotiate a reduced rate or price for real estatecosts for its members nor shall it prohibit an inducement to the buyer orlessee paid and supplied by the owner of the property directly to a buyeror lessee of the property.
6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability ofan employer to direct an employee to follow the terms of the relocationpackage provided for that employee, nor shall it be construed to limit anemployer's choice of relocation service providers.
(L. 2001 H.B. 266)