Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 23 - TEXAS REAL ESTATE COMMISSION › Chapter 535 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Subchapter B - GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF LICENSURE › Section 535.2 - Broker Responsibility

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) A broker is
				  required to notify a sponsored sales agent in writing of the scope of the sales
				  agent's authorized activities under the Act. Unless such scope is limited or
				  revoked in writing, a broker is responsible for the authorized acts of the
				  broker's sales agents, but the broker is not required to supervise the sales
				  agents directly. If a broker permits a sponsored sales agent to conduct
				  activities beyond the scope explicitly authorized by the broker, those are acts
				  for which the broker is responsible.
(b) A broker owes the highest fiduciary
				  obligation to the principal and is obliged to convey to the principal all
				  information known to the agent which may affect the principal's decision unless
				  prohibited by other law.
(c) A
				  broker is responsible for the proper handling of trust funds placed with the
				  broker and must comply with §
										535.146 of this chapter (relating
				  to Maintaining Trust Money).
(d) A
				  broker is responsible for any property management activity by the broker's
				  sponsored sales agent that requires a real estate license.
(e) A broker may delegate to another license
				  holder the responsibility to assist in administering compliance with the Act
				  and Rules, but the broker may not relinquish overall responsibility for the
				  supervision of license holders sponsored by the broker. Any license holder who
				  leads, supervises, directs, or manages a team must be delegated as a
				  supervisor. Any such delegation must be in writing. A broker shall provide the
				  name of each delegated supervisor to the Commission on a form or through the
				  online process approved by the Commission within 30 days of any such delegation
				  that has lasted or is anticipated to last more than three consecutive months.
				  The broker shall notify the Commission in the same manner within 30 days after
				  the delegation of a supervisor has ended. In the event the delegated supervisor
				  is a broker at the time of delegation or later becomes a broker, that broker
				  may, in lieu of the sponsoring broker, notify the Commission in writing when
				  the delegation ends.
(f) Listings
				  and other agreements for real estate brokerage services must be solicited and
				  accepted in a broker's name.
(g) A
				  broker is responsible to ensure that a sponsored sales agent's advertising
				  complies with §
										535.154 of this chapter (relating
				  to Registration and Use of Alternate, Team and Assumed Business Names Used in
				  Advertisements) and §
										535.155 of this chapter (relating
				  to Advertisements).
(h) Except for
				  records destroyed by an "Act of God" such as a natural disaster or fire not
				  intentionally caused by the broker, the broker must, at a minimum, maintain the
				  following records in a format that is readily available to the Commission for
				  at least four years from the date of closing, termination of the contract, or
				  end of a real estate transaction:
(1)
				  disclosures;
(2) commission
				  agreements such as listing agreements, buyer representation agreements, or
				  other written agreements relied upon to claim compensation;
(3) substantive communications with parties
				  to the transaction;
(4) offers,
				  contracts, and related addenda;
(5)
				  receipts and disbursements of compensation for services subject to the
				  Act;
(6) property management
				  contracts;
(7) appraisals, broker
				  price opinions, and comparative market analyses; and
(8) sponsorship agreements between the broker
				  and sponsored sales agents.