Brokerage Relationships: Transaction Broker, Single Agent & No Relationship

Florida does not use the agency vocabulary of most states. A Florida licensee works with a customer in one of three ways: as a transaction broker, as a single agent, or with no brokerage relationship. Dual agency is banned outright. Exam questions test which duties go with which relationship, when each disclosure is due, and what the law presumes when nothing is in writing.

Agency basics in Florida terms

Fiduciary

A broker in a relationship of trust and confidence with a seller or buyer as principal. The fiduciary duties are loyalty, confidentiality, obedience, full disclosure, accounting, and skill, care and diligence.

Principal

The party with whom a licensee has entered into a single agent relationship.

Customer

A member of the public who is or may be a buyer or seller, whether or not represented by a licensee.

Authorized relationships and the presumption

A licensee may act as a transaction broker or as a single agent. A licensee may not operate as a disclosed or nondisclosed dual agent, meaning a broker who represents both buyer and seller as a fiduciary. The law also does not require any customer to enter into a brokerage relationship at all.

Transaction broker duties

A transaction broker gives a buyer, a seller or both a limited form of representation. It is not fiduciary, and the parties give up their right to the licensee's undivided loyalty. In return, the licensee can help both sides. The duties are:

1. Dealing honestly and fairly;
2. Accounting for all funds;
3. Using skill, care, and diligence;
4. Disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable to the buyer;
5. Presenting all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner, unless a party has directed otherwise in writing;
6. Limited confidentiality, unless waived in writing. The licensee may not reveal that a seller will take less than the asking price, that a buyer will pay more than the written offer, either party's motivation, that a party will accept different financing terms, or anything else a party asks to keep confidential;
7. Any additional duties mutually agreed to.

Single agent: duties and timing

A single agent represents either the buyer or the seller as a fiduciary, but not both in the same transaction. Single agent duties add loyalty, confidentiality, obedience and full disclosure to the transaction broker list. The Single Agent Notice must be given in writing before or at the time of entering into a listing or representation agreement, or before the showing of property, whichever comes first.

Transition to transaction broker. A single agent may become a transaction broker at any time, but only after first getting the principal's written consent. That consent is given on the Consent to Transition to Transaction Broker disclosure. This is how one brokerage can lawfully end up helping both sides of a sale.

No brokerage relationship

When the licensee represents neither party, only three duties apply: dealing honestly and fairly, disclosing known material facts about residential property that are not readily observable to the buyer, and accounting for all funds entrusted to the licensee. The written No Brokerage Relationship Notice must be given before the showing of property.

When the disclosures apply

The disclosure rules cover residential sales: improved residential property of four units or fewer, unimproved land intended for four or fewer units, or agricultural property of 10 acres or fewer. They do not apply to:

• nonresidential transactions;
• rentals and leases, unless there is an option to buy property with four or fewer residential units;
• bona fide open houses, unanticipated casual conversations, and answers to general factual questions about advertised properties;
• auctions, appraisals, and business sales except property with four or fewer residential units;
• a customer the licensee knows is already represented by a single agent or transaction broker.

In every transaction that results in a written sale contract, the disclosure documents must be kept, and brokerage records are kept for at least 5 years.

Designated sales associates and misconduct

In a nonresidential transaction where buyer and seller each have assets of $1 million or more, the broker may designate one sales associate as single agent for the buyer and another for the seller, at the customers' request. Both customers must sign disclosures confirming the asset threshold and requesting this arrangement.

Breaking these duties is a disciplinary violation in its own right. Fraud, misrepresentation, concealment or dishonest dealing is grounds for discipline even if the victim lost nothing or the loss has been repaid. That is the ethical floor every relationship shares.

Where this shows up on the exam

Authorized Relationships, Duties and Disclosures is 7% of the exam in the DBPR booklet (January 2025), about seven questions. Expect to match a duty to the right relationship and to pick the right moment for a disclosure. Remember that no writing means a transaction broker.

Sources

North Carolina law as published by the General Assembly and the Office of Administrative Hearings, checked 2026-11-05:

• s. 475.01, F.S.
• s. 475.25, F.S.
• s. 475.2755, F.S.
• s. 475.278, F.S.
• s. 475.5015, F.S.
• DBPR Sales Associate Candidate Information Booklet (Jan 2025)