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1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Real Estate License Act of 2000 is amended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | by changing Section 20-20 as follows:
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6 | (225 ILCS 454/20-20)
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7 | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010)
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8 | Sec. 20-20. Disciplinary actions; causes. OBRE may refuse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | to issue or renew a license, may place on probation, suspend,
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10 | or
revoke any
license, or may censure, reprimand, or otherwise | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | discipline or impose a civil
fine not to exceed
$25,000 upon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | any licensee hereunder for any one or any combination of the
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13 | following causes:
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14 | (a) When the applicant or licensee has, by false or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | fraudulent
representation,
obtained or sought to obtain a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | license.
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17 | (b) When the applicant or licensee has been convicted of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | any crime, an
essential element of which is dishonesty or fraud | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | or larceny, embezzlement,
or obtaining money, property, or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | credit by false pretenses or by means of a
confidence
game, has | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | been convicted in this or another state of a crime that is a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | felony
under
the laws of this State, or has been convicted of a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | felony in a federal court.
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1 | (c) When the applicant or licensee has been adjudged to be | ||||||
2 | a person under
legal
disability or subject to involuntary | ||||||
3 | admission or to meet the standard for
judicial
admission as | ||||||
4 | provided in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities | ||||||
5 | Code.
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6 | (d) When the licensee performs or attempts to perform any | ||||||
7 | act as a broker
or
salesperson in a retail sales establishment | ||||||
8 | from an office, desk, or space that
is not
separated from the | ||||||
9 | main retail business by a separate and distinct area within
the
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10 | establishment.
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11 | (e) Discipline of a licensee by another state, the District | ||||||
12 | of Columbia,
a territory,
a foreign nation, a governmental | ||||||
13 | agency, or any other entity authorized to
impose
discipline if | ||||||
14 | at least one of the grounds for that discipline is the same as | ||||||
15 | or
the
equivalent of one of the grounds for discipline set | ||||||
16 | forth in this Act, in which
case the
only issue will be whether | ||||||
17 | one of the grounds for that discipline is the same
or
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18 | equivalent to one of the grounds for discipline under this Act.
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19 | (f) When the applicant or licensee has engaged in real | ||||||
20 | estate activity
without a
license or after the licensee's | ||||||
21 | license was expired or while the license was
inoperative.
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22 | (g) When the applicant or licensee attempts to subvert or | ||||||
23 | cheat on the Real
Estate License Exam or continuing education | ||||||
24 | exam or aids and abets an applicant
to
subvert or cheat on the | ||||||
25 | Real Estate License Exam or continuing education exam
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26 | administered pursuant to this Act.
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1 | (h) When the licensee in performing, attempting to perform, | ||||||
2 | or pretending to
perform any act as a broker, salesperson, or | ||||||
3 | leasing agent or when the
licensee in
handling his or her own | ||||||
4 | property, whether held by deed, option, or otherwise,
is
found
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5 | guilty of:
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6 | (1) Making any substantial misrepresentation or | ||||||
7 | untruthful advertising.
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8 | (2) Making any false promises of a character likely to | ||||||
9 | influence,
persuade,
or induce.
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10 | (3) Pursuing a continued and flagrant course of | ||||||
11 | misrepresentation or the
making
of false promises through | ||||||
12 | licensees, employees, agents, advertising, or
otherwise.
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13 | (4) Any misleading or untruthful advertising, or using | ||||||
14 | any trade name or
insignia of membership in any real estate | ||||||
15 | organization of which the licensee is
not a member.
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16 | (5) Acting for more than one party in a transaction | ||||||
17 | without providing
written
notice to all parties for whom | ||||||
18 | the licensee acts.
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19 | (6) Representing or attempting to represent a broker | ||||||
20 | other than the
sponsoring broker.
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21 | (7) Failure to account for or to remit any moneys or | ||||||
22 | documents coming into
his or her possession that belong to | ||||||
23 | others.
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24 | (8) Failure to maintain and deposit in a special | ||||||
25 | account, separate and
apart from
personal and other | ||||||
26 | business accounts, all escrow moneys belonging to others
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1 | entrusted to a licensee
while acting as a real estate | ||||||
2 | broker, escrow agent, or temporary custodian of
the funds | ||||||
3 | of others or
failure to maintain all escrow moneys on | ||||||
4 | deposit in the account until the
transactions are
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5 | consummated or terminated, except to the extent that the | ||||||
6 | moneys, or any part
thereof, shall be
disbursed prior to | ||||||
7 | the consummation or termination (i) in accordance with (i)
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8 | the
written direction of
the principals to the transaction | ||||||
9 | or their duly authorized agents, (ii) in accordance with
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10 | directions providing for the
release, payment, or | ||||||
11 | distribution of escrow moneys contained in any written
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12 | contract signed by the
principals to the transaction or | ||||||
13 | their duly authorized agents,
or (iii)
pursuant to an order | ||||||
14 | of a court of competent
jurisdiction , or (iv) in the | ||||||
15 | absence of the filing of any claim in a court of competent | ||||||
16 | jurisdiction, in accordance with the end of a 6-month | ||||||
17 | period during which the principals to the transaction have | ||||||
18 | remained in a continuous and uninterrupted dispute, at | ||||||
19 | which time the escrow moneys shall be transferred by the | ||||||
20 | licensee to the Office of the State Treasurer .
The account
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21 | shall be noninterest
bearing, unless the character of the | ||||||
22 | deposit is such that payment of interest
thereon is | ||||||
23 | otherwise
required by law or unless the principals to the | ||||||
24 | transaction specifically
require, in writing, that the
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25 | deposit be placed in an interest bearing account.
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26 | (9) Failure to make available to the real estate |
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1 | enforcement personnel of
OBRE
during normal business hours | ||||||
2 | all escrow records and related documents
maintained in | ||||||
3 | connection
with the practice of real estate within 24 hours | ||||||
4 | of a request for those
documents by OBRE personnel.
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5 | (10) Failing to furnish copies upon request of all | ||||||
6 | documents relating to a
real
estate transaction to all | ||||||
7 | parties executing them.
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8 | (11) Failure of a sponsoring broker to timely provide | ||||||
9 | information, sponsor
cards,
or termination of licenses to | ||||||
10 | OBRE.
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11 | (12) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or | ||||||
12 | unprofessional conduct of a
character
likely to deceive, | ||||||
13 | defraud, or harm the public.
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14 | (13) Commingling the money or property of others with | ||||||
15 | his or her own.
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16 | (14) Employing any person on a purely temporary or | ||||||
17 | single deal basis as a
means
of evading the law regarding | ||||||
18 | payment of commission to nonlicensees on some
contemplated
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19 | transactions.
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20 | (15) Permitting the use of his or her license as a | ||||||
21 | broker to enable a
salesperson or
unlicensed person to | ||||||
22 | operate a real estate business without actual
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23 | participation therein and control
thereof by the broker.
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24 | (16) Any other conduct, whether of the same or a | ||||||
25 | different character from
that
specified in this Section, | ||||||
26 | that constitutes dishonest dealing.
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1 | (17) Displaying a "for rent" or "for sale" sign on any | ||||||
2 | property without
the written
consent of an owner or his or | ||||||
3 | her duly authorized agent or advertising by any
means that | ||||||
4 | any property is
for sale or for rent without the written | ||||||
5 | consent of the owner or his or her
authorized agent.
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6 | (18) Failing to provide information requested by OBRE, | ||||||
7 | within 30 days of
the
request, either as the result of a | ||||||
8 | formal or informal complaint to OBRE or as a
result of a | ||||||
9 | random
audit conducted by OBRE, which would indicate a | ||||||
10 | violation of this Act.
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11 | (19) Advertising by means of a blind advertisement, | ||||||
12 | except as otherwise
permitted in Section 10-30 of this Act.
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13 | (20) Offering guaranteed sales plans, as defined in | ||||||
14 | clause (A) of
this subdivision (20), except to
the extent | ||||||
15 | hereinafter set forth:
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16 | (A) A "guaranteed sales plan" is any real estate | ||||||
17 | purchase or sales plan
whereby a licensee enters into a | ||||||
18 | conditional or unconditional written contract
with a | ||||||
19 | seller by the
terms of which a licensee agrees to | ||||||
20 | purchase a property of the seller within a
specified | ||||||
21 | period of time
at a specific price in the event the | ||||||
22 | property is not sold in accordance with
the terms of a | ||||||
23 | listing
contract between the sponsoring broker and the | ||||||
24 | seller or on other terms
acceptable to the
seller.
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25 | (B) A licensee offering a guaranteed sales plan | ||||||
26 | shall provide the
details
and conditions of the plan in |
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1 | writing to the party to whom the plan is
offered.
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2 | (C) A licensee offering a guaranteed sales plan | ||||||
3 | shall provide to the
party
to whom the plan is offered | ||||||
4 | evidence of sufficient financial resources to
satisfy | ||||||
5 | the commitment to
purchase undertaken by the broker in | ||||||
6 | the plan.
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7 | (D) Any licensee offering a guaranteed sales plan | ||||||
8 | shall undertake to
market the property of the seller | ||||||
9 | subject to the plan in the same manner in
which the | ||||||
10 | broker would
market any other property, unless the | ||||||
11 | agreement with the seller provides
otherwise.
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12 | (E) Any licensee who fails to perform on a | ||||||
13 | guaranteed sales plan in
strict accordance with its | ||||||
14 | terms shall be subject to all the penalties provided
in | ||||||
15 | this Act for
violations thereof and, in addition, shall | ||||||
16 | be subject to a civil fine payable
to the party injured | ||||||
17 | by the
default in an amount of up to $25,000.
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18 | (21) Influencing or attempting to influence, by any | ||||||
19 | words or acts, a
prospective
seller, purchaser, occupant, | ||||||
20 | landlord, or tenant of real estate, in connection
with | ||||||
21 | viewing, buying, or
leasing real estate, so as to promote | ||||||
22 | or tend to promote the continuance
or maintenance of
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23 | racially and religiously segregated housing or so as to | ||||||
24 | retard, obstruct, or
discourage racially
integrated | ||||||
25 | housing on or in any street, block, neighborhood, or | ||||||
26 | community.
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1 | (22) Engaging in any act that constitutes a violation | ||||||
2 | of any provision of
Article 3 of the Illinois Human Rights | ||||||
3 | Act, whether or not a complaint has
been filed with or
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4 | adjudicated by the Human Rights Commission.
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5 | (23) Inducing any party to a contract of sale or lease | ||||||
6 | or brokerage
agreement to
break the contract of sale or | ||||||
7 | lease or brokerage agreement for the purpose of
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8 | substituting, in lieu
thereof, a new contract for sale or | ||||||
9 | lease or brokerage agreement with a third
party.
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10 | (24) Negotiating a sale, exchange, or lease of real | ||||||
11 | estate directly with
any person
if the licensee knows that | ||||||
12 | the person has a written exclusive brokerage
agreement with | ||||||
13 | another
broker, unless specifically authorized by that | ||||||
14 | broker.
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15 | (25) When a licensee is also an attorney, acting as the | ||||||
16 | attorney for
either the
buyer or the seller in the same | ||||||
17 | transaction in which the licensee is acting or
has acted as | ||||||
18 | a broker
or salesperson.
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19 | (26) Advertising or offering merchandise or services | ||||||
20 | as free if any
conditions or
obligations necessary for | ||||||
21 | receiving the merchandise or services are not
disclosed in | ||||||
22 | the same
advertisement or offer. These conditions or | ||||||
23 | obligations include without
limitation the
requirement | ||||||
24 | that the recipient attend a promotional activity or visit a | ||||||
25 | real
estate site. As used in this
subdivision (26), "free" | ||||||
26 | includes terms such as "award", "prize", "no charge",
"free |
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1 | of charge",
"without charge", and similar words or phrases | ||||||
2 | that reasonably lead a person to
believe that he or she
may | ||||||
3 | receive or has been selected to receive something of value, | ||||||
4 | without any
conditions or
obligations on the part of the | ||||||
5 | recipient.
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6 | (27) Disregarding or violating any provision of the | ||||||
7 | Land Sales
Registration Act of 1989, the Illinois Real | ||||||
8 | Estate
Time-Share Act, or the published rules promulgated | ||||||
9 | by OBRE to enforce
those Acts.
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10 | (28) Violating the terms of a disciplinary order
issued | ||||||
11 | by OBRE.
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12 | (29) Paying compensation in violation of Article 10 of | ||||||
13 | this Act.
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14 | (30) Requiring a party to a transaction who is not a | ||||||
15 | client of the
licensee
to allow the licensee to retain a | ||||||
16 | portion of the escrow moneys for payment of
the licensee's | ||||||
17 | commission or expenses as a condition for release of the | ||||||
18 | escrow
moneys to that party.
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19 | (31) Disregarding or violating any provision of this | ||||||
20 | Act or the published
rules
promulgated by OBRE to enforce | ||||||
21 | this Act or aiding or abetting any individual,
partnership, | ||||||
22 | registered limited liability partnership, limited | ||||||
23 | liability
company, or corporation in
disregarding any | ||||||
24 | provision of this Act or the published rules promulgated by
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25 | OBRE
to enforce this Act.
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26 | (32) Failing to provide the minimum services required |
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1 | by Section 15-75 of this Act when acting under an exclusive | ||||||
2 | brokerage agreement.
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3 | (Source: P.A. 93-957, eff. 8-19-04.)
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