Brokerage Relationships

Definition of a Brokerage Relationship: A working relationship, between a licensed real estate broker and a buyer or seller, to engage the services of the licensed broker on behalf of the buyer of seller in acquiring or marketing real property. This relationship may be limited agency or non-agency according to the agreement of the parties. In the absence of a signed agreement regarding the brokerage relationship, the default position under Colorado License Law is "transaction-brokerage".

Prior to enactment of The Brokerage Relationships Act in January of 1994, every licensed real estate broker or salesperson in Colorado working to sell a listed property was assumed to be an agent of the seller. As agents of the seller, licensees working with a seller or a buyer owed the same duties of loyalty and fidelity to the seller. The current law recognizes and defines different types of relationships between licensees and buyers and sellers such as single agency (buyer agency or seller agency), and the transaction-broker relationship.

Colorado real estate licensees are required by law to disclose, in writing, the nature of the working relationship to buyers and sellers and the level of service they will provide. A buyer or seller has the right to choose what type of representation best meets their needs just as they have the right to choose a broker to represent them in a real estate transaction.

DD25-1-03 Commission approved definitions of the various brokerage relationships.