Under existing law listing and selling agents are required to provide the seller and buyer in a residential one to four unit real property transactions, including a lease of more than one year, with a prescribed disclosure form containing general information on real estate agency relationships. Existing law also requires the listing or selling agent to confirm their agency relationship by disclosing to the buyer and seller whether he or she is acting as the buyer’s agent exclusively, the seller’s agent exclusively, or as a dual agent representing both the buyer and the seller.
This agency disclosure is extremely important because California Law imposes on real estate agents and brokers a duty to act with the utmost good faith in the best interests of their clients. Thus, a real estate client is owed a duty of good faith, loyalty, honesty, reasonable care and fair dealing.
Effective January 1, 2015, this law is extended to include transactions involving the sale or lease for more than one year of commercial real property. Commercial property as defined includes vacant land, industrial property or any residential property, even if containing more than four dwelling units.
SB 1171 (codified as Civil Code §2079.13) (effective January 1, 2015).