Tennessee Code 62-13-502 – Enforcement of fee or commission contract against subsequent owners
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 62-13-502
- Broker: means any person who, for a fee, commission, finders fee or any other valuable consideration or with the intent or expectation of receiving a fee, commission, finders fee or any other valuable consideration from another, solicits, negotiates or attempts to solicit or negotiate the listing, sale, purchase, exchange, lease or option to buy, sell, rent or exchange for any real estate or of the improvements on the real estate or any time-share interval as defined in the Tennessee Time-Share Act, compiled in title 66, chapter 32, part 1, collects rents or attempts to collect rents, auctions or offers to auction or who advertises or holds out as engaged in any of the foregoing. See Tennessee Code 62-13-102
- Commercial real estate: means any real estate other than:
(i) Real estate containing one (1) to four (4) residential units. See Tennessee Code 62-13-501 - Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Notice: means a notice specifically referencing an agreement entered into after October 1, 1997, to pay commissions in any brokerage contract or lease or memorandum of the foregoing, sworn to and executed by the broker, identifying the subject real estate by lot and block number or by a metes and bounds description and in the form of notice set out in this subdivision (3) and containing only the information provided for in the form, recorded as provided for in §. See Tennessee Code 62-13-501
- Owner: means the person or persons to whom the fee interest of real estate is titled and does not include a lessee or renter. See Tennessee Code 62-13-501
- Party: means any person or persons seeking to obtain or divest an interest in real estate or a business opportunity as a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, option grantee or option grantor. See Tennessee Code 62-13-102
- Real estate: means and includes leaseholds, as well as any other interest or estate in land, whether corporeal, incorporeal, freehold or nonfreehold, situated in this state. See Tennessee Code 62-13-501
- Subsequent owner: means a transferee or purchaser of commercial real estate from the owner or from a previous subsequent owner, but will not include the transferee or purchaser of commercial real estate pursuant to a sale conducted pursuant to title 67, chapter 5, part 25. See Tennessee Code 62-13-501
- written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
A broker who, pursuant to a contract in writing entered into after October 1, 1997, has earned and is owed a fee or commission with respect to a lease or upon the exercise of an option for renewal or expansion of the lease, whether payable over time or in a lump sum, from the owner of commercial real estate pursuant to such written contract for the broker’s services in connection with a lease of commercial real estate, shall have a cause of action to enforce the contract with respect to the fee or commission against a subsequent owner, even though the subsequent owner is not a party to the contract, if and only if the subsequent owner has notice of the contract as provided in this part with respect to the fee before obtaining title to the commercial real estate. There shall be no prohibition against a broker giving the notice as required by this part, and any such prohibition is void and unenforceable.