Ohio Code 4735.21 – Right of action – limits on salespersons
No right of action shall accrue to any person, partnership, association, or corporation for the collection of compensation for the performance of the acts mentioned in section 4735.01 of the Revised Code, without alleging and proving that such person, partnership, association, or corporation was licensed as a real estate broker or foreign real estate dealer. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent a right of action from accruing after the expiration of a real estate or foreign real estate license if the act giving rise to the cause of action was performed by a licensee prior to such expiration.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4735.21
- Brokerage: includes the affiliated licensees who have been assigned management duties that include supervision of licensees whose duties may conflict with those of other affiliated licensees. See Ohio Code 4735.01
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Foreign real estate: means real estate not situated in this state and any interest in real estate not situated in this state. See Ohio Code 4735.01
- Foreign real estate dealer: includes any person, partnership, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for another, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or otherwise, and who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, or with the intention, or in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, does or deals in any act or transaction specified or comprehended in division (A) of this section with respect to foreign real estate. See Ohio Code 4735.01
- Licensee: means any individual licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson by the Ohio real estate commission pursuant to this chapter. See Ohio Code 4735.01
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Real estate: includes leaseholds as well as any and every interest or estate in land situated in this state, whether corporeal or incorporeal, whether freehold or nonfreehold, and the improvements on the land, but does not include cemetery interment rights. See Ohio Code 4735.01
- Real estate broker: includes any person, partnership, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for another, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or otherwise, and who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, or with the intention, or in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration does any of the following:
(1) Sells, exchanges, purchases, rents, or leases, or negotiates the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;
(2) Offers, attempts, or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;
(3) Lists, or offers, attempts, or agrees to list, or auctions, or offers, attempts, or agrees to auction, any real estate;
(4) Buys or offers to buy, sells or offers to sell, or otherwise deals in options on real estate;
(5) Operates, manages, or rents, or offers or attempts to operate, manage, or rent, other than as custodian, caretaker, or janitor, any building or portions of buildings to the public as tenants;
(6) Advertises or holds self out as engaged in the business of selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting, or leasing real estate;
(7) Directs or assists in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation of any transaction, other than mortgage financing, which does or is calculated to result in the sale, exchange, leasing, or renting of any real estate;
(8) Is engaged in the business of charging an advance fee or contracting for collection of a fee in connection with any contract whereby the broker undertakes primarily to promote the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of real estate through its listing in a publication issued primarily for such purpose, or for referral of information concerning such real estate to brokers, or both, except that this division does not apply to a publisher of listings or compilations of sales of real estate by their owners;
(9) Collects rental information for purposes of referring prospective tenants to rental units or locations of such units and charges the prospective tenants a fee. See Ohio Code 4735.01
- Real estate salesperson: means any person associated with a licensed real estate broker to do or to deal in any acts or transactions set out or comprehended by the definition of a real estate broker, for compensation or otherwise. See Ohio Code 4735.01
No real estate salesperson or foreign real estate salesperson shall collect any money in connection with any real estate or foreign real estate brokerage transaction, whether as a commission, deposit, payment, rental, or otherwise, except in the name of and with the consent of the licensed real estate broker or licensed foreign real estate dealer under whom the salesperson is licensed at the time the sales person earned the commission. Nor shall any real estate salesperson or foreign real estate salesperson commence or maintain any action for a commission or other compensation in connection with a real estate or foreign real estate brokerage transaction, against any person except a person licensed as a real estate broker or foreign real estate dealer under whom the salesperson is licensed as a salesperson at the time the cause of action arose.
A salesperson licensed under this chapter shall not sell, assign, or otherwise transfer the salesperson’s interest in a commission or any portion thereof to an unlicensed person or entity. If a salesperson makes such assignment or transfer, the broker shall not pay the transferee or assignee any portion of the commission. No cause of action shall arise on behalf of any person against a broker for not paying an assignee or transferee any portion of such an assignment or transfer.