(a)  A licensee may assist both the buyer client and the seller client or tenant client and landlord client in the same transaction only as a neutral dual facilitator.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-6

  • Affiliated licensee: means a licensed real estate salesperson or real estate broker as defined in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Buyer: means a person who acquires or seeks to acquire an ownership interest in real estate. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Client: means a buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord who has agreed to representation by a licensee in a real estate transaction, evidenced by an executed, mandatory relationship disclosure, to whom a licensee owes the duties set forth in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Confidential information: means the following information:

    (i)  A buyer's or tenant's willingness to pay more than the offered price;

    (ii)  A seller's or landlord's willingness to accept less than the asking price;

    (iii)  A buyer's or tenant's previous offers made to purchase or lease real estate;

    (iv)  A seller's or landlord's previous offers received to purchase or lease real estate;

    (v)  Any parties' motivating factors;

    (vi)  Any parties' willingness to agree to other financing terms;

    (vii)  Any facts or suspicions regarding circumstances, other than known, material defects of a property that a licensee must in all cases disclose, that may psychologically impact or stigmatize any real estate; or

    (viii)  Any information about a party's assets, liabilities, income, or expenses. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2

  • Designated client representative: means an affiliated licensee appointed by the principal broker or his or her designee to represent a buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord in a real estate transaction. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Designee: means an associate broker as defined in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Dual facilitator: means a single licensee who, with the prior written consent of both parties, assists a seller client and a buyer client in the same transaction subject to the limitations set forth in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Landlord: means a person who leases or attempts to lease his or her ownership interest in real estate to another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Licensee: means an individual licensed by the director as a real estate broker or real estate salesperson pursuant to chapter 20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Principal broker: means a real estate broker licensed by the director who is designated by the brokerage to be responsible for the supervision and activities of his or her affiliated licensees in accordance with this chapter and chapter 20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Seller: means a person who sells or attempts to sell an ownership interest in real estate to another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Tenant: means a person who acquired or seeks to acquire an interest in real estate that entitles him or her to occupy or use a property that is owned by another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
  • Transaction coordinator: means a principal broker or his or her designee who supervises a real estate transaction in a capacity in which one affiliated licensee represents a buyer or tenant as a designated client representative and another affiliated licensee represents a seller or landlord as a designated client representative in the same transaction. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2

(b)  The dual facilitator relationship between the licensee and buyer and seller, or between the licensee and tenant client and landlord client, exists solely for the specific transaction between the parties. In the event the transaction is not completed or fails to close, then the dual facilitator remains the designated client representative for the respective buyer and the seller or tenant and landlord in all future, separate transactions where there is no relationship with the other party.

(c)  A licensee may be a neutral dual facilitator only after he or she has obtained the informed, written consent of his or her principal broker and all parties involved in the transaction before presenting an offer to a seller client on behalf of a buyer client or to a landlord client on behalf of a tenant client. Such consent shall specifically inform all parties to the transaction of the following:

(1)  The dual facilitator is authorized to assist both parties in a transaction but shall be neutral as to any conflicting interests between the parties to the transaction;

(2)  A dual facilitator shall owe a duty to protect the confidential information of all parties and a duty to account for funds;

(3)  Confidential information obtained by a dual facilitator from either party may not be disclosed except:

(i)  If disclosure is expressly authorized;

(ii)  If such disclosure is required by law;

(iii)  If such disclosure is intended to prevent illegal conduct; or

(iv)  If such disclosure is necessary to prosecute a claim against a person represented or to defend a claim against the licensee. The duty to protect confidential information shall continue after the completion of the transaction; and

(4)  If a comparative market analysis was prepared for a seller client or a buyer client and a dual facilitation situation subsequently arises, the dual facilitator may only provide the comparative market analysis to the other party with the prior consent of the party for whom it was initially prepared. A dual facilitator shall not be able to prepare a comparative market analysis for either party after a dual facilitation situation arises as it may adversely affect one party’s bargaining position relative to the other party.

In the event that either the seller client or buyer client in the case of a sale of property, or the landlord client and the tenant client in the case of a rental of property, does not consent to dual facilitation, then the principal broker or his or her designee, may, with the consent of the party(ies) withholding consent designate another licensee to represent one of the parties as a designated client representative.

In the event that an affiliated licensee is acting as a dual facilitator, the principal broker or his or her designee shall act as a transaction coordinator in the transaction and shall protect the parties’ confidential information. In the event that the clients of a principal broker consent to his or her acting as a disclosed dual facilitator, the principal broker may also oversee the transaction as a transaction coordinator.

History of Section.
P.L. 1989, ch. 141, § 2; P.L. 1990, ch. 425, § 2; P.L. 2007, ch. 344, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 403, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 27, § 2; P.L. 2013, ch. 38, § 2; P.L. 2014, ch. 528, § 2.