Real Estate Law and Regulations
The regulator and its limits
The Department of Real Estate, headed by the Real Estate Commissioner (appointed by the Governor), licenses brokers and salespersons, audits trust accounts, and may deny, suspend, or revoke licenses, issue citations, and impose fines. It cannot award damages, decide commission disputes, or order a licensee to refund money to a consumer - those are court matters. Questions love to offer "the Commissioner orders the broker to refund the commission." That is wrong.
Statutes to recognize
Subdivided Land Law (public report for five or more lots); Regulation Z/TILA (credit and rate advertising rules); RESPA (no referral fees or unearned fees, Section 8); Fair Housing (the federal protected classes plus California's additions, such as source of income and marital status); and antitrust. Under the Sherman Act, price fixing, group boycotts, and market allocation are felonies, and merely discussing commission rates with a competitor is dangerous even when no agreement results.
Licensing mechanics
A salesperson always works under a broker and may accept compensation only from that broker. Listings, transaction files, and trust records are retained three years. Continuing education is required in each four-year renewal cycle, including mandated agency, ethics, and risk-management hours.
Trap: an unlicensed assistant may hand out flyers and do clerical work, but may not show property, quote commissions, or negotiate.