Unlicensed Assistants and Office Operations: What They May and May Not Do
Unlicensed assistants can be valuable, but the line between permissible support work and unlicensed brokerage is heavily tested. The dividing principle: an unlicensed person may perform administrative, clerical, and non-negotiating tasks, but may not do anything that requires a license - negotiating, showing property for compensation, or soliciting business on behalf of the brokerage in a way that constitutes brokerage.
Permissible tasks. Answering phones, scheduling appointments, assembling and distributing listing information and preprinted documents, maintaining files, handling routine correspondence, and performing clerical work at an open house (e.g., greeting and handing out flyers) are generally acceptable. Taking a listing or buyer information for the licensee to follow up is also typically clerical.
Prohibited tasks. Negotiating price or terms, discussing or interpreting contract terms, holding open houses to solicit business, showing property, quoting commissions, and soliciting listings or buyers are brokerage activities. An unlicensed assistant may not be paid a commission or a fee tied to a transaction; compensation must be wages or salary from the broker, not transaction-based.
Office operations. The broker must supervise assistants, ensure they are clearly identified as unlicensed, and keep them out of agency discussions. Assistants should not be given access to confidential client information beyond what their clerical duties require.
Worked example: An assistant is asked to "run by" a listing to let a prospective buyer in and answer questions about the appliances and price flexibility. That crosses the line - access and negotiation are brokerage. The assistant may schedule the showing for a licensee, but not conduct it.
Rule of thumb: if the task involves negotiating, soliciting, or advising about a transaction, it belongs to a licensee.