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2024 SESSION

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24104479D
SENATE BILL NO. 437 Offered January 10, 2024 Prefiled January 9, 2024 A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-2100, 54.1-2106.1, and 54.1-2110 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; real estate brokers; places of business; prohibited locations. ---------- Patron-- Suetterlein ---------- Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 54.1-2100, 54.1-2106.1, and 54.1-2110 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 54.1-2100. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

"Branch office" means any place of business of a principal broker in the Commonwealth that is not his primary place of business.

"Distance learning" means instruction delivered by an approved provider through a medium other than a classroom setting. Such courses shall be those offered by an accredited institution of higher education, high school offering adult distributive education courses, other school or educational institution, or real estate professional association or related entities.

"Place of business" means a location (i) where the principal broker or individuals or business entities employed by or affiliated as independent contractors with the principal broker regularly transact the business of a real estate broker or salesperson and (ii) that is owned, leased, operated, maintained, or controlled by the principal broker, his employees, or his associates unless it is held out to the public as a location where the person is regularly engaged in licensed activities. "Place of business" does not include (a) any motor vehicle or watercraft; (b) any location solely devoted to advertising real estate matters of a general nature or to making a real estate broker's business name generally known, such as a trade show or exposition; (c) any residence unless such residence is held out to the public as a location where the principal broker or individuals or business entities employed by or affiliated as an independent contractor with the principal broker are regularly engaged in the activities of a real estate broker or salesperson; (d) a post office box, mail drop location, or other similar facility; or (e) any location open to the public unless the primary purpose of such location is to regularly transact the business of a real estate broker or salesperson.

"Real estate broker" means any individual or business entity, including a partnership, association, corporation, or limited liability company, who, for compensation or valuable consideration, (i) sells or offers for sale, buys or offers to buy, or negotiates the purchase or sale or exchange of real estate, including units or interest in condominiums, cooperative interest as defined in § 55.1-2100, or time-shares in a time-share program even though they may be deemed to be securities or (ii) leases or offers to lease, or rents or offers for rent, any real estate or the improvements thereon for others.

"Real estate team" means two or more individuals, one or more of whom is a real estate salesperson or broker, who (i) work together as a unit within the same brokerage firm, (ii) represent themselves to the public as working together as one unit, and (iii) designate themselves by a fictitious name.

"Supervising broker" means a real estate broker who has been designated by a principal broker to supervise the provision of real estate brokerage services by associate brokers and salespersons assigned to a branch office or a real estate team.

§ 54.1-2106.1. Licenses required.

A. No business entity, other than a sole proprietorship, shall act, offer to act, or advertise to act, as a real estate firm without a real estate firm license from the Board. Such firm may be granted a license in a fictitious name. No business entity shall be granted a firm license unless (i) every managing member of a limited liability company, officer of a corporation, partner within a partnership, or associate within an association who actively participates in the firm brokerage business holds a license as a real estate broker; and (ii) every employee or independent contractor who acts as a salesperson for such business entity holds a license as a real estate salesperson or broker. An individual holding a broker's license may operate a real estate brokerage firm which he owns as a sole proprietorship without any further licensure by the Board, although such individual shall not operate the brokerage firm in a fictitious name. However, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a broker operating a brokerage firm from having a business entity separate from the brokerage firm for such broker's own real estate business, provided that such separate business entity otherwise complies with this section. A non-broker-owned sole proprietorship shall obtain a license from the Board.

B. No individual shall act as a broker without a real estate broker's license from the Board. An individual who holds a broker's license may act as a salesperson for another broker. A broker may be an owner, member, or officer of a business entity salesperson as defined in subsection C.

C. No individual shall act as a salesperson without a salesperson's license from the Board. A business entity may act as a salesperson with a separate business entity salesperson's license from the Board. No business entity shall be granted a business entity salesperson's license unless every owner or officer who actively participates in the brokerage business of such entity holds a license as a salesperson or broker from the Board. The Board shall establish standards in its regulations for the names of business entity salespersons when more than one licensee is an owner or officer.

D. No group of individuals consisting of one or more real estate brokers or real estate salespersons, or a combination thereof, shall act as a real estate team without first obtaining a business entity salesperson's license from the Board. A real estate team may hire one or more unlicensed assistants, as employees or independent contractors, as otherwise provided by law.

E. If any principal broker maintains more than one place of business within the Commonwealth, such principal broker shall be required to obtain a branch office license from the Board for each additional place of business, other than his primary place of business, maintained. A copy of the branch office license shall be kept on the premises of the branch office.

§ 54.1-2110. Resident broker to maintain place of business in Virginia.

A. Every resident real estate broker shall maintain a place of business in this the Commonwealth.

B. Any nonresident real estate broker residing in a state that mandates resident real estate brokers of the Commonwealth to maintain a place of business in such mandating state shall maintain a place of business in the Commonwealth.

C. Every principal broker shall maintain upon the premises of his primary place of business his license, the firm license, and the license of every real estate broker and salesperson active with the firm and shall make such licenses readily available to the public upon request. Each branch office shall maintain upon its premises the branch office license and a roster of every salesperson or broker assigned to that branch office and shall make such licenses readily available to the public upon request.