Posted August 13, 2024
Updated March 31, 2026
MIAMI Members,
We’ve got you! You are in the right association at the right time – no other association has provided so many classes, resources, toolkits, and real-time answers to all your questions! Since NAR announced the settlement agreement on March 15, 2024, MIAMI REALTORS® has hosted over 70 classes with nearly 20,000 participants and licensed special classes to 104 companies – with more to come. Here is a summary of what you need to know NOW:
- August 13 – ALL compensation fields removed from ALL listings in the MLS
- New MLS Rules and practice changes are effective as of August 17, 2024
- Compensation disclosures are required
- Written buyer broker agreements are required
- Cannot filter listings by compensation, if any, or brokerage/agent
- Violations of MLS Rules and fines – revised
- More classes with MIAMI to explain the new practice changes and rules
- Brokers can license important courses for FREE from MIAMI REALTORS®
- New Florida REALTORS® forms
- Exclusive classes with MIAMI to answer your top questions and to provide a roadmap to the new forms
- MIAMI REALTORS® resources and toolkits
Read below for details on these important updates – MIAMI REALTORS® continues to support you through these changes, just like all other changes that the real estate industry has seen in our 104-year history.
AUGUST 13: ALL COMPENSATION FIELDS REMOVED
ALL commission and compensation data fields for ALL listings (residential, commercial, and rentals) will be removed from the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service, which also means they will be removed from all data feeds.
AUGUST 17: ALL NEW MLS RULES WENT INTO EFFECT
Read the new MLS Rules HERE, which are effective as of August 17, 2024. Below is a summary of the practice changes:
- All commission and compensation fields for all listings (residential, commercial, and rentals) are removed from the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service.
- Required compensation disclosures
- Compensation, if any, is not set by law and is fully negotiable.
- This must be disclosed to all sellers, buyers, and prospective sellers and buyers.
- Listing agreement requirements
- Must conspicuously disclose to sellers and obtain seller approval for any payment or offer or payment that the listing broker or seller will make to another broker, agent, or other representative acting for buyers. This must be in writing in advance of any payment or agreement to pay another broker acting for buyers and must specific the amount or rate of any such payment.
- Written buyer broker agreements required
- Written agreements required for buyers in residential transactions (not commercial or rentals) before showing a home or otherwise working with the buyer.
- Buyer broker may not receive compensation for brokerage services from any source that exceeds the amount or rate agreed to in the buyer broker agreement.
- Compensation, if any, must be “objectively ascertainable” and cannot be “open ended.”
- If compensation is received from any source, the agreement must specify and conspicuously disclose the amount or rate of compensation the brokerage will receive or how the amount will be determined.
- Cannot filter listings
- Filtering out or restricting listings that are communicated to customers based on the existence or level of compensation offered to the cooperating broker and/or the name of a broker or agent is strictly prohibited.
BEST PRACTICES AND WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW:
- ALWAYS MAKE ALL BUSINESS DECISIONS UNILATERALLY AND INDEPENDENTLY!
- Join MIAMI REALTORS® in committing to antitrust compliance – implement an antitrust policy, review your handbooks and brokerage materials, and train your teams. MIAMI REALTORS®’ Antitrust Policy is HERE.
- Refuse to participate in any discussions or agreements that violate antitrust laws, including discussions of commissions with competitors.
- Instead, focus on advancing the interest of real estate professionals and consumers of real estate services, increasing competition, reducing risk for all parties involved in real estate transactions, and sharing insights on best practices.
- Do not ever use any technology or manual methods to sort listings by offers of compensation.
- Make sure your customers know that commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable and set between brokers and their customers, and that you have ethical obligations under NAR Code of Ethics.
- Regularly monitor social media. Remove yourself from discussions or comments that disparage competitors or comment on their business practices (including, but not limited to business models, commissions, policies, etc.). Remove comments and posts that might violate antitrust laws. Train your teams on proper social media usage.
- DISCUSSION OF THESE TOPICS IS ALWAYS PROHIBITED: fixing prices or commissions; limiting products or service offerings; allocating geographic territory or customers; steering; and, refusing to deal.
VIOLATIONS OF MLS RULES
How to report violations? Email mls@miamire.com.
EDUCATION:
Want more? Get courses on replay at MiamiRealtorsLive.com.
Are you a broker? Sign the Broker Course License Agreement to license MIAMI’s courses for FREE for your brokers and agents.
NEW FORMS:
Since late June, Florida REALTORS® has been releasing forms to address the practice changes required by the NAR settlement agreement. Log into Form Simplicity to access those. Like all business decisions, which must be made unilaterally and independently, the decision to use these forms or to work with your counsel to tailor forms to your business’ unique needs rests with your brokerage.
Important notes when using the new Florida REALTORS® forms:
- Property Pre-Touring Agreement (PPTA-1): While all business decisions must be made unilaterally and independently, MIAMI does not recommend using this form because, among other reasons, it may not comply with the terms of the NAR settlement agreement.
- Showing Agreement (SA-4) and the Buyer Brokerage Agreements (EBBA-7tn, EBBA-7nr, EBBA-7sa, and EBBA-7tb): MIAMI strongly recommends deleting the last of these agreements (“However, Consumer agrees that Broker may receive separate compensation from owner of the property for services rendered to owner by Broker, for which Consumer will not be responsible.”). This is because it conflicts with the requirements of the NAR settlement agreement for buyer broker agreements (see pp. 36-37) and for agreements with sellers (see p. 37).
RESOURCES:
Your hub for ALL resources, education, toolkits, and updates is at miamirealtors.com/facts. Check back frequently for updates.
- MIAMI’s toolkits on how to navigate the NAR Settlement can be found HERE.
- Templates: compensation disclosure forms
- NAR – Compensation Disclosure Statement
- Florida REALTORS® – Compensation Disclosure Statement (CDS-1 on Form Simplicity)
- MIAMI’s Antitrust Policy
- NAR: written buyer agreements 101
- NAR settlement agreement
- Antitrust Audit Checklist (ENGLISH)
- Antitrust Audit Checklist (SPANISH)
- NAR settlement frequently asked questions
COMPENSATION NOTICES:
Pursuant to NAR Handbook on Multiple Listing Policy (Section 18, Policy Statement 7.39), the following are important reminders on compensation:
- A broker’s compensation and fees for services, if any, are not set by law and are fully negotiable.
- A broker’s compensation, if any, for services rendered to a seller or for services rendered to a buyer is solely a matter of negotiation between the broker and their customer or client, and is not fixed, controlled, recommended, or maintained by any persons not a party to the brokerage service agreement.
- The compensation, if any, paid by a listing broker to a cooperating broker in respect to any listing is established by the listing broker and is not fixed, controlled, recommended, or maintained by any persons other than the listing broker.
QUESTIONS?
Visit miamirealtors.com/facts frequently to stay up to date on all of the legal developments, sign up for courses, and to access our resources.
Thank you for being a MIAMI member!
