In Florida, written listing agreements must include an end date. Sellers should receive a copy of the signed agreement.
The Florida Statutes have an entire chapter just for real estate licensing. Within Chapter 475, there are many rules, some a bit quirky and not discussed frequently.
There is a requirement that all listing agreements must have: a definite expiration date, description of the property, price and terms, fee or commission, and a proper signature of the principal(s) in F.S 475.25(1)(r). The statute goes on to require that a signed, legible, true and correct copy must be shared with the seller(s) within 24 hours of getting the written listing agreement. Last, the statute states that the written listing agreement can’t contain a provision requiring the seller to notify the broker of the intention to cancel the listing after the definite end date.
So, let’s break it down a bit. In Florida, written listing agreements need to have some clear details. Sellers need to know what day the listing agreement ends. This is an important detail for a Realtor® also, since you want to make sure you are not continuing to provide services without the permission of the seller and the right to get paid. Don’t forget, you need all of the sellers to sign a listing agreement. It is not enough to have just one seller sign if there are multiple sellers on title to the property.
The details of the listing agreement like the price and terms the seller is willing to accept need to be understandable. The listing agreement is the appropriate place to address commission, which is always negotiable and should be clearly discussed. How much will the seller be paying the listing brokerage?
To add to this, the last sentence of the statute specifically points out that a Seller cannot be required to have to give notice they are cancelling the listing agreement after that definite end date. The Florida Realtors® listing agreement forms, located on Form Simplicity, have designated this end date the “Termination Date”.
