Current through the 2024 legislative session
Section 33-28-302 - Relationships between licensees and the public(a) A responsible broker shall not be required to offer or engage in more than one (1) of the broker relationships. When engaged in any real estate activity, a licensee, with permission of the licensee's responsible broker, may act in any real estate transaction as an agent or intermediary or may work with the seller or buyer as a customer. The licensee's duties and obligations arising from that relationship shall be disclosed to the seller or buyer pursuant to this article.(b) When engaged in any real estate activity, a licensee may act as an agent only pursuant to a written agreement with the seller or buyer which discloses the duties and responsibilities set forth in W.S. 33-28-303 or 33-28-304.(c) When engaged in any real estate activity, a licensee may act as a subagent with the duties and responsibilities set forth in W.S. 33-28-303(g) only pursuant to a written agreement between the seller and the seller's agent authorizing an offer of subagency to other responsible brokers, or as an intermediary with the seller or buyer, pursuant to a written agreement that discloses the duties and responsibilities set forth in W.S. 33-28-305.(d) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 20, § 3.(e) A licensee may work with a single party in separate transactions pursuant to different relationships, for example, selling one (1) property as a seller's agent and working with that seller in buying another property as an intermediary or buyer's agent, if the licensee complies with this article in establishing a separate relationship in writing for each transaction.(f) A licensee may complete real estate forms and shall explain to the parties the effects thereof if the licensee is performing real estate activities in the transaction in which the forms are to be used.(g) Every contract, duty or relationship within this article, including intermediary or customer relationships, imposes an obligation of good faith and fair dealing in its performance or enforcement.(h) If a real estate company has more than one (1) licensee, the responsible broker and any licensee associated with or engaged by that responsible broker may be designated to work with the seller or the buyer as a designated licensee. For an in-house real estate transaction, the designated licensee shall be: (i) A responsible broker;(ii) An associate broker;(iii) A salesperson under the direct supervision of a responsible broker, and the responsible broker is not a party to the real estate transaction; or(iv) A salesperson who is under the direct supervision of a transaction manager.(j) Licensees employed or engaged by the same responsible broker or across any companies the same responsible broker supervises may be designated licensees for different buyers or sellers in the same transaction. If the responsible broker is representing a buyer or a seller in an in-house transaction, the responsible broker shall immediately appoint a transaction manager unless the other licensee is an associate broker. If the responsible broker is representing a buyer or seller in a transaction involving two (2) or more companies the responsible broker manages, he shall immediately appoint a transaction manager for each real estate company unless the other licensee is an associate broker. The responsible broker shall disclose in every real estate transaction to all parties involved the names of all real estate companies the responsible broker supervises. The simultaneous designations shall not constitute dual agency or require the responsible broker or licensee to act as an intermediary unless otherwise required by this article. A responsible broker or transaction manager shall have access to all necessary information but shall be prohibited from sharing any confidential information of any party to the transaction that the responsible broker or transaction manager may learn in the process of supervising the licensees or the transaction.(k) A licensee may work as an agent for the seller treating the buyer as a customer or as an agent for the buyer treating the seller as a customer but not as an agent for both the seller and the buyer. A licensee may be designated to work as an intermediary for both the seller and the buyer in the same transaction pursuant to W.S. 33-28-307. The applicable designated relationship shall be disclosed in writing to the seller and buyer at the earliest reasonable opportunity. A designated licensee is not precluded from working with a buyer or seller in a real estate transaction solely because the licensee was precluded from representing that person in an earlier separate real estate transaction.(m) No seller or buyer shall be vicariously liable for an agent's acts or omissions that have not been approved, directed or ratified by the seller or buyer.(n) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the responsible broker's responsibility to supervise licensees associated with the responsible broker or real estate company or to shield the responsible broker from vicarious liability.(o) A licensee shall not establish dual agency with any seller or buyer.(p) A customer relationship shall exist between a licensee and any party to a real estate transaction unless a single agency or intermediary relationship is established through a written agreement between the licensee and the party or parties. When a buyer or seller has a written listing agreement with a licensee, another licensee may work with the other buyer or seller as a customer, having no written agreement, agency or intermediary relationship with any party. A licensee shall not owe any duty of confidentiality to a customer.(q) Proprietary ownership interest of written listing agreements shall be vested in the responsible broker.Amended by Laws 2017 , ch. 166, § 1, eff. 7/1/2017.Amended by Laws 2015 , ch. 131, § 1, eff. 3/4/2015.Amended by Laws 2014 , ch. 118, § 1, eff. 3/10/2014.Amended by Laws 2011 , ch. 104, § 1, eff. 7/1/2011.