Georgia Licensing Law Flashcards
No License Required
It is against the law to practice real estate without a license. If the Commission discovers that a person is practicing without a license, they have the authority to issue a cease and desist order.
In addition, the Commission can impose a fine of up to $1,000 per day for this violation.
While the Commission does not have the authority to impose a jail
sentence, the courts do have this authority, as a violation of this law is
a misdemeanor. The imposed jail sentence can be for a period of one
year or less.
It is also important to note that while certain people are exempt from
the license law, even when performing real estate-related tasks that would normally be performed by a licensed salesperson or broker, the following exemptions only apply to unlicensed persons. This means that a licensee whose license is on inactive status is not covered
under these exemptions and cannot claim to have operated under one of these exemptions.
Exemptions
The licensing requirements discussed are NOT applicable in the following circumstances.
These are situations in dealing with real estate matters in which it is not necessary for the person to hold a real estate license.
According to Georgia law, an individual is NOT required to have a real estate license if he or she is any of the following:
An owner of real estate, the spouse of an owner, a general partner of a limited partnership, a landlord, or a prospective purchaser OR their regular employees OR spouses who perform any act with reference to property owned, leased, or to be acquired by such owner, limited partnership, lessor, or prospective purchaser when said person is
buying, leasing, or selling for his own purposes.
An attorney in fact under a duly executed power of attorney to convey real estate from the owner or lessor. This person - whether an actual attorney, or simply an individual authorized to act on another’s behalf as an agent - may act as an agent for the principal without having a real estate license, with a legally executed power of attorney.
An attorney at law - also known as a licensed practicing attorney acting solely as an incident to the practice of law.
Any person acting as receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, administrator, executor, or guardian or while acting under a court order or under the authority of a will or of a trust instrument.
Any officer or employee of a government agency in the conduct of official duties.
Any person employed full-time by a public or private utility - including utility companies, and lending institutions - who performs any act with reference to property owned, leased, or to be acquired by the utility employing that person, where such acts are performed in the regular course of, or as incident to, the management of such property and the investment therein.
More Exemptions
The following persons are also exempt from the requirements of
license law in Georgia.
A manager of residential properties if the contract has
been approved by a federal agency. This means any
person who, as owner or through another person engaged
by such owner on a full-time basis or as owner of a
management company whose principals hold a
controlling ownership of such property, provides property management services or community association management services, buys, sells, leases, manages, auctions, or has other dealings with property owned by such person.
Full-time employees of the property owner, who have been employed to provide property management services or community association management services, and sell, buy, lease, manage, auction, or otherwise deal with such property. This includes any person employed on a full-time basis by a community association for the purpose of
providing community association management services.
Any person acting as a referral agent, who is not involved in the actual negotiations, execution of documents, collection of rent, management of property, or other related activity, which involves more than the mere referral of one person to another. This person must also meet the following requirements:
a. He doesn't receive a fee for such referral from the party being referred. b. He doesn't charge an advance fee. c. He doesn't act as a referral agent in more than three transactions per year.
Property Management Exemption
“The licensing regulations required by Georgia real estate license laws do not apply to any individual employed by a broker to assist in property management services on residential
property.”
This exemption applies if the broker has a written management agreement that the broker procured from and negotiated with the owner. Such individual’s activities must be explicitly authorized by the broker in a written agreement between the broker and the employee AND the activities performed must be limited to one or more of the following:
Delivering a lease application or a lease
Receiving a lease application, lease, security deposit, rental payment, or any related payment (for delivery to and made payable to the broker or the owner)
Showing a rental unit to any person, or executing leases, provided that the employee is acting under the direct instructions of the broker
Providing information authorized by the broker about a rental unit, a lease application, or a lease
(E) Providing information to a tenant about the status of such tenant’s security deposit or rent payments, or to an owner about the owner’s financial accounts and payments from the owner’s tenants
Performing any ministerial acts that are explicitly authorized by the broker in a written agreement between the broker and the employee.
Innkeeper’s Exemption
Known as the “innkeeper’s exemption,” this states that any person who provides property management services on properties available for less than 90 days’ occupancy by guests or occupants and meets all of the following conditions is exempt from license law.
In other words, this applies to those who make accommodations to others on a daily/weekly basis, in operation of a hotel, motel or vacation rental. ALL of the following conditions must be met.
The property manager must have a written agreement with the
owner, which states all terms and conditions for managing the
property, reporting income and expenses, and remitting income to
the owner.
This agreement must specify that the property manager cannot rent or lease the property AND that the guest or occupant is not a tenant.
Zoning laws do not prohibit short-term occupancy uses of the property.
The person’s occupancy is for less than 90 days.
The following conditions must also be met in order for a person to qualify for the innkeeper’s exemption.
The deposit given must not exceed the cost of the rental required for the minimum rental period.
The guest or occupant must pay any required state or local sales taxes or excise taxes on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations; while the property manager pays any required state or local business licenses or permits.
The property manager can specify which rooms or units that the guest or occupant will occupy.
No extra charge is made for basic utilities.
Notice is not required for a guest or occupant to terminate occupancy of the room or unit, except under certain conditions.
The room or unit is not the permanent residence of the guest or occupant.
Any person who is a member of a community association and
who provides community association management services only
to one community association of which such person is a member.
Any person who performs only physical maintenance on a property.
A licensed certified public accountant or registered public
accountant acting solely as an incident to the practice of public
accounting.
Business Brokerage
A person who brokers the sale of a business must hold an appropriate real estate license if the sale of the business involves the transfer of any interest in real property.
A business broker and any associates who do not hold licenses issued by the Commission may not negotiate or attempt to negotiate or assist in procuring prospects for the sale of a business where:
The sale involves the transfer of any interest in real property.
The payment of all or part of a commission or fee to the business broker or any associates in the sale of the business is contingent upon the transfer of an interest in real estate.
An unlicensed broker may not perform or attempt to perform the acts described above and then secure a person licensed by the Commission to approve that transaction.
