Public Act 90-0352 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0352
SB897 Enrolled LRB9003359DPcc
AN ACT to amend the Real Estate License Act of 1983 by
changing Section 18.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Real Estate License Act of 1983 is
amended by changing Section 18 as follows:
(225 ILCS 455/18) (from Ch. 111, par. 5818)
Sec. 18. The Office of Banks and Real Estate may refuse
to issue or renew a license, may place on probation, suspend
or revoke any license, or may reprimand or impose a civil
penalty not to exceed $10,000 upon any licensee hereunder for
any one or any combination of the following causes:
(a) Where the applicant or licensee has, by false or
fraudulent representation, obtained or sought to obtain a
license.
(b) Where the applicant or licensee has been convicted
of any crime, an essential element of which is dishonesty or
fraud or larceny, embezzlement, obtaining money, property or
credit by false pretenses or by means of a confidence game,
has been convicted in this or another state of a crime which
is a felony under the laws of this State or has been
convicted of a felony in a federal court.
(c) Where the applicant or licensee has been adjudged to
be a person under legal disability or subject to involuntary
admission or to meet the standard for judicial admission as
provided in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
Code, as now or hereafter amended.
(d) Where the licensee performs or attempts to perform
any act as a broker or salesperson in a retail sales
establishment, from an office, desk or space that is not
separated from the main retail business by a separate and
distinct area within such establishment.
(e) Discipline by another state, the District of
Columbia, territory, or foreign nation of a licensee if at
least one of the grounds for that discipline is the same as
or the equivalent of one of the grounds for discipline set
forth in this Act.
(f) Where the applicant or licensee has engaged in real
estate activity without a license, or after the licensee's
license was expired, or while the license was inoperative.
(g) Where the applicant or licensee attempts to subvert
or cheat on the Real Estate License Exam, or aids and abets
an applicant to subvert or cheat on the Real Estate License
Exam administered pursuant to this Act.
(h) Where the licensee in performing or attempting to
perform or pretending to perform any act as a broker or
salesperson, or where such licensee, in handling his own
property, whether held by deed, option, or otherwise, is
found guilty of:
1. Making any substantial misrepresentation, or
untruthful advertising;
2. Making any false promises of a character likely
to influence, persuade, or induce;
3. Pursuing a continued and flagrant course of
misrepresentation or the making of false promises through
agents, salespersons or advertising or otherwise;
4. Any misleading or untruthful advertising, or
using any trade name or insignia of membership in any
real estate organization of which the licensee is not a
member;
5. Acting for more than one party in a transaction
without providing written notice to all parties for whom
the licensee acts;
6. Representing or attempting to represent a broker
other than the employer;
7. Failure to account for or to remit any moneys or
documents coming into their possession which belong to
others;
8. Failure to maintain and deposit in a special
account, separate and apart from personal and other
business accounts, all escrow monies belonging to others
entrusted to a licensee while acting as a real estate
broker, escrow agent, or temporary custodian of the funds
of others, or failure to maintain all escrow monies on
deposit in such account until the transactions are
consummated or terminated, except to the extent that such
monies, or any part thereof, shall be disbursed prior to
the consummation or termination in accordance with (i)
the written direction of the principals to the
transaction or their duly authorized agents, or (ii)
directions providing for the release, payment, or
distribution of escrow monies contained in any written
contract signed by the principals to the transaction or
their duly authorized agents. Such account shall be
noninterest bearing, unless the character of the deposit
is such that payment of interest thereon is otherwise
required by law or unless the principals to the
transaction specifically require, in writing, that the
deposit be placed in an interest bearing account;
9. Failure to make available to the real estate
enforcement personnel of the Office of Banks and Real
Estate during normal business hours all escrow records
and related documents maintained in connection with the
practice of real estate;
10. Failing to furnish copies upon request of all
documents relating to a real estate transaction to all
parties executing them;
11. Paying a commission or valuable consideration
to any person for acts or services performed in violation
of this Act;
12. Having demonstrated unworthiness or
incompetency to act as a broker or salesperson in such
manner as to endanger the interest of the public;
13. Commingling the money or property of others
with his own;
14. Employing any person on a purely temporary or
single deal basis as a means of evading the law regarding
payment of commission to nonlicensees on some
contemplated transactions;
15. Permitting the use of his license as a broker
to enable a salesperson or unlicensed person to operate a
real estate business without actual participation therein
and control thereof by the broker;
16. Any other conduct, whether of the same or a
different character from that specified in this Section
which constitutes dishonest dealing;
17. Displaying a "for rent" or "for sale" sign on
any property without the written consent of an owner or
his duly authorized agent, or advertising by any means
that any property is for sale or for rent without the
written consent of the owner or his authorized agent;
18. Failing to provide information requested by the
Office of Banks and Real Estate, within 30 days of the
request, either as the result of a formal or informal
complaint to the Office of Banks and Real Estate or as a
result of a random audit conducted by the Office of Banks
and Real Estate, which would indicate a violation of this
Act;
19. Disregarding or violating any provision of this
Act, or the published rules or regulations promulgated by
the Office of Banks and Real Estate to enforce this Act,
or aiding or abetting any individual, partnership,
limited liability company, or corporation in disregarding
any provision of this Act, or the published rules or
regulations promulgated by the Office of Banks and Real
Estate to enforce this Act;
20. Advertising any property for sale or
advertising any transaction of any kind or character
relating to the sale of property by whatsoever means,
without clearly disclosing in or on such advertising one
of the following: the name of the firm with which the
licensee is associated, if a sole broker, evidence of the
broker's occupation, or a name with respect to which the
broker has complied with the requirements of "An Act in
relation to the use of an assumed name in the conduct or
transaction of business in this State", approved July 17,
1941, as amended, whether such advertising is done by the
broker or by any salesperson or broker employed by the
broker;
21. "Offering guaranteed sales plans" as defined in
subparagraph (A) except to the extent hereinafter set
forth:
(A) A "guaranteed sales plan" is any real
estate purchase or sales plan whereby a broker
enters into a conditional or unconditional written
contract with a seller by the terms of which a
broker agrees to purchase a property of the seller
within a specified period of time at a specific
price in the event the property is not sold in
accordance with the terms of a listing contract
between the broker and the seller or on other terms
acceptable to the seller;
(B) A broker offering a "guaranteed sales
plan" shall provide the details and conditions of
such plan in writing to the party to whom the plan
is offered;
(C) A broker offering a "guaranteed sales
plan" shall provide to the party to whom the plan is
offered, evidence of sufficient financial resources
to satisfy the commitment to purchase undertaken by
the broker in the plan;
(D) Any broker offering a "guaranteed sales
plan" shall undertake to market the property of the
seller subject to the plan in the same manner in
which the broker would market any other property,
unless such agreement with the seller provides
otherwise;
(E) Any broker who fails to perform on a
"guaranteed sales plan" in strict accordance with
its terms shall be subject to all the penalties
provided in this Act for violations thereof, and, in
addition, shall be subject to a civil penalty
payable to the party injured by the default in an
amount of up to $10,000.
22. Influencing or attempting to influence, by any
words or acts a prospective seller, purchaser, occupant,
landlord or tenant of real estate, in connection with
viewing, buying or leasing of real estate, so as to
promote, or tend to promote, the continuance or
maintenance of racially and religiously segregated
housing, or so as to retard, obstruct or discourage
racially integrated housing on or in any street, block,
neighborhood or community;
23. Engaging in any act which constitutes a
violation of Section 3-102, 3-103, 3-104 or 3-105 of the
Illinois Human Rights Act, whether or not a complaint has
been filed with or adjudicated by the Human Rights
Commission;
24. Inducing any party to a contract of sale or
listing agreement to break such a contract of sale or
listing agreement for the purpose of substituting, in
lieu thereof, a new contract for sale or listing
agreement with a third party.
25. Negotiating a sale, exchange or lease of real
property directly with an owner or lessor without
authority from the listing broker if the licensee knows
that the owner or lessor has a written exclusive listing
agreement covering the property with another broker.
26. Where a licensee is also an attorney, acting as
the attorney for either the buyer or the seller in the
same transaction in which such licensee is acting or has
acted as a broker or salesperson.
27. Advertising or offering merchandise or services
as free if any conditions or obligations necessary for
receiving such merchandise or services are not disclosed
in the same advertisement or offer. Such conditions or
obligations include, but are not limited to, the
requirement that the recipient attend a promotional
activity or visit a real estate site. As used in this
paragraph 27, "free" includes terms such as "award",
"prize", "no charge," "free of charge," "without charge"
and similar words or phrases which reasonably lead a
person to believe that he may receive, or has been
selected to receive, something of value, without any
conditions or obligations on the part of the recipient.
28. Disregarding or violating any provision of the
Illinois Real Estate Time-Share Act, enacted by the 84th
General Assembly, or the published rules or regulations
promulgated by the Office of Banks and Real Estate to
enforce that Act.
29. A finding that the licensee has violated the
terms of the disciplinary order issued by the Office of
Banks and Real Estate.
30. Paying fees or commissions directly to a
licensee employed by another broker.
31. Requiring a party to a transaction who is not a
client of the licensee, as defined in Article 4, to allow
the licensee to retain a portion of the escrow monies for
payment of the licensee's commission or expenses as a
condition for release of the escrow monies to that party.
(Source: P.A. 88-683, eff. 1-24-95; 89-508, eff. 7-3-96.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.