Florida Statutes 475.703 – Broker’s lien for sales commission
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(1) A broker has a lien upon the owner‘s net proceeds from the disposition of commercial real estate for any commission earned by the broker with respect to that disposition pursuant to a brokerage agreement. The lien upon the owner’s net proceeds pursuant to this part for a broker’s commission is a lien upon personal property, attaches to the owner’s net proceeds only, and does not attach to any interest in real property.
(2) For purposes of this part, a commission is earned on the earlier of the date that:
(a) An event occurs under the brokerage agreement that defines when the commission is earned; or
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 475.703
- Broker: means a person who, for another, and for a compensation or valuable consideration directly or indirectly paid or promised, expressly or impliedly, or with an intent to collect or receive a compensation or valuable consideration therefor, appraises, auctions, sells, exchanges, buys, rents, or offers, attempts or agrees to appraise, auction, or negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, or rental of business enterprises or business opportunities or any real property or any interest in or concerning the same, including mineral rights or leases, or who advertises or holds out to the public by any oral or printed solicitation or representation that she or he is engaged in the business of appraising, auctioning, buying, selling, exchanging, leasing, or renting business enterprises or business opportunities or real property of others or interests therein, including mineral rights, or who takes any part in the procuring of sellers, purchasers, lessors, or lessees of business enterprises or business opportunities or the real property of another, or leases, or interest therein, including mineral rights, or who directs or assists in the procuring of prospects or in the negotiation or closing of any transaction which does, or is calculated to, result in a sale, exchange, or leasing thereof, and who receives, expects, or is promised any compensation or valuable consideration, directly or indirectly therefor; and all persons who advertise rental property information or lists. See Florida Statutes 475.01
- Brokerage agreement: means a written contract entered into on or after the effective date of this act between an owner of commercial real estate and a broker that obligates the owner to pay a commission to the broker for licensed services provided by the broker relating to the sale or disposition of the commercial real estate as specified in the contract. See Florida Statutes 475.701
- Commercial real estate: means a fee simple interest or other possessory estate in real property, except an interest in real property that is:(a) Improved with one single-family residential unit or one multifamily structure containing one to four residential units;(b) Unimproved and the maximum permitted development is one to four residential units under any restrictive covenants, zoning regulations, or comprehensive plan applicable to that real property; or(c) Improved with single-family residential units such as condominiums, townhouses, timeshares, mobile homes, or houses in a subdivision that may be legally sold, leased, or otherwise conveyed on a unit-by-unit basis, regardless of whether these units may be a part of a larger building or parcel containing more than four residential units. See Florida Statutes 475.701
- Commission: means any fee or other compensation that an owner agrees to pay a broker for licensed services as specified in a brokerage agreement. See Florida Statutes 475.701
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Disposition: means a voluntary conveyance or transfer of the title to or other ownership interest in any commercial real estate specified in a brokerage agreement. See Florida Statutes 475.701
- employee: when used in this chapter and in rules adopted pursuant thereto to describe the relationship between a broker and a sales associate, include an independent contractor relationship when such relationship is intended by and established between a broker and a sales associate. See Florida Statutes 475.01
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Owner: means a person that is vested with fee simple title or a possessory estate in commercial real estate. See Florida Statutes 475.701
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- real estate: means any interest or estate in land and any interest in business enterprises or business opportunities, including any assignment, leasehold, subleasehold, or mineral right; however, the term does not include any cemetery lot or right of burial in any cemetery; nor does the term include the renting of a mobile home lot or recreational vehicle lot in a mobile home park or travel park. See Florida Statutes 475.01
(b) The owner enters into a contract for the disposition of all or part of the commercial real estate specified in the brokerage agreement, provided that a commission would be payable to the broker pursuant to the brokerage agreement if the disposition occurs under that contract.
(3) For the purposes of this part, a commission is payable at the time provided in the brokerage agreement. If payment of the commission is conditioned on the occurrence of an event and that event does not occur, a broker may not enforce a lien for that commission under this part.
(4) A broker’s lien for commission arising under this part:
(a) Belongs to the broker named in the brokerage agreement and not to an employee or independent contractor of the broker.
(b) Cannot be assigned voluntarily or by operation of law and may not be enforced by a person other than the broker.
(c) Cannot be waived before the commission is earned.
(d) Cannot be waived by any person other than the broker, regardless of whether that person may execute and bind the broker to a brokerage agreement.
(5) A broker shall disclose to the owner at or before the time the owner executes the brokerage agreement that this part creates lien rights for a commission earned by the broker that are not waivable before the commission is earned by the broker. A broker may not enforce a lien under this part for a commission earned under a brokerage agreement for which the disclosure required by this subsection was not made. A disclosure in substantially the following form shall be sufficient: “The Florida Commercial Real Estate Sales Commission Lien Act provides that when a broker has earned a commission by performing licensed services under a brokerage agreement with you, the broker may claim a lien against your net sales proceeds for the broker’s commission. The broker’s lien rights under the act cannot be waived before the commission is earned.”