(A) Subject to section 4735.32 of the Revised Code, the superintendent of real estate, upon the superintendent’s own motion, may investigate the conduct of any licensee. Subject to division (E) of this section and section 4735.32 of the Revised Code, the Ohio real estate commission shall impose disciplinary sanctions upon any licensee who, whether or not acting in the licensee’s capacity as a real estate broker or salesperson, or in handling the licensee’s own property, is found to have been convicted of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, and may impose disciplinary sanctions upon any licensee who, in the licensee’s capacity as a real estate broker or salesperson, or in handling the licensee’s own property, is found guilty of:

Terms Used In Ohio Code 4735.18

  • Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
  • anything of value: includes :

    (A) Money, bank bills or notes, United States treasury notes, and other bills, bonds, or notes issued by lawful authority and intended to pass and circulate as money;

    (B) Goods and chattels;

    (C) Promissory notes, bills of exchange, orders, drafts, warrants, checks, or bonds given for the payment of money;

    (D) Receipts given for the payment of money or other property;

    (E) Rights in action;

    (F) Things which savor of the realty and are, at the time they are taken, a part of the freehold, whether they are of the substance or produce thereof or affixed thereto, although there may be no interval between the severing and taking away;

    (G) Any interest in realty, including fee simple and partial interests, present and future, contingent or vested interests, beneficial interests, leasehold interests, and any other interest in realty;

    (H) Any promise of future employment;

    (I) Every other thing of value. See Ohio Code 1.03

  • Bona fide: means made in good faith or without purpose of circumventing license law. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Brokerage: includes the affiliated licensees who have been assigned management duties that include supervision of licensees whose duties may conflict with those of other affiliated licensees. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Commercial real estate: means any parcel of real estate in this state other than real estate containing one to four residential units. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Exclusive agency agreement: means an agency agreement between a seller and broker that meets the requirements of section 4735. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Exclusive purchaser agency agreement: means an agency agreement between a purchaser and broker that meets the requirements of section 4735. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Exclusive right to sell or lease listing agreement: means an agency agreement between a seller and broker that meets the requirements of section 4735. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Foreign real estate: means real estate not situated in this state and any interest in real estate not situated in this state. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Foreign real estate dealer: includes any person, partnership, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for another, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or otherwise, and who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, or with the intention, or in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, does or deals in any act or transaction specified or comprehended in division (A) of this section with respect to foreign real estate. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Foreign real estate salesperson: means any person associated with a licensed foreign real estate dealer to do or deal in any act or transaction specified or comprehended in division (A) of this section with respect to foreign real estate, for compensation or otherwise. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Licensee: means any individual licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson by the Ohio real estate commission pursuant to this chapter. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Management level licensee: means a licensee who is employed by or affiliated with a real estate broker and who has supervisory responsibility over other licensees employed by or affiliated with that real estate broker. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Principal broker: means an individual licensed as a real estate broker under this chapter who oversees and directs the operations of the brokerage. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Real estate: includes leaseholds as well as any and every interest or estate in land situated in this state, whether corporeal or incorporeal, whether freehold or nonfreehold, and the improvements on the land, but does not include cemetery interment rights. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Real estate broker: includes any person, partnership, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for another, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or otherwise, and who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, or with the intention, or in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration does any of the following:

    (1) Sells, exchanges, purchases, rents, or leases, or negotiates the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;

    (2) Offers, attempts, or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate;

    (3) Lists, or offers, attempts, or agrees to list, or auctions, or offers, attempts, or agrees to auction, any real estate;

    (4) Buys or offers to buy, sells or offers to sell, or otherwise deals in options on real estate;

    (5) Operates, manages, or rents, or offers or attempts to operate, manage, or rent, other than as custodian, caretaker, or janitor, any building or portions of buildings to the public as tenants;

    (6) Advertises or holds self out as engaged in the business of selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting, or leasing real estate;

    (7) Directs or assists in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation of any transaction, other than mortgage financing, which does or is calculated to result in the sale, exchange, leasing, or renting of any real estate;

    (8) Is engaged in the business of charging an advance fee or contracting for collection of a fee in connection with any contract whereby the broker undertakes primarily to promote the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of real estate through its listing in a publication issued primarily for such purpose, or for referral of information concerning such real estate to brokers, or both, except that this division does not apply to a publisher of listings or compilations of sales of real estate by their owners;

    (9) Collects rental information for purposes of referring prospective tenants to rental units or locations of such units and charges the prospective tenants a fee. See Ohio Code 4735.01

  • Real estate salesperson: means any person associated with a licensed real estate broker to do or to deal in any acts or transactions set out or comprehended by the definition of a real estate broker, for compensation or otherwise. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Revoked: means the license status in which the license is void and not eligible for reactivation. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • Seller: includes an owner of property who is seeking to sell the property and a landlord who is seeking to rent or lease property to another person. See Ohio Code 4735.01
  • state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC

(1) Knowingly making any misrepresentation;

(2) Making any false promises with intent to influence, persuade, or induce;

(3) A continued course of misrepresentation or the making of false promises through agents, salespersons, advertising, or otherwise;

(4) Acting for more than one party in a transaction except as permitted by and in compliance with section 4735.71 of the Revised Code;

(5) Failure within a reasonable time to account for or to remit any money coming into the licensee’s possession which belongs to others;

(6) Dishonest or illegal dealing, gross negligence, incompetency, or misconduct;

(7)(a) By final adjudication by a court, a violation of any municipal or federal civil rights law relevant to the protection of purchasers or sellers of real estate or, by final adjudication by a court, any unlawful discriminatory practice pertaining to the purchase or sale of real estate prohibited by Chapter 4112 of the Revised Code, provided that such violation arose out of a situation wherein parties were engaged in bona fide efforts to purchase, sell, or lease real estate, in the licensee’s practice as a licensed real estate broker or salesperson;

(b) A second or subsequent violation of any unlawful discriminatory practice pertaining to the purchase or sale of real estate prohibited by Chapter 4112 of the Revised Code or any second or subsequent violation of municipal or federal civil rights laws relevant to purchasing or selling real estate whether or not there has been a final adjudication by a court, provided that such violation arose out of a situation wherein parties were engaged in bona fide efforts to purchase, sell, or lease real estate. For any second offense under this division, the commission shall suspend for a minimum of two months or revoke the license of the broker or salesperson. For any subsequent offense, the commission shall revoke the license of the broker or salesperson.

(8) Procuring a license under this chapter, for the licensee or any salesperson by fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit;

(9) Having violated or failed to comply with any provision of sections 4735.51 to 4735.74 of the Revised Code or having willfully disregarded or violated any other provisions of this chapter;

(10) As a real estate broker, having demanded, without reasonable cause, other than from a broker licensed under this chapter, a commission to which the licensee is not entitled, or, as a real estate salesperson, having demanded, without reasonable cause, a commission to which the licensee is not entitled;

(11) Except as permitted under section 4735.20 of the Revised Code, having paid commissions or fees to, or divided commissions or fees with, anyone not licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson under this chapter or anyone not operating as an out-of-state commercial real estate broker or salesperson under section 4735.022 of the Revised Code;

(12) Having falsely represented membership in any real estate professional association of which the licensee is not a member;

(13) Having accepted, given, or charged any undisclosed commission, rebate, or direct profit on expenditures made for a principal;

(14) Having offered anything of value other than the consideration recited in the sales contract as an inducement to a person to enter into a contract for the purchase or sale of real estate or having offered real estate or the improvements on real estate as a prize in a lottery or scheme of chance;

(15) Having acted in the dual capacity of real estate broker and undisclosed principal, or real estate salesperson and undisclosed principal, in any transaction;

(16) Having guaranteed, authorized, or permitted any person to guarantee future profits which may result from the resale of real property;

(17) Having advertised or placed a sign on any property offering it for sale or for rent without the consent of the owner or the owner’s authorized agent;

(18) Having induced any party to a contract of sale or lease to break such contract for the purpose of substituting in lieu of it a new contract with another principal;

(19) Having negotiated the sale, exchange, or lease of any real property directly with a seller, purchaser, lessor, or tenant knowing that such seller, purchaser, lessor, or tenant is represented by another broker under a written exclusive agency agreement, exclusive right to sell or lease listing agreement, or exclusive purchaser agency agreement with respect to such property except as provided for in section 4735.75 of the Revised Code;

(20) Having offered real property for sale or for lease without the knowledge and consent of the owner or the owner’s authorized agent, or on any terms other than those authorized by the owner or the owner’s authorized agent;

(21) Having published advertising, whether printed, radio, display, or of any other nature, which was misleading or inaccurate in any material particular, or in any way having misrepresented any properties, terms, values, policies, or services of the business conducted;

(22) Having knowingly withheld from or inserted in any statement of account or invoice any statement that made it inaccurate in any material particular;

(23) Having published or circulated unjustified or unwarranted threats of legal proceedings which tended to or had the effect of harassing competitors or intimidating their customers;

(24) Having failed to keep complete and accurate records of all transactions for a period of three years from the date of the transaction, such records to include copies of listing forms, earnest money receipts, offers to purchase and acceptances of them, records of receipts and disbursements of all funds received by the licensee as broker and incident to the licensee’s transactions as such, and records required pursuant to divisions (C)(4) and (5) of section 4735.20 of the Revised Code, and any other instruments or papers related to the performance of any of the acts set forth in the definition of a real estate broker;

(25) Failure of a real estate broker or salesperson to furnish all parties involved in a real estate transaction true copies of all listings and other agreements to which they are a party, at the time each party signs them;

(26) Failure to maintain at all times a special or trust bank account in a depository located in this state. The account shall be noninterest-bearing, separate and distinct from any personal or other account of the broker, and, except as provided in division (A)(27) of this section, shall be used for the deposit and maintenance of all escrow funds, security deposits, and other moneys received by the broker in a fiduciary capacity. The name, account number, if any, and location of the depository wherein such special or trust account is maintained shall be submitted in writing to the superintendent. Checks drawn on such special or trust bank accounts are deemed to meet the conditions imposed by section 1349.21 of the Revised Code. Funds deposited in the trust or special account in connection with a purchase agreement shall be maintained in accordance with section 4735.24 of the Revised Code.

(27) Failure to maintain at all times a special or trust bank account in a depository in this state, to be used exclusively for the deposit and maintenance of all rents, security deposits, escrow funds, and other moneys received by the broker in a fiduciary capacity in the course of managing real property. This account shall be separate and distinct from any other account maintained by the broker. The name, account number, and location of the depository shall be submitted in writing to the superintendent. This account may earn interest, which shall be paid to the property owners on a pro rata basis.

Division (A)(27) of this section does not apply to brokers who are not engaged in the management of real property on behalf of real property owners.

(28) Having failed to put definite expiration dates in all written agency agreements to which the broker is a party;

(29) Having an unsatisfied final judgment or lien in any court of record against the licensee arising out of the licensee’s conduct as a licensed broker or salesperson;

(30) Failing to render promptly upon demand a full and complete statement of the expenditures by the broker or salesperson of funds advanced by or on behalf of a party to a real estate transaction to the broker or salesperson for the purpose of performing duties as a licensee under this chapter in conjunction with the real estate transaction;

(31) Failure within a reasonable time, after the receipt of the commission by the broker, to render an accounting to and pay a real estate salesperson the salesperson’s earned share of it;

(32) Performing any service for another constituting the practice of law, as determined by any court of law;

(33) Having been adjudicated incompetent for the purpose of holding the license by a court, as provided in section 5122.301 of the Revised Code. A license revoked or suspended under this division shall be reactivated upon proof to the commission of the removal of the disability.

(34) Having authorized or permitted a person to act as an agent in the capacity of a real estate broker, or a real estate salesperson, who was not then licensed as a real estate broker or real estate salesperson under this chapter or who was not then operating as an out-of-state commercial real estate broker or salesperson under section 4735.022 of the Revised Code;

(35) Having knowingly inserted or participated in inserting any materially inaccurate term in a document, including naming a false consideration;

(36) Having failed to inform the licensee’s client of the existence of an offer or counteroffer or having failed to present an offer or counteroffer in a timely manner, unless otherwise instructed by the client, provided the instruction of the client does not conflict with any state or federal law;

(37) Having failed to comply with section 4735.24 of the Revised Code;

(38) Having acted as a broker without authority, impeded the ability of a principal broker to perform any of the duties described in section 4735.081 of the Revised Code, or impeded the ability a management level licensee to perform the licensee’s duties.

(B) Whenever the commission, pursuant to section 4735.051 of the Revised Code, imposes disciplinary sanctions for any violation of this section, the commission also may impose such sanctions upon the broker with whom the salesperson is affiliated if the commission finds that the broker had knowledge of the salesperson’s actions that violated this section.

(C) The commission shall, pursuant to section 4735.051 of the Revised Code, impose disciplinary sanctions upon any foreign real estate dealer or salesperson who, in that capacity or in handling the dealer’s or salesperson’s own property, is found guilty of any of the acts or omissions specified or comprehended in division (A) of this section insofar as the acts or omissions pertain to foreign real estate. If the commission imposes such sanctions upon a foreign real estate salesperson for a violation of this section, the commission also may suspend or revoke the license of the foreign real estate dealer with whom the salesperson is affiliated if the commission finds that the dealer had knowledge of the salesperson’s actions that violated this section.

(D) The commission may suspend, in whole or in part, the imposition of the penalty of suspension of a license under this section.

(E) A person licensed under this chapter who represents a party to a transaction or a proposed transaction involving the sale, purchase, exchange, lease, or management of real property that is or will be used in the cultivation, processing, dispensing, or testing of medical marijuana under Chapter 3796 of the Revised Code, or who receives, holds, or disburses funds from a real estate brokerage trust account in connection with such a transaction, shall not be subject to disciplinary sanctions under this chapter solely because the licensed person engaged in activities permitted under this chapter and related to activities under Chapter 3796 of the Revised Code.

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