LAW: Real Estate Brokers Are Marshaling Opposition

By Lou Hirsh

Industry opposition is likely to be huge, but Jason Hughes is pushing for California to go a step further when it comes to dealing with the practice of brokers representing both landlords and tenants in the same real estate deal — by banning it altogether.

The CEO of San Diego’s Hughes Marino Inc., a tenant-focused commercial real estate services firm, was among the backers who helped craft legislation recently introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, seeking to ban the practice known as dual-agency representation.

Assembly Bill 1059 was recently referred to the Assembly’s judiciary committee, but as of press time was not likely to be formally reviewed in a public hearing until January or February 2018 at the earliest.

Like most states, California has moved to require disclosures prior to deal closings that a broker represents both sides, but has not banned the practice outright.

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You can read the full article here, or by visiting the San Diego Business Journal webpage.