NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATION AFFECTING REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE: MANAGERS HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD AS THE BROKER!

Under Section 440(6) of Article 12-A of the Real Property Law in New York State,

“Office manager” means a licensed associate real estate broker who shall by choice elect to work as an office manager under the name and supervision of another individual broker or another broker who is licensed under a partnership, trade name, limited liability company or corporation. Such individual shall retain his or her license as a real estate broker as provided for in this article; provided, however, that the practice of real estate sales and brokerage by such individual as an associate broker shall be governed exclusively by the provisions of this article as they pertain to real estate salesmen. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall preclude an individual who is licensed as an associate broker who elects to work as an office manager from also retaining a separate real estate broker’s license under an individual, partnership, trade name, limited liability company or corporation.

Governor Hochul recently signed into law an amendment to this Section (S.2157-A/A.6355) which now requires office managers in a real estate brokerage office to be active in the real estate industry for two of the four years preceding their appointment and in what would appear to be a major change in practice and procedure, an office manager is required to supervise salespersons and associate brokers. This amendment, effective immediately, holds managers to the same standards as real estate brokers and ensures that proper oversight is given over real estate agents whether those agents are working in the main office location or a branch office. The justification of the legislation is to specifically address what is perceived to be a lack of oversight over agents by office managers which can manifest itself with agents who are not properly trained and supervised in their behavior, performance, and compliance with fair housing regulations. This is just one of many recent fair housing bills to combat discrimination in the real estate marketplace. ?

The Fair Housing Agencies such as the NYS Division of Human Rights and the NYC Commission on Human Rights and the Licensing Enforcement Division of the NYS Department of State are armed with this new legislation to hold office managers to the exact same standards as real estate brokers which can result in monetary fines and license suspension or revocation. During the Senate Hearings at the end of 2020 pertaining to the Newsday report on fair housing abuses, it was evident the State Senators were concerned that real estate firms with multiple branch offices did not conduct proper oversight of their agents; this legislation was enacted to combat this perception. Office managers are well advised to understand the tasks and potential risks they are about to undertake…so direct yourself accordingly.

?Submitted by Alfred M. Fazio, Esq. of Capuder Fazio Giacoia LLP.?Visit our website at CFGNY.com for copies of recent articles as well as other areas of interest to the real estate community.?If you would like to be added to our mailing list and receive future articles, please click the link below. https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=qgisqkiab&p=oi&m=1108454482128

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