Glossary / Commissions and splits
Also known as: Exclusive agency agreement
An exclusive agency listing gives one broker the sole right to market a property, but lets the owner find a buyer or tenant directly without owing that broker a commission. It sits between an exclusive right listing and an open listing in how much it protects the broker.
Wikipedia explains that under an exclusive agency listing the owner "can only list the property with one brokerage" until the contract expires, and that a commission is due only if the property goes to a buyer obtained through that brokerage. UpCounsel says the broker is "only paid a commission if the property sells through their efforts." By contrast, under an exclusive right agreement the broker is paid even if the owner finds the buyer, and under an open listing the owner can hire several brokers at once. These sources describe sales, but the same structure can be written into a leasing Listing agreement.
This listing type creates one specific risk: a deal the owner sources pays you nothing. If the owner says a tenant came through its own contacts, whether you are owed a fee may depend on the agreement's wording and on who was the Procuring cause. Keeping a dated record of every prospect you introduce helps. The NYC Bar's model office brokerage agreement, for example, uses a pending list of prospects to decide which deals still earn a commission after the agreement ends.
The timing rules are otherwise the same as any listing: the agreement sets when the commission is payable and whether it comes in installments.
If you accept an exclusive agency listing, keep a written log of every prospect you introduce and send it to the owner regularly.
For example, suppose you market a space under a hypothetical exclusive agency listing for six months, and the landlord then signs a lease with a tenant it found on its own. Under an exclusive agency listing you would generally be owed nothing for that lease. Under an exclusive right listing with the same facts, a commission would be owed under the agreement's terms.
