Glossary / Commissions and splits
Also known as: Open agency listing, non-exclusive listing
An open listing is a non-exclusive agreement in which a property owner lets several brokers market the same space and pays a commission only to the broker who actually brings the tenant or buyer. If the owner finds the party alone, no commission is owed.
An open listing is the least restrictive way an owner can hire brokers. According to Barnes Walker's legal glossary, it is a non-exclusive agreement that "allows multiple brokers or agents to market a property, with commission paid only to the agent who successfully brings a buyer." Wikipedia's entry on listing contracts describes the same structure as an "open agency" listing, where the owner can sign with more than one brokerage at the same time.
In commercial leasing, the same idea applies to space for lease: several brokers may show the space, and the landlord pays whichever one produces the tenant who signs. Compare this with an Exclusive agency listing, where one brokerage is engaged but the owner can still find a tenant alone without paying, and with a full exclusive listing, where the broker is paid no matter who finds the tenant.
An open listing gives you the least protection of any listing type. Barnes Walker notes that if the owner locates the buyer independently, "no commission is owed at all," and the broker earns compensation only if they procure the deal. That means you can spend time and marketing money on a space and earn nothing if another broker, or the owner, closes first.
Because several brokers can claim the same tenant, disputes over who earned the fee often turn on Procuring cause, which is a legal question where rules vary by state and by contract. When the fee is uncertain, so is the timing: you cannot count on a commission until a written agreement names you as the broker entitled to it.
On an open listing, get a written registration or commission agreement that names your tenant before you tour, so your claim does not rest on procuring cause alone.
