California Real Estate SalespersonLaws of Agency and Fiduciary DutiesEasy
A broker takes a buyer as a client under a buyer representation agreement but is not the seller's agent. During negotiations, what duty, if any, does the buyer's agent owe to the unrepresented seller?
- AA duty of honesty and fair dealing, but not the fiduciary duties owed to the buyer
- BThe same fiduciary duties of loyalty and confidentiality owed to the buyer
- CNo duty at all, since the seller is not the agent's client
- DA duty to negotiate the lowest possible price for the seller
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. A duty of honesty and fair dealing, but not the fiduciary duties owed to the buyer
An agent owes full fiduciary duties (loyalty, confidentiality, undivided attention) only to their own client. Non-clients, however, are still owed a baseline duty of honesty and fair dealing under California law, including no misrepresentation or concealment of material facts.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Incorrect; fiduciary duties are reserved for the agent's own client, not the opposing party.
- C. Incorrect; agents always owe honesty and fair dealing to all parties, even non-clients.
- D. Incorrect; that would violate the agent's loyalty duty to the buyer, the actual client.
Duty to Non-Clients
An agent owes every party in a transaction honesty and fair dealing, but owes fiduciary duties (loyalty, confidentiality, obedience) only to their own client.
- Fiduciary duties are exclusive to the client relationship.
- Non-clients get honesty/fair dealing, not loyalty.
- Misrepresentation to a non-client is still actionable.
Memory trick: Clients get loyalty, everyone else just gets honesty.