California Real Estate Broker ExaminationReal Estate PracticeEasy
A real estate broker is negotiating a lease agreement for a commercial property. The landlord instructs the broker to only present offers from tenants who have been in business for at least five years and who are not of a specific ethnic origin. What should the broker do?
- APresent only offers that meet both criteria, as the landlord is the client.
- BPresent all offers but advise the landlord to only consider those meeting the business tenure requirement.
- CPresent all offers, but secretly filter out those from the specified ethnic origin.
- DInform the landlord that both conditions violate fair housing laws and refuse to comply.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Inform the landlord that both conditions violate fair housing laws and refuse to comply.
The broker has an ethical and legal obligation to uphold fair housing laws. Discriminating based on ethnic origin is illegal, and the broker must refuse to participate in such discriminatory practices.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Complying with discriminatory instructions is a violation of fair housing laws and professional ethics.
- B. Advising the landlord to discriminate, even subtly, still involves the broker in illegal activity.
- C. Secretly discriminating is still discrimination and is illegal and unethical.
Fair Housing Laws (Broker Duty)
Real estate brokers have a legal and ethical duty to adhere to fair housing laws, prohibiting discrimination in housing transactions based on protected characteristics.
- Applies to sales, rentals, and financing.
- Protects against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.
- Brokers cannot comply with discriminatory instructions from clients.
Memory trick: Always steer towards fairness, never away from the law.