§ 61-2f-401. Grounds for disciplinary action.

     The following acts are unlawful for a person licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter:

(1)

(a) making a substantial misrepresentation;

(b) making an intentional misrepresentation;

(c) pursuing a continued and flagrant course of misrepresentation;

(d) making a false representation or promise through an agent, sales agent, advertising, or otherwise; or

(e) making a false representation or promise of a character likely to influence, persuade, or induce;

(2) acting for more than one party in a transaction without the informed consent of the parties;

(3)

(a) acting as an associate broker or sales agent while not affiliated with a principal broker;

(b) representing or attempting to represent a principal broker other than the principal broker with whom the person is affiliated; or

(c) representing as sales agent or having a contractual relationship similar to that of sales agent with a person other than a principal broker;

(4)

(a) failing, within a reasonable time, to account for or to remit money that belongs to another and comes into the person's possession;

(b) commingling money described in Subsection (4)(a) with the person's own money; or

(c) diverting money described in Subsection (4)(a) from the purpose for which the money is received;

(5) paying or offering to pay valuable consideration, as defined by the commission, to a person not licensed under this chapter, except that valuable consideration may be shared:

(a) with a principal broker of another jurisdiction; or

(b) as provided under:

(i) Title 16, Chapter 10a, Utah Revised Business Corporation Act;

(ii) Title 16, Chapter 11, Professional Corporation Act; or

(iii) Title 48, Chapter 2c, Utah Revised Limited Liability Company Act, or Title 48, Chapter 3a, Utah Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, as appropriate pursuant to Section 48-3a-1405;

(6) being incompetent to act as a principal broker, associate broker, or sales agent in such manner as to safeguard the interests of the public;

(7) failing to voluntarily furnish a copy of a document to the parties before and after the execution of a document;

(8) failing to keep and make available for inspection by the division a record of each transaction, including:

(a) the names of buyers and sellers or lessees and lessors;

(b) the identification of real estate;

(c) the sale or rental price;

(d) money received in trust;

(e) agreements or instructions from buyers and sellers or lessees and lessors; and

(f) any other information required by rule;

(9) failing to disclose, in writing, in the purchase, sale, or rental of real estate, whether the purchase, sale, or rental is made for that person or for an undisclosed principal;

(10) being convicted of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude within five years of the most recent application:

(a) regardless of whether the criminal offense is related to real estate; and

(b) including:

(i) a conviction based upon a plea of nolo contendere; or

(ii) a plea held in abeyance to a criminal offense involving moral turpitude;

(11) advertising the availability of real estate or the services of a licensee in a false, misleading, or deceptive manner;

(12) in the case of a principal broker or a licensee who is a branch manager, failing to exercise reasonable supervision over the activities of the principal broker's or branch manager's licensed or unlicensed staff;

(13) violating or disregarding:

(a) this chapter;

(b) an order of the commission; or

(c) the rules adopted by the commission and the division;

(14) breaching a fiduciary duty owed by a licensee to the licensee's principal in a real estate transaction;

(15) any other conduct which constitutes dishonest dealing;

(16) unprofessional conduct as defined by statute or rule;

(17) having one of the following suspended, revoked, surrendered, or cancelled on the basis of misconduct in a professional capacity that relates to character, honesty, integrity, or truthfulness:

(a) a real estate license, registration, or certificate issued by another jurisdiction; or

(b) another license, registration, or certificate to engage in an occupation or profession issued by this state or another jurisdiction;

(18) failing to respond to a request by the division in an investigation authorized under this chapter, including:

(a) failing to respond to a subpoena;

(b) withholding evidence; or

(c) failing to produce documents or records;

(19) in the case of a dual licensed title licensee as defined in Section 31A-2-402:

(a) providing a title insurance product or service without the approval required by Section 31A-2-405; or

(b) knowingly providing false or misleading information in the statement required by Subsection 31A-2-405(2);

(20) violating an independent contractor agreement between a principal broker and a sales agent or associate broker as evidenced by a final judgment of a court; or

(21)

(a) engaging in an act of loan modification assistance that requires licensure as a mortgage officer under Chapter 2c, Utah Residential Mortgage Practices and Licensing Act, without being licensed under that chapter;

(b) engaging in an act of foreclosure rescue without entering into a written agreement specifying what one or more acts of foreclosure rescue will be completed;

(c) inducing a person who is at risk of foreclosure to hire the licensee to engage in an act of foreclosure rescue by:

(i) suggesting to the person that the licensee has a special relationship with the person's lender or loan servicer; or

(ii) falsely representing or advertising that the licensee is acting on behalf of:

(A) a government agency;

(B) the person's lender or loan servicer; or

(C) a nonprofit or charitable institution; or

(d) recommending or participating in a foreclosure rescue that requires a person to:

(i) transfer title to real estate to the licensee or to a third-party with whom the licensee has a business relationship or financial interest;

(ii) make a mortgage payment to a person other than the person's loan servicer; or

(iii) refrain from contacting the person's:

(A) lender;

(B) loan servicer;

(C) attorney;

(D) credit counselor; or

(E) housing counselor.

Amended by Chapter 412, 2013 General Session