§ 20-320 — Suspension or revocation of license or registration. Fines.

Connecticut § 20-320

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 20: Professional and Occupational Licensing, Certification, Title Protection and Registration. Examining Boards
• Ch. 392: Real Estate Licensees

Text

(a) The department may investigate the actions of any person who engages in the real estate business or offers real estate courses within this state. The commission or department may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke any license or registration issued under the provisions of this chapter and, in addition to or in lieu of such suspension or revocation, may, in the commission's or department's discretion, impose a fine of not more than five thousand dollars per violation at any time when, after proceedings as provided in section 20-321, the commission or department finds that the real estate licensee has by false or fraudulent misrepresentation obtained a license or registration or that the real estate licensee has: (1) Made any material misrepresentation; (2) made any false promise of a character likely to influence, persuade or induce; (3) acted as an agent for more than one party in a transaction without the knowledge of all parties for whom the real estate licensee acted; (4) represented, or attempted to represent, a real estate broker, other than the real estate licensee's affiliated or supervising licensee, without the express knowledge and consent of such real estate licensee's affiliated or supervising licensee; (5) failed, within a reasonable time, to account for or remit any moneys which came into the real estate licensee's possession and which belong to others; (6) entered into an exclusive listing contract or buyer agency contract which contains a fixed termination date if such contract also provides for an automatic continuation of the period of such contract beyond such date; (7) failed to deliver immediately a copy of any instrument to any party or parties executing such instrument, where such instrument has been prepared by the real estate licensee or under such real estate licensee's supervision and where such instrument relates to the employment of such real estate licensee or to any matters pertaining to the consummation of a lease, or the purchase, sale or exchange of real property or any other type of real estate transaction in which such real estate licensee may participate as a real estate licensee; (8) been convicted, in a court of competent jurisdiction, of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, larceny, extortion, conspiracy to defraud or a similar offense, provided suspension or revocation under this subdivision shall be subject to the provisions of section 46a-80; (9) collected compensation or a commission in advance of services to be performed and failed, upon demand of the person who paid such compensation or commission, to render an accounting of the use of such compensation or commission; (10) commingled funds of others with the real estate licensee's own funds, or failed to keep funds of others in an escrow or trust account; (11) engaged in any act or conduct which constitutes dishonest, fraudulent or improper dealings; (12) failed to provide the disclosures required by section 20-325c; or (13) violated any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted under this chapter. Any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Real Estate Guaranty Fund established pursuant to section 20-324a. (b) No person shall be relieved of responsibility for the conduct or actions of such person's agents, employees or officers by reason of such person's compliance with the provisions of this chapter. No person who engages in the real estate business shall be relieved of responsibility for such person's own conduct or actions by reason of such person's employment by, or association with, any real estate licensee or development owner.

Legislative History

(1953, 1955, S. 2348d; 1957, P.A. 39; 1963, P.A. 100; 1967, P.A. 460, S. 9; P.A. 74-286, S. 1, 3; P.A. 76-26, S. 1, 3; 76-168, S. 2, 4; P.A. 77-614, S. 227, 610; P.A. 83-512, S. 2; P.A. 88-329, S. 10, 15; P.A. 89-347, S. 2; P.A. 90-332, S. 14, 32; P.A. 91-229, S. 11, 19; P.A. 93-354, S. 15, 54; P.A 94-36, S. 41, 42; 94-240, S. 2, 14; P.A. 98-10, S. 16; P.A. 99-231, S. 3, 7; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 16-185, S. 29; P.A. 23-84, S. 17.) History: 1963 act added Subdiv. (12); 1967 act amended Subdiv. (12) to make violation of any provision of chapter grounds for revocation or suspension and updated statute deleting references to “commissioner” and substituting “commission”; P.A. 74-286 rewrote Subdiv. (8), replacing convictions within 10 years with convictions within 5 years as ground for suspension or revocation of license and adding “confinement, or probation or parole for such conviction, within five years ...” as ground for suspension or revocation; P.A. 76-26 added provision allowing imposition of fine in addition to or in lieu of suspension or revocation of license for first offense; P.A. 76-168 deleted the words “in performing or attempting to perform any of the actions enumerated in section 20-311”, immediately before Subdiv. (1) and revised Subdiv. (8) limiting suspension or revocation for license for conviction as provided in Sec. 4-61o (later transferred to Sec. 46a-80) rather than using 5-year period as measure of applicability and deleting reference to confinement, probation or parole as measure of applicability; P.A. 77-614 transferred investigatory power from commission to consumer protection department, acting on commission's request and referred in Subdiv. (12) to regulations “under this chapter” rather than to regulations of commission, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 83-512 increased the maximum fine from $500 to $1,000; P.A. 88-329 made grounds for suspension or revocation of license and fines for brokers and salesmen applicable to real estate appraisers and residential appraisers, effective July 1, 1989; P.A. 89-347 inserted new Subdiv. (12) re failure to provide the disclosures required by Sec. 20-325c, renumbering former Subdiv. as (13); P.A. 90-332 amended section to include references to the real estate appraisal commission and provisions re certification for general certified and residential certified appraisers; P.A. 91-229 deleted all references to general certified and residential certified appraisers and made technical corrections; P.A. 93-354 deleted references to real estate appraisers, real estate appraisal commission and certification throughout section, effective in accordance with Sec. 20-528; P.A. 94-36 changed effective date of P.A. 93-354 but without affecting this section; P.A. 94-240 made certain changes to the text to make it more gender neutral and increased the maximum fine from $1,000 to $2,000, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 98-10 made technical changes; P.A. 99-231 added provision that fines collected pursuant to section shall be deposited into Real Estate Guaranty Fund, effective June 29, 1999; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Department of Consumer Protection with Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 16-185 added provision re suspension or revocation of license or imposition of fine by commission to be proposed final decision and submitted to commissioner, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 23-84 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and substantially amended same by incorporating references to persons offering real estate courses, substituting references to real estate licensees for references to real estate brokers and real estate salespersons, increasing maximum amount of fine from not more than $2,000 to not more than $5,000 per violation and made technical and conforming changes and added Subsec. (b) re responsibility of person for conduct of person's agent, employee or officer and person's continuing responsibility despite person's employment by, or association with, real estate licensee or development owner, effective April 1, 2024. Commission has jurisdiction to revoke broker's license pursuant to section only if he is acting in his capacity as broker, i.e. performing or attempting to perform “for another and for a fee”. 169 C. 445. Cited. 177 C. 515; 213 C. 612. Cited. 7 CA 120; 14 CA 46; 25 CA 51; 37 CA 777. Cited. 26 CS 193.