§1431. Definitions
As used in this Chapter, the following words have the meaning ascribed to them in
this Section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Active licensee" means any currently licensed person whose license has not been
transferred to inactive status and who is authorized to act in the capacity of a real estate
broker or salesperson as provided for in this Chapter.
(2) "Agent" or "real estate agent" means a licensee acting in accordance with the
provisions of this Chapter in a real estate transaction.
(3) "Associate broker" means a person who holds a broker's license and who is
exclusively affiliated with and sponsored by another licensed real estate broker to participate
in any activity described in this Section.
(4) "Broker" or "real estate broker" means a licensed real estate broker performing
activities as an individual real estate broker, a sponsoring broker or designated qualifying
broker, or a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company which has been granted a
real estate license through a designated qualifying broker.
(5) "Buyer" means the transferee in a real estate transaction, and includes a person
who executes an offer to purchase or lease real estate from a seller, whether alone or through
an agent, or who seeks the services of an agent with the object of entering into a real estate
transaction. "Buyer" includes a lessee.
(6)(a) "Buyer agreement" means a written document signed by a broker and a buyer
detailing the services to be provided by the broker to the buyer.
(b) For the purposes of this Paragraph and R.S. 37:1448.4, the following terms shall
mean:
(i) "Buyer" means a person who utilizes the services of a real estate licensee in
connection with the purchase of, or the submission of an offer to purchase, a home or who
utilizes or seeks to utilize the services of a real estate licensee with the objective or purported
objective of entering into a contract to purchase a home.
(ii) "Home" means residential real property consisting of one or not more than four
residential dwelling units, which are buildings or structures each of which is occupied or
intended for occupancy as a single-family residence.
(7) "Buyer's agent" means a licensee who is employed by and represents only the
buyer in a real estate transaction, regardless of whether such agent's compensation is paid by
the buyer directly or by the seller through a commission split with the listing agent.
(8) "Client" means one who engages the professional advice and services of a
licensee as his agent and whose interests are protected by the specific duties and loyalties
imposed by that relationship.
(9) "Commingling" means putting personal funds and funds belonging to other
persons in one mass or mixing the funds together so they cannot be identified or
differentiated.
(10) "Commission" means the Louisiana Real Estate Commission unless used in the
context of compensation.
(11) "Dealing in options" means a person, firm, partnership, limited liability
company, association, or corporation directly or indirectly taking, obtaining, or using an
option to purchase, exchange, rent, or lease real property or any interest therein with the
intent or for the purpose of buying, selling, exchanging, renting, or leasing said real property
or interests therein to another or others, whether or not said option is in his name and whether
or not title to said property passes through the name of said person, firm, partnership, limited
liability company, association, or corporation in connection with the purchase, sale,
exchange, rental, or lease of such real property in interest.
(12) "Franchise agreement" means an agreement whereby one party, the franchisor,
authorizes a real estate broker, the franchisee, to use registered trademarks or other
advertising tools to create a common identity among several brokers nationally or regionally
for marketing purposes.
(13) "Inactive licensee" means any currently licensed person whose license has been
transferred to inactive status and who is not authorized to act in the capacity of a real estate
broker or salesperson as provided for in this Chapter.
(14) "Individual real estate broker" means a natural person licensed as a real estate
broker and does not mean a licensed corporation, limited liability company, or partnership
licensed as a real estate broker.
(15) "Licensee" means any person who has been issued a license by the commission
to participate in any activity described in this Section.
(16) "Listing agent" means an agent as defined by this Section who has obtained a
listing of real estate to act as an agent for compensation.
(17) "Listing agreement" means a written document signed by all owners of real
estate or their authorized attorney in fact authorizing a broker to offer or advertise real estate
described in such document for sale or lease on specified terms for a defined period of time.
A listing agreement shall only be valid if signed by all owners or their authorized attorney
in fact.
(18) "Mold" means any form of multicellular fungi that live on plant or animal
matter and in indoor or outdoor environments. Types of mold often found in water-damaged
building materials include but are not limited to cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria,
aspergillus, fuarim, trichoderma, memnoniella, mucor, and strachybotrys chartarum.
(19) "Net listing agreement" means a listing agreement that authorizes a broker to
take as his commission the difference between the higher sale price at which the real estate
property is sold and the stipulated net price agreed upon to be received by the seller.
(20) "Property management" means the marketing, leasing, or overall management
of real property for others for a fee, commission, compensation, or other valuable
consideration.
(21) "Property manager" means one who, for a fee, commission, or other valuable
consideration, manages real estate, including the collection of rents, supervision of property
maintenance, and accounting for fees received for another.
(22) "Qualifying broker" means the sponsoring broker for a licensed corporation,
limited liability company, or partnership and is the individual real estate broker designated
by a licensed corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, by resolution, as its
representative in all matters relating to its real estate business activities in Louisiana and in
administrative and regulatory matters before the commission.
(23) "Real estate" shall mean and include condominiums and leaseholds, as well as
any other interest in land, with the exceptions of oil, gas and other minerals and whether the
real estate is situated in this state or elsewhere.
(24) "Real estate activity" means any activity relating to any portion of a real estate
transaction performed for another by any person, partnership, limited liability company,
association, or corporation, foreign or domestic, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or
otherwise, who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration or with the intention,
in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other
valuable consideration:
(a) Sells, exchanges, purchases, manages, rents, or leases or negotiates the sale,
exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of real estate.
(b) Offers or attempts or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase,
management, rental, or leasing of real estate.
(c) Lists or offers or attempts or agrees to list for sale or lease any real estate or the
improvement thereon.
(d) Buys or offers to buy, sells or offers to sell, or otherwise deals in options on real
estate or the improvements thereon.
(e) Advertises or holds himself, itself, or themselves out as engaged in the business
of selling, exchanging, purchasing, managing, renting, or leasing real estate.
(f) Assists or directs in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation or closing of any
transaction, other than mortgage financing, which results or is calculated to result in the sale,
exchange, managing, leasing, or renting of any real estate, other than a provider of
information, ideas, and materials to guide homeowners in the sale of their own property.
(g) Is engaged in the business of charging an advance fee or contracting for
collection of a fee in connection with any contract whereby he undertakes primarily to
promote the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of real estate through its listing in a
publication issued primarily for such purpose, or for referral of information concerning such
real estate to brokers, or both.
(h)(i) Sells or attempts to sell or offers or attempts to negotiate the sale of any
business whose assets include real estate or leases of real estate.
(ii) Lists or offers or attempts or agrees to list for sale any business whose assets
include real estate or leases of real estate.
(25) "Real estate continuing education vendor" means any school, place, individual,
or institution certified by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission which offers courses or
seminars in real estate and related subjects to fulfill continuing education requirements for
license or certificate renewal purposes.
(26) "Real estate salesperson" means a person, other than an associate broker,
sponsored by a licensed real estate broker to participate in any activity described in this
Section.
(27) "Real estate school" includes any place or institution certified by the
commission which is open to the public for the instruction or training of individuals to
engage in the selling of real estate.
(28) "Real estate transaction" means the selling, offering for sale, buying, offering
to buy, soliciting for prospective purchasers, managing, offering to manage, leasing, offering
to lease, renting, or offering to rent any real estate or improvements thereon, or any business
or other entity whose assets include real estate or leases of real estate.
(29) "Seller" means the transferor in a real estate transaction, and includes an owner
who lists real estate with an agent, whether or not a transfer results, or who receives an offer
to purchase or lease real estate property of which he is the owner from an agent on behalf of
another. "Seller" includes a lessor.
(30) "Sponsoring broker" means any individual real estate broker who sponsors
associate brokers or real estate salespersons who participate in any activity described in this
Section.
(31) "Subagent" means a licensee, other than a listing agent or a buyer's agent, who
acts in cooperation with a listing agent in a real estate transaction.
(32) "Timeshare developer" means an individual, partnership, limited liability
company, corporation, or other legal entity, or the successor or assignee thereof, who creates
a timeshare plan or who is in the business of making sales of timeshare interests which it
owns or purports to own.
(33) "Timeshare interest salesperson" means a person who directly sells or offers to
sell any timeshare interest.
(34) "Timeshare registrant" means timeshare interest salespersons or timeshare
developers registered by the commission.