Guides / Buyer-Agent Agreements / Florida

Buyer-Agent Agreements in Florida

Florida has NOT passed its own state statute codifying buyer-agent representation agreement requirements. Unlike Texas (SB 1968) and California (AB 2992), which enacted state legislation, Florida relies purely on the national NAR settlement's practice changes as implemented through MLS participation rules — the same approach as New York. Florida Realtors' own official guidance states explicitly: "There are no new laws. NAR made rule changes for members, effective last August [2024]." Florida's pre-existing brokerage relationship disclosure statute (Fla. Stat. 475.278) was last substantively amended in 2009 and is unrelated to the NAR settlement — it governs general single-agent/transaction-broker disclosure duties and does not mandate a written buyer-broker agreement before showings or address compensation-cap/disclosure rules. Checked both the 2025 and 2026 Florida legislative sessions: no bill codifying NAR-settlement-style buyer agreement requirements passed in either session (a related transparency bill, HB 805/SB 1770 "Access to Fair and Transparent Real Estate Listings Act," died in committee in 2025; the 2026 session's real estate bills covered rental fraud, property tax disclosure, and permitting — not buyer agreements). The operative requirement in Florida is the national NAR settlement rule, effective August 17, 2024 (MLSs had until September 16, 2024 to implement), enforced through MLS participation rules rather than state law.

Requirements

Written agreement required before touring: MLS Participants working with a buyer must enter into a written buyer agreement before touring any home (defined as when the buyer and/or agent physically enter the house) — this is an MLS participation rule, not a state law requirement, so it technically doesn't bind non-MLS-member licensees the way a statute would.
Specific, objectively ascertainable compensation disclosure: the agreement must conspicuously disclose the exact amount or rate of the buyer broker's compensation; open-ended or range-based figures (e.g., 'between X% and Y%') are prohibited.
Compensation cap/no-exceeding clause: the agreement must state the broker may not receive compensation from any source (including seller concessions) that exceeds the amount/rate agreed to with the buyer.
Negotiability disclosure: a conspicuous statement that broker commissions 'are not set by law and are fully negotiable' must be included.
No MLS advertising of buyer-broker compensation: offers of buyer-agent compensation can no longer be listed on the MLS; compensation must be negotiated directly and off-MLS between buyer and broker/seller.
Defined scope and term: per Florida Realtors' updated Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement form (revised July 9, 2024), agreements must have clear start/end dates (cannot be open-ended), a defined geographic scope, and cannot overlap with another exclusive buyer agreement.

Facts on this page reflect research current as of 2026-07-05. Programs, rates, and laws change — confirm current figures with the relevant state agency before relying on them.

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