Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation

Who sets the fee?

Commissions are negotiable; Florida law sets no commission rate. A brokerage may independently set its pricing and negotiate with customers. Competing brokers must not agree to fix rates, divide markets, rig bids, or organize an unlawful group boycott. The Sherman Act prohibits agreements restraining interstate trade. Florida also has an antitrust act. Independent pricing is different from coordinated restraint.

Who pays the associate?

A Florida sales associate receives compensation only from the employing broker. Collecting transaction funds for the employer is different: collection must be in the employer's name and with express consent. An associate's compensation action may be brought against the person registered as employer when the services were performed, not the customer. Independent contractor status does not change this.

What secures a commission?

Florida's commercial sales commission lien reaches the owner's net proceeds, not the real estate. The commercial lien acts do not apply to ordinary residential sales. A buyer-paid broker does not acquire the owner's proceeds lien through the buyer's payment agreement.

A commercial leasing lien reaches the obligated owner's interest: the landlord's interest if the landlord owes, or the tenant's leasehold if the tenant owes. It belongs to the named broker, not the associate. Earned and payable are separate; a failed payment condition can prevent enforcement. Record a leasing lien no later than the earlier of 90 days after tenant possession or the obligated owner's recorded transfer to a bona fide purchaser for value. Deliver a copy within seven days after recording. Priority dates from recording, not the brokerage agreement. These are study distinctions, not a complete filing checklist for a live lien dispute.