Spotting legal risks before they escalate
Florida Realtors General Counsel Juana Watkins warned that routine advertising, screening and customer communications can create lawsuits or ethics complaints even when they do not lead to regulatory discipline. She urged Realtors to understand overlapping rules and seek guidance before acting in legal gray areas.
What might feel like a routine advertisement, rental screening decision or response to a customer can expose a real estate professional to far more than a regulatory warning, said Juana Watkins, Florida Realtors® general counsel and vice president of law and policy.
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Speaking at the recent Florida Real Estate Legal Summit, Watkins warned that the line between conduct that is legal and conduct that could create financial liability is not always clear.
Obvious misconduct might be easy to recognize, she said, but questions involving advertising, fair housing, assistance animals, copyrighted materials and customer communications often fall into shades of gray.
“There is no place where the line is thinner between legal and liable than advertising,” Watkins said at the summit, which was sponsored by Florida Realtors.
An agent’s conduct could be examined by several entities and under different standards, including the Florida Real Estate Commission, civil courts, government agencies and local Realtor® association professional standards panels. A decision that does not lead to license discipline could still result in a lawsuit, fair housing complaint or Code of Ethics complaint.
Advertising creates particular risk
Advertising is one of the most common points of exposure because it reaches customers publicly and is viewed by attorneys, regulators, fair housing testers and others, Watkins said.
Words intended to save applicants time or explain screening policies can unintentionally create a barrier. Rental advertising that says “no felons,” “no criminal history” or uses similar blanket restrictions could lead to allegations that the policy disproportionately excludes certain groups.
Rather than announcing who will not qualify, Watkins said agents should explain that all applicants are subject to the same screening process or direct them to the appropriate person for information about an association’s application procedures.
Agents should also understand the laws and ordinances that apply where they are working. A real estate license allows an agent to practice throughout Florida, but local fair housing protections and enforcement procedures can vary.
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” Watkins said, urging agents who enter an unfamiliar market to research the rules that apply there.
The same caution applies when agents choose where and how to advertise. A social media platform’s format or character limit does not excuse an advertisement that omits necessary information or creates a fair housing concern. If a platform does not provide enough room to advertise properly, Watkins said, it might not be the right place for that message.
A rule change does not erase liability
Watkins also cautioned agents against assuming that a change in federal policy or enforcement eliminates legal exposure. Fair housing matters still involve state law, local ordinances, the Realtor Code of Ethics and private lawsuits.
An agent could avoid license discipline yet still face a civil claim, she said. That distinction applies to applicant screening, assistance-animal requests, advertising and other areas where several laws or standards overlap.
Recurring risks also include copyrighted photographs and telephone or text-message marketing. Watkins described a business that initially faced a claim involving one photograph but ultimately paid more than $200,000 after the lawsuit expanded into a broader review of its practices.
Ask before acting
Watkins urged Realtors to seek guidance before an uncertain situation becomes a larger legal problem. Through the Florida Realtors Legal Hotline, members can talk through questions involving conflicting rules, advertising language, fair housing and other issues that arise in their businesses.
“The unasked question is the dangerous question,” she said.
Realtors do not need to memorize every law or anticipate every possible lawsuit. They do need to recognize when a seemingly routine decision falls into a gray area, pause and seek guidance before acting.
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