2.1 Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (BRRETA)

What BRRETA Is and Why It Controls

The Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (BRRETA) is found at Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) Title 10, Chapter 6A, sections 10-6A-1 through 10-6A-14. BRRETA is a statutory framework that displaces the older common law of agency in Georgia: O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-13(c) states that the duties and responsibilities listed in BRRETA are intended to replace common-law duties to the extent of any conflict. On the exam, when an answer choice relies on a vague 'fiduciary' theory that contradicts the statute, the statute wins.

BRRETA applies to brokerage relationships involving the sale, purchase, lease, rental, or exchange of real property. It does not, by itself, regulate license discipline (that is the Georgia Real Estate Commission's job under O.C.G.A. § 43-40); it defines relationships and duties.

Client vs. Customer: The Central Distinction

A verbal listing or a handshake does not create a client relationship in Georgia. Until a written engagement is signed, a member of the public who walks into your open house is a customer, and you owe that person only honest dealing and disclosure of adverse material facts about the property's physical condition.

The Six Statutory Broker Duties (O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-5)

Memorize these; the exam paraphrases them constantly:

1. Loyalty — promote the client's interests in good faith.
2. Timely presentation — present all offers and counteroffers promptly, even after a contract is signed, unless the client instructs otherwise in writing.
3. Disclosure of adverse material facts the broker knows about the property's physical condition.
4. Reasonable skill and care.
5. Account for and keep client funds (such as earnest money) properly in a designated trust/escrow account.
6. Comply with BRRETA and all other applicable laws.

Worked Scenario

A prospect tells an agent at an open house, 'I can go up to $310,000 but I want to start at $280,000.' If the agent has a written buyer-engagement with that prospect, the price ceiling is confidential and must be protected. If the agent represents the seller and the prospect is only a customer, the agent must still deal honestly, but may use that volunteered information for the seller-client's benefit — which is exactly why disclosure of who you represent must come before the customer shares strategy.

Exam Tip: 'Ministerial acts' (showing property, supplying public-record data, presenting an offer without advice) performed for a customer never create an agency relationship and never breach a duty owed to an actual client.

Creating, Disclosing, and Timing the Relationship

When disclosure is required

BRRETA does not impose a single 'first substantive contact' magic moment for all disclosure. The controlling rule (O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-9) is that a broker who has a brokerage relationship with one client must disclose that relationship to the other party (and to the other broker) when negotiations begin or when the broker shows the client's property — in practice, before the other party discloses confidential information. The widely used Georgia Association of REALTORS® 'Brokerage Engagement / Agency Disclosure' form satisfies this in writing.

Required content of a brokerage engagement

A written brokerage engagement (listing or buyer-representation agreement) must be intelligible and should specify:

Termination and confidentiality after closing

BRRETA's confidentiality duty (O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-5(b)(1)) survives termination of the relationship: a broker may not, after the engagement ends, knowingly disclose information that the former client asked to be kept confidential, unless the client consents or disclosure is required by law. Two things expressly do not breach confidentiality: disclosing the existence of offers already presented, and complying with a court order.

Common Traps

• An expired engagement does not keep the client relationship alive; the party reverts to customer status.
• Performing ministerial acts for the other side does not make you a dual agent.
• 'Adverse material facts' under BRRETA are about the physical condition of the property — not psychological 'stigma,' which is governed separately (covered in 2.3).