A licensing complaint against a Florida real estate agent goes to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which can discipline the license but cannot recover money. Money takes a civil claim. Aaron Resnick, a Miami real estate attorney with Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, handles that claim. Aaron knows the law. He knows both sides. And he knows Miami.
Where Do I File a Complaint Against a Florida Real Estate Agent?
File it with the Division of Real Estate at the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), which licenses brokers and sales associates under chapter 475 of the Florida Statutes. DBPR takes complaints through an online form or a form sent by mail or fax. Aaron Resnick reads the facts against the license law before a client files.
What Can DBPR Do, and What Can It Not Do?
DBPR and the Florida Real Estate Commission act on the license. Under chapter 475 of the Florida Statutes, the commission may suspend or revoke a license, fine the licensee, place the licensee on probation or issue a reprimand. DBPR says it cannot enforce or cancel a contract, order restitution or recover money; those matters belong in court.
Aaron Resnick asks a client at the start which result the client wants, discipline or money, because the two run on separate tracks.
Is There a Deadline to File?
Yes. Under chapter 475 of the Florida Statutes, the state must file its administrative complaint against a broker or sales associate within five years after the act, or after it was discovered or should have been discovered. DBPR investigates first, so file early. Some civil deadlines are shorter, so Aaron Resnick identifies those dates first.
For a civil claim, Florida treats brokers and sales associates as professionals: a professional malpractice claim by a person in privity has two years from when it was or should have been discovered, and fraud and other claims have their own periods under chapter 95. Under chapter 95, a DBPR investigation does not by itself pause the deadline to sue.
In Miami, a smaller claim generally goes to Miami-Dade County Court and a larger one to the circuit court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
Can I Get My Money Back?
Not from DBPR. Money comes from a civil claim against the agent or the brokerage, for example for misrepresentation or a breach of the duties the agent owed you. The firm's page Suing a Real Estate Agent or Broker in Florida covers that lawsuit, and Aaron Resnick handles it.
Florida also has a Real Estate Recovery Fund. A claimant generally first needs a final judgment from a Florida civil court against an individual broker or sales associate, for a violation of the license law, and must show that the judgment cannot be collected.
The commission may waive that requirement when the licensee has died or when, after due diligence, a bankruptcy court's action keeps the claimant from getting a judgment. The fund does not pay a judgment against a brokerage company. Under chapter 475, payment is limited to $50,000 in the aggregate for claims arising from one transaction, and a claim on the fund has its own deadline.
What About the Agent's Realtor Association?
A Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) bound by its Code of Ethics; not every agent is one. An ethics complaint against a Realtor is filed through a local association where the Realtor holds membership or participates in a multiple listing service (MLS) the association owns or operates.
Aaron Resnick treats it as a third track: an association can impose ethics discipline, but NAR says it cannot require payment to the complainant or suspend or revoke a real estate license.
What Should I Have Ready?
Have the contracts and agreements you signed, the emails and text messages, the listings and advertisements, the proof of payments and deposit receipts, and the names of witnesses. Add the agent's license number from DBPR's license search. A short timeline of what the agent said and did helps Aaron Resnick organize the documents and deadlines.
What Real Estate Agent and Deposit Cases Has Aaron Resnick Handled?
The Real Deal reported on June 6, 2019 that Aaron Resnick represented the seller entity in a suit over an unpaid commission on a $26 million Coral Gables auction sale. In 2012 he represented four NFL players who sued the developer of the W South Beach condo hotel to recover their deposits.
The firm's representative matters page describes both. For other property disputes, see Miami Real Estate Litigation Lawyer for Property Disputes and the firm's Miami real estate lawyers page.
Send the parties, the problem and the next date; the firm reviews every inquiry and tells you whether it can help.
We Don't Make Promises. We Have Results to Prove It.
Aaron Resnick has handled business disputes in Miami since 1998 and is a fourth generation Miami attorney. He works hands-on on every case; the client gets Aaron on every major litigation issue, not a junior partner. The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick represents property owners, buyers, investors and co-owners in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and across Florida in real estate litigation and property disputes. Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
