When someone has a dispute with a REALTOR® and believes there’s been a violation of the Code of Ethics, Texas REALTORS® provides a few options to address the problem. One option allows members of the public and other REALTORS® to file an anonymous ethics complaint for the following types of Code of Ethics violations:

Article 3

  • Failure to disclose existence of dual or variable rate commission.
  • Failure to disclose existence of accepted offers to any broker seeking cooperation.

Article 4

  • Failure to disclose REALTOR® interest in property being bought or sold.

Article 5

  • Providing professional service without disclosing interest in property.

Article 6

  • Accepting any commission, rebate, or profit on expenditures without client’s knowledge or consent.

Article 12

  • Failure to present a true picture in real estate communications and advertising.
  • Failure to disclose professional status in advertising and other representations.
  • Failure to disclose compensation from third party for services provided free to a client.
  • Advertisement offering to sell or lease property without authority of owner or listing broker.
  • Failure to disclose name of firm in advertisement of real estate services or listed property in any medium.
  • Failure to disclose status as both owner/landlord and REALTOR® or license holder when advertising property in which REALTOR® has ownership interest.
  • Falsely claiming to have sold property.
  • Registration or use of deceptive URL or domain name.

Article 14

  • Failure to cooperate in any professional standards proceeding or investigation requested by the association.

Article 16

  • Use of terms of an offer to modify listing broker’s offer of compensation.
  • Placement of for sale or for lease sign on property without permission of seller or landlord.

To file an anonymous complaint, take these steps:

  1. Make sure the person who is the subject of your complaint is a REALTOR®. Use the search tool available at eduftp.net/complaints.
  2. Make sure the complaint only cites a violation of one or more articles listed here. Anonymous complaints that contain any other article will be dismissed. Violations of articles not on this list cannot be made anonymously.
  3. Include the respondent’s full name.
  4. Provide evidence of the violation, such as photos or screenshots.
  5. Note the date of the incident.

Once filed, the respondent will be given 15 days to reply. A grievance tribunal will determine if there’s sufficient evidence to support the alleged violation.

If there is insufficient evidence, the complaint will be dismissed. If there’s sufficient evidence, the respondent will be issued a citation, which he or she can accept (and pay a fine and take mandatory ethics training, if applicable) or reject and request a full professional standards hearing.

Learn more about the ethics complaint process at eduftp.net/complaints.