Kansas BRRETA and Brokerage Relationships
Kansas defines brokerage relationships through the Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (BRRETA), including the distinctive transaction-broker relationship. This chapter covers the relationships, the transaction broker, and required disclosure.
The BRRETA Framework
BRRETA defines the relationships a Kansas licensee may have with a consumer—seller's agent, buyer's agent, designated agent, and transaction broker—and the duties owed in each. It replaces reliance on common-law agency alone and is central to Kansas practice, so licensees must understand which relationship applies and disclose it.
The Transaction Broker
A transaction broker assists a buyer, a seller, or both without being an agent or advocate for either party. The transaction broker owes duties such as honesty, reasonable skill and care, accounting for money, and disclosing adverse material facts, but not the loyalty of full agency. This relationship lets a licensee help both parties without the conflicts of dual agency.
Disclosure and Designated Agency
BRRETA requires the licensee to disclose the brokerage relationship to the consumer before the consumer shares confidential information or the licensee provides brokerage services. Under designated agency, a supervising broker may appoint one affiliated licensee to represent the seller and another to represent the buyer in the same transaction, giving each consumer full representation while the firm handles both sides.