Agency Relationships in Mississippi
Mississippi law requires clear disclosure of who a broker represents and defines the recognized brokerage relationships. This chapter explains the agency disclosure, client duties, and dual agency.
Agency Disclosure
Mississippi requires the licensee to provide the agency disclosure form at first substantive contact concerning a specific property, before confidential information is exchanged. The form identifies whether the licensee is acting as a seller's agent, a buyer's agent, or a disclosed dual agent. Early disclosure lets consumers understand representation before revealing negotiating information.
Duties to Clients and Customers
A licensee who represents a client owes agency duties including loyalty, obedience to lawful instructions, confidentiality, reasonable care, accounting, and disclosure of material facts. Toward a customer who is not a client, the licensee still owes honesty and disclosure of known material defects. These duties frame how the licensee negotiates and advises in a transaction.
Dual Agency
Mississippi permits disclosed dual agency, in which the same broker represents both the seller and the buyer, only with the informed written consent of both parties. Because a dual agent cannot fully advocate for either side, the licensee must keep each party's confidential information from the other. Consent is documented in the agency disclosure and representation agreements.