Commission Claims Disputes

Disputes about whether commission is payable by an agent to a client are common and in a property context the claimant is usually an estate agent or property agent. A common issue that arises in these sorts of disputes is whether the agent was the effective cause of the transaction. This issue might arise where a purchaser was introduced by different agents.

Another issue that frequently arises in a claim made by a selling agent is whether he has complied with the Estate Agents Act 1979. Of course not all claims are made by selling agents. Agents are also instructed to introduce properties to clients and sometimes negotiate the price.

This is fairly common if a client is interested in properties that are not on the open market. In this context disputes can arise in relation to unnamed or undisclosed principals.