REAL ESTATE COMMISSION 11:5-5.1
(f) When a branch office license is issued to a broker it shall specifically set forth the name of the broker and the address of the branch office, and shall be conspicuously displayed at all times in the branch office. The branch office shall also prominently display the name of the broker-salesperson licensee in charge as “office supervisor” and the names of all other licensees doing business at that branch office.
(g) The said branch office license shall be returned for cancellation or correction upon the change of an “office supervisor”.
As amended, R.1983 d.471, effective November 7, 1983. See: 15 N.J.R. 1343(a), 15 N.J.R. 1865(c). Correct N.J.A.C. citations added. Amended by R.1985 d.187, effective April 15, 1985. See: 16 N.J.R. 2228(a), 17 N.J.R. 970(a). (f): Substantially amended. Amended by R.1989 d.428, effective August 21, 1989 (operative February 21, 1990). See: 21 N.J.R. 1313(a), 21 N.J.R. 2523(a). Required that branch offices be supervised by broker-salespersons. Amended by R.1995 d.23, effective January 17, 1995. See: 26 N.J.R 3111(a), 27 N.J.R. 370(a). Amended by R.1998 d.497, effective October 5, 1998. See: 30 N.J.R. 2333(a), 30 N.J.R. 3646(a). In (a), changed the N.J.A.C. reference and deleted “of this subchapter” from the end. Amended by R.2012 d.006, effective January 3, 2012. See: 43 N.J.R. 1791(a), 44 N.J.R. 86(b). In (b), inserted “referral agent, a” and inserted “a” preceding “broker- salesperson”; and in (f), substituted “licensees” for “broker-salespersons and the salespersons”.
SUBCHAPTER 5. TRUST ACCOUNTS/RECORDS OF BROKERAGE ACTIVITY
11:5-5.1 Special accounts for funds of others; commingling
(a) Every resident real estate broker shall establish and maintain, in an authorized financial institution in New Jersey, and every reciprocally licensed Real Estate broker shall establish and maintain in an authorized financial institution in New Jersey or the State wherein he has a resident real estate broker’s license, a special account or special accounts, separate and apart from other business or personal accounts, for the deposit of all moneys or others received by the broker acting in said capacity, or as escrow agent, or as temporary custodian, in a real estate transaction.
(b) Every real estate broker shall file with the broker’s application for licensure or license renewal an affidavit or certificate setting forth the name or names of the financial institution or institutions where said special account or accounts have been established and shall identify any and all account numbers. Any change in an existing account or the establishment of any new account shall be immediately reported to the Real Estate Commission in the form of an affidavit or certification.
(c) In construing N.J.S.A. 45:15-17(o), the following shall be considered to constitute commingling by a licensee:
1. Mingling the money of his principals with his own;
2. Failure to maintain and deposit promptly in a special account in an authorized financial institution, separate and apart from personal or other business accounts, all moneys received by a real estate broker acting in said capacity, or as escrow agent, or as the temporary custodian of the funds of others in a real estate transaction; or
3. Failure to promptly segregate any moneys received which are to be held for the benefit of others.
(d) Where the nature of a given real estate transaction is such that the commissions earned by a broker in connection with services rendered in said transaction are included among the funds deposited to the broker’s trust account, the portion of such funds deposited to the broker’s trust account which constitute the broker’s commission shall be promptly paid from the trust account, with appropriate annotations to the broker’s business records to indicate the amount and source of such commissions; provided, however, that such broker shall have been previously authorized to make such disbursement.
(e) Within the meaning of this section, the word “promptly” means not more than five business days next following the receipt of the money or property of another. However, where monies are received by a licensee as provided in (c)2 above as a good faith or earnest money deposit accompanying an offer to buy or lease property, if during the five business day period next following the date of the licensee’s receipt of those funds the offer is withdrawn prior to acceptance by the offeree or is rejected with no counteroffer made by the offeree, the licensee need not deposit those funds into an escrow or trust account but may, upon the request of the offerer, return them in the same form in which they were received to the offerer. In all other cases, the licensee must deposit such monies within five business days of receipt. Examples of such cases include transactions where negotiations are ongoing, or if a contract or lease is being reviewed by an attorney, or if subsequently to the rejection of an offer the offerer has requested the licensee to retain the monies in the event that the offerer determines to submit another offer on the same or a different property.
(f) The maintenance of clearly nominal amounts of the licensee’s funds in trust accounts solely to provide continuity in such account or to meet bank service charges shall not be construed to be commingling.
(g) Where any law or governmental regulation compels maintenance of a fixed amount of the funds of a licensee is a trust account for the purpose of providing a safety factor, the maintenance of such fixed amount shall not be construed to be commingling.
(h) Every person licensed as a broker of record or as a sole proprietor broker shall be a signatory on the escrow or trust account(s) of their brokerage firm. Only individuals who are actively licensed by the Commission as a real estate broker-