Committee urges quick education on open‑house rules after license‑law changes

Advisory members agreed the recent representation rule changes have produced a wave of questions about open houses, particularly when an agent from one brokerage hosts an open house for a listing held by another firm.

Several members said the practical guidance needs to be simple and widely distributed. Chance, citing instructor training materials, said the current instruction to trainers is that ‘‘if you're hosting an openhouse for another brokerage, every single person that walks through that door has to sign the showing form.’’ That requirement, members said, triggers a showing‑form and IABS disclosure in many open‑house scenarios when the person conducting the open house does not represent the seller.

Members also raised insurance and advertising issues: brokers warned their E&O policies may not cover agents who host open houses outside the sponsoring brokerage and expressed concern about yard signs and yard flags that advertise a different brand. The committee asked staff and partners to create short, scenario‑driven videos and plain‑language guidance to help brokers and agents comply with the new practices and to consider whether further written guidance or rule clarification is needed.