Expired Listings, Protection Periods and Commission Disputes at Closing

Published October 10, 2026 · Recalde & Friedman, PLLC · For real estate agents

The expiration date is required

Every written listing agreement in Florida must have a definite expiration date. It may not require the seller to notify the broker of an intent to cancel after that date (§ 475.25(1)(r), Fla. Stat.). After the listing expires, the broker's rights come from whatever the agreement says survives expiration, usually a protection period.

Protection (tail) periods

Most listing agreements say the seller still owes the commission if, within a set time after expiration, the seller sells to a buyer who was introduced to the property during the listing. These clauses come from contract, not statute, so their wording controls. Points to check:

• Length of the protection period.
• Which buyers it covers: anyone who saw the property, or only buyers on a written list delivered to the seller by a deadline?
• Re-listing. Does it end, or shrink, if the seller signs a new exclusive listing with another broker? If it doesn't, the seller could owe two commissions.
• Trigger. Is it a sale that closes during the period, or a contract signed during the period?

Early termination

A seller who wants out early has whatever termination rights the agreement grants, such as a release, a "withdrawal" with conditions, or a cancellation fee. A termination should be in writing and signed, and it should say whether the protection period still applies. A seller's email saying "I'm done" leaves most of those questions open.

When a former broker claims a commission at closing

For residential property, chapter 475 doesn't give a broker a lien on the seller's proceeds. The commercial lien law described below excludes property with one to four units and condominium units. The closing agent isn't a party to the listing agreement. It disburses under the contract, the parties' written instructions and the settlement statement the seller signs. If a prior broker sends a demand, the closing agent will typically bring it to the seller's attention, but it won't decide who is right. Before closing, the seller and the broker can resolve it by agreement, for example a written payment or a holdback the seller authorizes. Otherwise it gets resolved outside the closing.

REALTORS® and many MLS participants must still arbitrate or mediate commission disputes with each other. NAR's FAQs say procuring cause remains relevant even without MLS offers of compensation.

Commercial property: the commission lien act

For commercial real estate (as defined in § 475.701), Florida's Commercial Real Estate Sales Commission Lien Act gives a broker with a written brokerage agreement a lien on the owner's net proceeds, not on the real property itself (§ 475.703). In outline:

• The broker must have told the owner about the lien rights when the agreement was signed.
• The closing agent must hold back the claimed amount if a sworn commission notice was delivered to it before disbursement, or had been recorded for at least 60 days, or the closing agent actually knows of a recorded notice (§ 475.709).
• If the owner disputes the commission, the closing agent pays only the undisputed part. If the owner and broker haven't agreed in writing within 5 days after closing and no lawsuit has been filed, the closing agent must ask a court to decide, by interpleader or otherwise (§ 475.711). If the owner neither confirms nor disputes within 5 days, the commission is treated as confirmed. A settlement statement signed by the owner that shows the commission also counts as confirmation.

A broker paid by the buyer in a commercial deal doesn't get that lien. That broker can give notice of the right to payment to the closing agent and the parties (§ 475.719).

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