Commercial Lien Laws
Newscenter
Background
In reaction to the problem of commercial brokers completing a commercial lease or sales transaction that is subject to a listing or commission agreement, only to receive a portion of the agreed upon fee, or sometimes no fee at all, commercial brokers have sought the statutory right to place a lien on the property in question as a means to ensure the commission would be paid.
These laws are intended to allow a commercial broker to obtain and foreclose upon a lien as a legal remedy against a property if the buyer/seller or lessee/lessor fails to pay the broker the agreed upon commission, as their interests in the real property may apply. Litigation to recover fees often consumes the entire fee the broker earned and would have been paid, and is not always swift. This process is to the detriment of the real estate brokerages and commissioned agents involved in the transaction.
