Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) In any transaction in which a property
management licensee is involved as a licensee or as a party, has held self out
as a licensee, or in which any party has reasonably relied on a licensee's
status as a licensee, violation of any statute or rule administered by the
board may be considered by the board in determining whether or not the licensee
has failed to meet the generally accepted standards of practice.
(3) In addition to all
other provisions contained in the statutes and rules administered by the board,
the following are considered unprofessional conduct:
(a) failing to maintain a level of knowledge
customary for licensees of this state, including laws and rules administered by
the board;
(b) violating laws and
rules affecting any transaction in which the licensee acts;
(c) engaging in activities that constitute
the practice of law;
(d) engaging
the services of any attorney, insurance agent, maintenance service, or other
like person or like entity, on behalf of a principal, third-party, or other
person, without informing and obtaining consent from the person obligated to
pay for the services;
(e) engaging
or recommending the services of an attorney, insurance company, maintenance
service, or other like person or entity, on behalf of a principal, third-party,
or other person, without disclosing any family relationship, financial
relationship, and/or financial interest that the licensee or property
management agency with which the licensee is associated may have in that person
or entity being engaged or recommended;
(f) falsifying documents, or placing
signatures on documents without authority of a written power of attorney from
the party, or committing any act of forgery, fraud, misrepresentation,
deception, misappropriation, conversion, theft, or any other like
act;
(g) failing to make reasonable
efforts to perform all obligations arising from any agreement entered
into;
(h) acting as a broker
without holding that license separately;
(i) violating the landlord tenant laws of
Title 70, chapter 24, MCA;
(j)
violating the state and federal human rights statutes;
(k) violating the Americans with Disabilities
Act;
(l) violating the residential
tenants' security deposits laws of Title 70, chapter 25, MCA;
(m) violating the landlord and tenant
residential and commercial laws of Title 70, chapter 26, MCA;
(n) violating the Montana Residential Mobile
Home Lot Rental Act of Title 70, chapter 33, MCA;
(o) violating the Residential Lead-Based
Paint Disclosure Program of Title X, section 1018 of the United States
Code;
(p) when entering into a
management agreement failing to make a prompt effort to verify that the
principal entering the agreement is the owner or is authorized by the owner to
enter such agreement;
(q) failing
to disclose to all customers and clients their contractual
relationship;
(r) openly
advertising property belonging to others, whether by means of printed material,
radio, television, or display, or by other means, without a signed property
management agreement from the owner of the property. The agreement must be
valid as of the date of advertisement. Internet advertising is subject to the
provisions of ARM
24.210.430;
(s) failing to include the name of the
property management company, or the term "property manager" in any real estate
advertising, including property owned by the licensee. Internet advertising is
subject to the provisions of ARM 24.210.430.
(t) failing to disclose the fact that the
individual is a licensee when the licensee first seeks information from the
owner, the owner's agent, or tenant about any property, whether for the
licensee's own account or as agent for another.
(u) managing property owned by a separate
person or entity without a written property management agreement in place,
signed by the owner;
(v) failing to
comply with all continuing education completion and reporting requirements as
established by the board;
(w)
accepting, giving, or charging an undisclosed commission, rebate, or profit on
expenditures made for a principal;
(x) committing any act of forgery, fraud,
misrepresentation, deception, misappropriation, conversion, theft, or any other
like act;
(y) failing to respond to
a request from the board;
(z)
engaging in or conducting business as a property manager, or advertising as a
property manager, or engaging in or conducting the business of a property
manager at a time when the licensee's license has expired or is on inactive
status; however, payments received by the seller of a property management
business even if the seller is no longer a licensee is not considered engaging
in or conducting business as a property manager; or
(aa) indicating on a renewal form that the
licensee has completed all required continuing education as of the date of
submission of the renewal form when the licensee has not completed the
continuing education.
(4) The revocation or suspension or other
disciplinary treatment of any other professional or occupational license or
privilege held by the licensee in this state or another state, whether as an
attorney, salesperson, broker, appraiser, or similar occupation or profession,
shall be grounds for license discipline in this state, if the board, after
appropriate notice and hearing, determines that the substantive grounds for
that disciplinary treatment demonstrates the licensee's unworthiness or
incompetency to act as a property manager.
AUTH:
37-1-131,
37-1-136,
37-1-319,
37-51-203, MCA;
IMP:
37-1-131,
37-1-136,
37-1-137,
37-1-316,
37-1-319,
37-51-607,
MCA