Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a)
The following regulations are applicable to schools and instructors licensed to
conduct prelicensure courses of education in real estate subjects pursuant to
45:15-10.4 and 10.5, to applicants
for such licenses and, as applicable, to the conducting of continuing education
courses by such schools and instructors pursuant to
11:5-12.1.
1. The original license term for
pre-licensure course instructors and schools shall begin on July 1, 1994 and
terminate on February 28, 1997. Thereafter, each two-year license term for
school and instructor licenses shall run from March 1 to the last day of
February of the second following year.
(b) The Commission shall require any school
or instructor in making application for licensure to submit certain documents,
statements and forms which shall form the basis for the Commission's judgment
whether to grant a license. Where the Commission initially denies an
application for a school or instructor license, it shall provide to the
applicant notification in writing with reasons for such action. The applicant
may appeal such a decision to the full Commission.
11:5-11.1 0 shall be applicable to
all such appeals.
(c) Public adult
education programs conducted under the auspices of a board of education in this
State and any college or university accredited as such by the State Department
of Higher Education shall be presumed to be qualified providers of real estate
courses, so long as their real estate prelicensure education program is under
the direction of a licensed instructor or other qualified individual who has
affirmatively demonstrated to the Commission his or her good moral character
and has met the other requirements of
45:15-10.9.
(d) Except as provided in (c) above, all
other applicants for a license to operate a real estate prelicensure school,
and in the case of a corporation, or limited or general partnership, the
members, officers, directors and owners of a controlling interest thereof,
shall demonstrate their good moral character, including the absence of any
conviction for the crimes or other offenses specified under the provisions of
45:15-12.1. The Commission may
make such further investigation and require such proof as it deems proper as to
the honesty, trustworthiness, character and integrity of an
applicant.
(e) When a school is to
be conducted in the name of a corporation, a certified copy of its certificate
of incorporation shall accompany the application for licensure. When a school
is to be conducted under a trade name, whether a sole proprietorship, firm,
general partnership, or limited partnership, a true copy of the certificate of
trade name or articles of the general or limited partnership as filed in the
office of the county clerk shall accompany the application. A school shall not
use the designation of "College" or "University," as part of its name or in any
other manner, unless it, in fact, meets the standards and qualifications of the
State agency having jurisdiction and has been approved by that
agency.
(f) Every school licensed
by the Commission shall maintain a bona fide office open to the public during
normal business hours for the purpose of assisting former and current students.
Schools shall provide adequate space, seating, equipment and instructional
materials for their students. The premises, equipment and facilities of the
school shall comply with all local, city, county and State regulations, such as
fire codes, building and sanitation codes. A certificate from a proper
authority evidencing compliance with these requirements shall accompany an
application for school licensure. The Commission may require proof of ownership
or a copy of the lease if the facility is rented. Public adult education
programs conducted under the auspices of a board of education in this State and
any college or university accredited as such by the New Jersey Commission on
Higher Education, the facilities of which have been approved by a State agency,
shall be presumed to have met the requirements of this paragraph, so long as
the real estate courses offered are held at the approved facility.
1. Any additional teaching locations must be
licensed by the Commission and must comply with all the requirements applicable
to licensed schools, their directors and instructors as set forth in the Act
and this rule. School directors shall have oversight responsibility for these
locations. All prelicensure courses conducted at such locations must be taught
by licensed instructors or guest lecturers, pursuant to
45:15-10.5 and this rule. All
continuing education courses conducted at such locations shall be taught by
licensed instructors or by individuals approved as continuing education
instructors pursuant to
11:5-12.1 0.
(g) All schools shall furnish to the
Commission at the time of application for initial licensure the school policy
and regulations pertaining to standards for satisfactory completion of the
courses offered at the school and the issuance of a Certificate, conditions for
dismissal of a student and conditions for reinstatement.
1. Any changes in school policy and
regulations, as set forth in (g) above, from the information submitted with the
original application for school licensure or as otherwise previously supplied,
shall be disclosed to the Commission within 10 business days in writing, or on
a form which the Commission prescribes.
(h) When a school fulfills all of the
requirements for licensure, then a license shall be executed by the President
of the Commission as attested by the Executive Director. School licensure shall
be limited to the specific ownership and school locations identified on the
license document(s).
(i) An
individual seeking approval as a director of a licensed real estate school
administered by a public adult education program or an accredited college or
university who is not licensed as a real estate instructor may nevertheless
qualify as the director of such a school, so long as he or she is at least 18
years of age; has a background of good moral character, including the absence
of any conviction for the crimes or other offenses specified under the
provisions of
45:15-12.1; and has fulfilled all
of the education requirements imposed upon candidates for licensure as real
estate instructors within two years of applying to the Commission for approval
to be the director of such a school.
(j) In order to enable the Commission to
confirm that courses offered by real estate schools include the required number
of hours of instruction as prescribed in
45:15-10.1(a) and
(b) and
11:5-2.1, every six months, each
school director shall submit data on courses to be offered by their school in
the forthcoming six month period, the starting and ending dates of the courses,
the days and hours of class sessions and teaching locations. Such course
information shall be provided on forms prescribed by the Commission and shall
be retained as permanent records for not less than three years after
submission.
(k) No person, other
than a guest lecturer, shall teach real estate education courses, the
attendance and successful completion of which shall constitute the fulfillment
of the educational prerequisites for licensure established under
45:15-10.1, unless that person is
licensed as an instructor pursuant to
45:15-10.5 and this section.
1. Each applicant for licensure as a real
estate instructor shall be 18 years of age or older and shall have a background
of good moral character, including the absence of any conviction for those
certain crimes or other like offenses referred to in
45:15-12.1, subject to the
applicant's ability to affirmatively demonstrate his or her rehabilitation from
such conviction. In order to confirm the absence of any such conviction, the
Commission shall require all non-attorney applicants to submit with their
application for instructor licensure a New Jersey State Police Request for
Criminal History Record Information Form and a certified check or money order
in the amount established by the New Jersey State Police as the processing fee
for such forms.
2. Each applicant
for licensure must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or
university, except for the following applicants:
i. New Jersey licensed brokers who have been
continuously licensed as such for the two years immediately preceding their
application; and
ii. Licensed
brokers from other states who have been continuously licensed as such for the
three years immediately preceding their application.
3. Except as provided in
(
l)3i and ii below, all instructor license applicants must
successfully complete all of the education requirements for licensure as a New
Jersey broker established at
N.J.A.C.
11:5-2.1, totaling 150 hours, not more than
one year prior to passing the instructor license examination and applying for
an instructor license.
i. New Jersey broker
licensees who have been licensed as such for at least the two years immediately
preceding the application and who have completed the full 150 hours of broker
prelicensure courses established at
11:5-2.1 shall be deemed to have
fulfilled the education requirements for licensure as an instructor.
ii. The following individuals will not be
required to take the 90-hour general broker course but must successfully
complete the two 30-hour broker prelicensure courses referred to in
11:5-2.1 in order to fulfill the
instructor prelicensure education requirements:
(1) New Jersey broker licensees who have been
licensed as such for the two years preceding their application for an
instructor license but who have not previously completed those two courses;
and
(2) Licensed brokers from other
states who have been licensed as such for the three years immediately preceding
application.
4.
All instructor license applicants shall successfully complete an instructor
license examination as established by the Commission. The examination shall
extensively test the applicant's general real estate knowledge and shall
include questions on teaching methods. Applicants are advised to engage in
independent study and/or to take courses offered by independent providers on
teaching methods.
5. Subsequent to
passing the instructor license examination, as a prerequisite to being issued
an instructor license, all applicants must attend a seminar conducted by or
under the direction of the Commission staff covering Commission and licensing
procedures. Such seminars shall not exceed one day in
length.
(l) Regulations
applicable to the renewal of school and instruction licenses are as follows:
1. Pursuant to
45:15-10.7, the fee for the
renewal of a real estate instructor license for an additional two-year license
term shall be $ 100.00. The fee for the renewal of a real estate school license
shall be $ 400.00 for the first teaching location licensed and $ 200.00 for
each additional licensed location to be renewed.
2. As a prerequisite for the renewal of an
instructor license, an instructor must attend a Commission-sponsored seminar
updating them on recent developments affecting the real estate brokerage
business in New Jersey. Such seminars shall be offered on a minimum of two
dates, each in a different location throughout the state, during the second
year of each two-year license term. Persons initially licensed as instructors
in the last six months of the two-year license term are exempt from this
seminar attendance requirement for the first renewal of their instructor
license.
3. In the event that any
person to whom an instructor's license has been or shall have been issued shall
fail to renew such license or obtain a new license for a period of two
consecutive years or more after the expiration of the last license held, the
Commission shall require such person to again fulfill all the qualifications
for initial licensure as an instructor prior to issuance of a further
instructor's license. This requirement shall not apply to a person reapplying
for an instructor's license who was a licensed instructor and who allowed their
license to expire due to subsequent employment in a public agency in this State
with responsibility for dealing with matters relating to real estate if the
person reapplying does so within one year of termination of that
employment.
(m) For real
estate prelicensure courses, the maximum teaching load per instructor or guest
lecturer shall not exceed the ratio of one instructor or guest lecturer to 60
students per class. Each prelicensure course offered by a licensed school shall
be under the supervision of an instructor licensed pursuant to
45:15-10.5 and
11:5-2.2(k). At
least one licensed instructor shall be present in the classroom at all
sessions. However, additional instructors or guest lecturers may be utilized
for instruction so long as not more than 25 percent of the required instruction
is done by guest lecturers. Broker prelicensure courses may be taught by up to
three instructors, provided that one licensed instructor is designated as
having the responsibility for the quality of instruction in that course. School
directors shall maintain as a business record the names of any persons teaching
as guest lecturers or as a group of instructors, with an indication of the
designated supervising instructor.
(n) All tuition charged by a school shall be
specified separately. If additional fees are to be charged for supplies,
materials or books needed in course of work, they shall be itemized by the
school prior to the payment of any fees and such items shall become the
property of the student upon payment.
(o) The tuition and fees shall be
specifically set forth in a student contract. The contract shall expressly
state the school's policy regarding the return of unearned tuition when a
student is dismissed or withdraws voluntarily or because of hardship.
(p) Any person who has a permanent disability
or physical handicap which precludes that person from attending regular
scheduled classes at a licensed school may request Commission approval to
receive special instruction through a licensed school provided this request is
supported by sworn statements of doctors or other persons having knowledge of
the facts and provided a licensed school is willing to undertake such an
agreement.
(q) No school shall,
without the approval of the Commission, accept for enrollment as a transfer
student any person concurrently enrolled with any other licensed school, unless
upon the showing of good cause by said student to the Commission in
writing.
(r) Any school that offers
real estate continuing education courses shall maintain records of licensees'
attendance at such courses as prescribed by
11:5-12.8. Every school shall
permanently establish and maintain for each student enrolled in a prelicensure
education course, complete, accurate and detailed records for a period of not
less than three years after student matriculation. Such records shall be
available for inspection during regular school hours by the Commission and
shall contain the following information:
1.
The total number of hours of instruction undertaken by the student;
2. Completed areas of study in real estate
subjects prescribed by the Act and these regulations;
3. The student's attendance record;
and
4. The names of all supervising
instructors and guest lecturers.
(s) To satisfactorily complete any
prelicensure course, a student must receive a passing grade and attend at least
80 percent of the class session hours required for the course by
N.J.A.C.
11:5-2.1.
(t) Upon a student's satisfactory completion
of a prelicensure course in real estate, the school shall issue to the student
a Course Completion Certificate.
(u) The director of a real estate school
shall be responsible for properly closing the school in compliance with this
subsection.
1. No later than 10 days after
the date on which the school ceases operations, the director shall return the
school license, stamp, and all education certificates to the Commission and
shall advise the Commission in writing of the date on which the school
closed.
2. Within 30 days of the
date on which the school ceases operations, the director shall submit an
affidavit to the Commission certifying the following:
i. The location where student records are to
be kept in compliance with (r) above and the name of the person who is to act
as custodian of the records. The Commission shall be notified immediately of
any change in such information. Records shall be kept for a period of not less
than three years;
ii. The name of
the owner or authorized representative of the school and the address where he
or she may be contacted by the Commission;
iii. That the school license and school stamp
have been returned to the Commission;
iv. That all students have been timely
notified of the school closing, and any tuition received by the school for
future courses or courses which were not completed has been returned to the
students;
v. That all signs have
been removed, and all advertisements and trade materials which refer to the
school have been recalled;
vi. That
the appropriate telephone services have been advised that the school is closed
and that future telephone directories should not contain the name of the
school; and
vii. That there are no
outstanding fees, fines or penalties due and owing the
Commission.
(v)
No school shall use any name other than the name in which it is licensed for
advertising or publicity purposes; nor shall any school advertise or imply that
it is "recommended," "endorsed," "accredited," or "approved" by the Commission,
but a licensed school may indicate that it has been "licensed" to conduct
courses of education in real estate subjects to qualify applicants for
licensure examination. No school shall make any warranties or guarantees that a
student will pass the State license examination as a result of taking its
course.
(x) The purpose of this subsection is to
ensure that there is a total separation between instructional activity
conducted by licensed schools and any solicitation of students, which, as
defined at (x)2ii below, means any recruiting efforts or brokerage activity
directed at students. These provisions will be construed in a manner consistent
with that regulatory objective. A violation of any of these provisions will be
considered by the Commission as conduct demonstrating unworthiness for
licensure, thereby subjecting the offending licensee to sanctions pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 45:15-17(e) and (t). The Commission may also impose sanctions for a
violation of these provisions pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:15-10.11 and
N.J.A.C.
11:5-12.15. Requirements regulating the
involvement of licensed schools in soliciting students to become salespersons
or referral agents for particular real estate brokers are as follows:
1. At the beginning of the first class
session of all salesperson or referral agent prelicensure courses, all licensed
schools shall distribute to all students in writing the following:
NOTICE
TO: ALL SALESPERSON/REFERRAL AGENT COURSE STUDENTS
FROM: NEW JERSEY REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
RE: SOLICITATION OF SALESPERSON OR REFERRAL AGENT LICENSE
CANDIDATES AT PRELICENSURE SCHOOLS ...
New Jersey Real Estate Commission 20 West State Street
PO Box 328
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0328
Attn: Education Bureau
2. For the purposes of this subsection, the
following definitions shall apply:
i. The
phrase "brokerage activity" means any activity which, pursuant to
45:15-1 and
45:15-3 would require the person
engaging in such activity to hold a license as a real estate broker, real
estate salesperson or referral agent;
ii. The term "solicit" means to recruit,
invite or urge a student to seek employment with a particular broker, or to
list, purchase or lease through, or to make referrals of listing, purchaser or
lessee prospects to a particular broker; and
iii. The phrase "successful completion" means
the receipt by the student of a Real Estate Commission school certificate form,
duly signed by the instructor and the school director and stamped by the
licensed school, certifying to the student's having completed and passed a
prelicensure course conducted by that school.
3. With the exception of posting,
distributing or displaying written materials as provided in (x)5 below, no
school director, instructor, guest lecturer or staff member shall, prior to,
nor within seven days following, a student's successful completion of a course,
solicit a student to become a salesperson or referral agent for any particular
real estate broker, nor shall any such person at any time accept any fee or
other compensation for soliciting or recruiting students attending their school
to apply for employment with a particular real estate broker.
4. No in-person or electronic solicitation of
students to apply for employment as salespersons or referral agents with a
particular real estate broker shall be permitted at a licensed school location
during the prescribed class hours, nor in the breaks between such class hours.
Such soliciting may be scheduled and held at licensed schools before, after or
separate from the prescribed class hours, for example as a "career night" for
students, provided that students are notified in writing in advance that their
attendance at such recruitment functions is completely voluntary. However, no
school director, instructor, guest lecturer or staff member shall engage in
such activity at any time prior to, nor within seven days following, a
student's successful completion of a course. Licensed instructors who are also
licensed brokers, salespersons or referral agents may conduct prelicensure
courses, and licensees who are not licensed instructors may appear as guest
lecturers in such courses, so long as their presentations do not include the
solicitation of students.
5. Any
licensed school which posts, distributes or displays written material which
solicits students to inquire about employment as a salesperson or referral
agent with a particular broker must similarly post, distribute or display
comparable written material from any real estate broker who requests the school
to do so. However, no written material soliciting students to apply for
employment with a particular real estate broker or any referral program shall
be distributed during the prescribed class hours.
6. No licensed school may offer a reduced
tuition rate to students where eligibility for the lower tuition is contingent
upon a student making a commitment to becoming licensed through a particular
broker subsequent to their qualifying for licensure and no licensed school may
otherwise make or imply any promise or guarantee of employment to any
student.
7. No oral statements or
written text referring to a licensed school may be included or contained in any
advertisement by a real estate licensee, and no advertisement of a licensed
school may refer to the brokerage operation or include the telephone number of
any licensee except that a school which is owned by a real estate licensee or
franchisor may use that name in its school name.
i. Any advertisement by a school whose name
includes the name of an affiliated licensed real estate broker or franchisor
shall include the following disclosure legend:
Attending this school will not obligate you to become
employed with our affiliated real estate broker(s), nor guarantee you an
interview or a job with our affiliated real estate broker(s).
ii. No advertisement referring to a licensed
school may be placed in the Help Wanted classified section of any newspaper or
periodical.
8. No
licensed school shall conduct prelicensure course sessions in any area which is
part of a location which is licensed as a main or branch office of a real
estate broker. For the purposes of this paragraph, an area will be considered
as part of a licensed office location if any brokerage activity is conducted in
that area at any time.
i. Where space on two
or more floors in a multi-story building is licensed as a main or branch office
location, it is permissible for prelicensure courses to be conducted in such a
building, provided that the primary means of access to and egress from the
floor where the courses are conducted does not require the students to walk
through any area of the licensed office location wherein brokerage activity
occurs.
ii. Where only one floor in
a building is licensed as a main or branch office, it is permissible for
prelicensure courses to be conducted in another area on that floor, provided
that there is a separate entrance to that area either from the exterior of the
building or from a common foyer or lobby and provided that the primary means of
access to and egress from the area wherein the courses will be conducted does
not require students to walk through a portion of the licensed premises wherein
brokerage activity takes place.
iii. In all situations where prelicensure
courses are conducted in the same building in which brokerage activity occurs
under the authority of a broker in any way affiliated with the licensed school
conducting such courses, the broker shall post signs either on the exterior of
the building or in any common foyer or lobby, directing students either to the
separate exterior entrance to the school location or to the primary route of
access to the school location from such foyer or lobby.
9. No licensed school shall allow any person
to solicit students enrolled in, or considering enrolling in, a prelicensure or
continuing education course to list, purchase or lease any property; or for
referrals of prospective sellers, purchasers or lessees at any time while such
students are on school premises.
(y) Licensed schools providing continuing
education courses shall comply with all requirements imposed upon the providers
of such courses as set forth in
N.J.A.C.
11:5-12.
