TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING AGENCY RELATIONSHIP AND DUTIES RELATED TO REAL ESTATE LICENSES; AND TO CLARIFY THE OBLIGATIONS OF DUAL AGENCY.

HB 1853 amends Arkansas law concerning the duties of licensed real estate agents to their clients. It specifically clarifies the obligations that apply in a "dual agency" situation, where a single agent represents both the buyer and the seller in a real estate transaction. Under this bill, clients who consent to dual agency may now contractually waive the agent's primary duty of absolute fidelity. The bill also allows for the contractual limitation of an agent's duty to keep client information confidential in a dual agency relationship, unless disclosure is legally required or authorized by the client. This impacts real estate licensees and their clients by defining the scope of agency duties when an agent works with multiple parties in a single transaction.