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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORDINANCES-1967-103-O-67• • is As adopted, 10/23/67 103- 0-67 AN O,DINANCE To add Sections 25.-46 through 25-5?, inclusive, to the Code of the City of Evanston, 1957, to License Real Estate Brokers and Regulate Their Practices. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: SECTION 1: That there be added to Chapter 25 "License and Occupation Tax" of the Code of the City of Evanston, 1957, Sections 25-46 through 25-52., inclusive, providing for the licensing and regulating of real estate brokers, so that said sections shall read as follows: "Section 25-46. License Required. "It shall be unlawful for anyone to advertise, represent, hold himself out as, engage in the business of, or act in any manner as a real estate broker in the City of Evanston, without having first obtained a State of Illinois real estate broker's license and an annual city license for that purpose as provided herein. Each such license shall expire at midnight on December 31 of the calendar year in which it is issued. "'Real Estate Broker' within the meaning of this ordinance is defined to mean any person, association, co -partnership, or corporation who for another or others and in consideration of a commission, brokerage, or for compensation proportioned to the amount of the transaction, sells or offers for sale, buys or advertising, or pursue a continued or flagrant course of misrepre- senting or the making of false promises, through agents or sales- men or otherwise; 112) act for more than one party in a transaction without the knowledge of all parties to the transaction; 113) fail to furnish copies, upon request, of all documents for which the broker is professionally responsible relating to a real estate transaction to all parties executing the same, or fail to account for or to remit any moneys or documents coming into his possession which belong to others; 114) fail to maintain and deposit in a special account, separate and apart from his personal or other business accounts, all moneys belonging to others entrusted to him while acting as • a real estate broker, or as escrow agent, or as the temporary custodian of the funds of others, until the transaction involved is consummated or terminated; 115) pay a commission or valuable consideration to any person for acts or services performed in violation of this ordinance; "6) employ any person as a salesman or agent as a means of evading provisions of this ordinance; "7) display a 'for rent' or 'for sale' sign on any property without the written consent of the owner or his duly authorized agent, or advertise that any property is for sale or for rent in a newspaper or other publication without the consent of the owner or his authorized agent; • -3- offers to buy, or negotiates or solicits the purchase or sale or exchange of real estate, or who leases, or offers to lease, rents or offers for rent, any real estate, or shows any real estate to any prospective purchaser, tenant, or lessee, or negotiates or solicits leases or rentals thereof or the improvement therein, or who utilizes any person as a real estate salesman or agent to perform any of the above acts. "Section 25-47. Applications; fee. "Application for a real estate broker's license shall be made to the City Clerk in writing, signed by the applicant if an individual, by a duly authorized partner if a partnership, by a duly authorized member if an association, or by a duly authorized officer thereof if a corporation, verified by oath or affidavit. • The application form shall be determined by the City Manager, and • amended from time to time as he believes advisable, and shall re- quire such information as he deems necessary. Any material false- hood, misstatement, or omission shall be grounds for immediate revocation of the license. "The annual fee for a real estate broker's license shall be ten dollars ($10.00). No license shall be issued for a sum less than the full amount of the annual license fee. "Section 25-48. Standards of Conduct. "It shall be unlawful for any real estate broker,acting with respect to Evanston real estate, to do any of the following: "1) make any substantial misrepresentation or false promise likely to induce, persuade, or influence, or engage in untruthful - 2- "8) fail to promptly present to his principal any and all offers for sale, lease, or rental of real estate; or set the price, terms, conditions, or privileges of any kind relating to the sale, lease, rental, financing, repair, rehabilitation, con- struction, maintenance, or occupancy of real estate; "9) solicit for sale, lease, or rental, real estate on the grounds of loss of value due to the present, prospective, or alleged entry into the vicinity of any person or persons of any particular race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry, or distribute or cause to be distributed written material or statements designed to induce any owner of real estate to sell, lease, or rent his property because of any present, prospective, or alleged change in the race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry of • persons in the vicinity; "10) refuse to show to any person who has specified his needs the list or other records identifying all properties reason- ably meeting such needs which the broker is offering, including those on any multiple listing of real estate to which he has access in the course of his business; 1111) circulate, advertise, display or cause to be circulated, advertised, or displayed any communication, notice, advertisement, or sign relating to the sale, rental, or leasing of any real prop- erty which will indicate or express any limitation in the sale, rental, or leasing of such real estate predicated upon the race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry of any prospective buyer, lessee, or renter of such property; • -4- 1112) fail to show real estate without regard to the race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry of any prospective purchaser, lessee, or tenant, and without regard to the race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry of the residents in the area in which the property is located; "It shall be unlawful for any licensed real estate broker to recommend, solicit, or encourage, in any manner, any restric- tions upon the listing, showing, sale, leasing, or rental of property, or knowingly to participate in discrimination in connec- tion with borrowing or lending money or in any other activities relative to the financing for the acquisition, construction, or improvement of real estate because of the race, color, religion, • national origin, or ancestry of the prospective occupant of the premises; "13) fail, within a reasonable time, to provide information requested by the person,charged with enforcement of this ordinance as a result of a complaint alleging a violation of the ordinance; 1114) to cheat, exploit, or overcharge any person for resi- dential housing accommodations. "Section 25-49. Real Estate Brokers Review Board. "There is hereby created a Real Estate Brokers Review Board consisting of five persons. The Real Estate Brokers Review Board shall be composed of the City Manager, the Chairman of the Evanston Community Relations Commission, the Chairman of the Housing Com- mittee of the Evanston Community Relations Commission, a real estate broker who shall have been licensed by the State of Illinois 0 -5- nt for a period of not less than five years prior to the date of his appointment, and an attorney who shall have been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois for a period of not less than five years prior to the date of his appointment. The real estate broker and attorney herein designated shall be ap- pointed by the Mayor with the consent of the City Council. The real estate broker and attorney appointed shall serve for a period of three years. They shall be eligible for reappointment. The other members of the Real Estate Brokers Review Board shall serve during their tenure in office in the position to which they were originally appointed, and the incumbents of such positions, other than the real estate broker and attorney, shall become members of the Real Estate Brokers Review Board upon their appointment. • "Any person aggrieved in any manner by any violation of any provision of this ordinance may, within sixty days after the date of the alleged violation, file a written complaint setting forth his grievance with the Real Estate -Brokers Review Board. Said complaint shall state the name and address of the complainant and of the persons against whom the complaint is brought and shall also state the alleged facts surrounding the alleged violation of this ordinance. "Said Board is hereby fully authorized immediately to in- vestigate every such complaint thus filed. If the Board determines that the respondent has not engaged in any unlawful practice, it shall state its findings of fact in writing and dismiss the com- plaint. If the Board determines after such investigation that • -6- • r ' t' c s,. •,t M • probable cause exists for the allegations made in the complaint, the Board shall set a date for a conciliation hearing. At such hearing, the Board or any member thereof shall interview the complainant and the person or persons against whom the complaint has been directed and shall attempt to resolve the complaint by all proper methods of conciliation and persuasion. if such attempts at conciliation are not successful within sixty days after the date of filing of the complaint, the Board shall then proceed promptly with full hearings of the complaint. "Such hearing shall be conducted by the Board or any three members thereof, upon due and reasonable notice to all parties. The Board shall have full power to subpoena witnesses and pertinent documents, which power may be enforced by the Board by proper peti- tion to any court of competent jurisdiction. The Board shall have power to administer oaths and to take sworn testimony. At the con- clusion of the hearings, the Board shall render a written report with findings which shall be served by mail capon the complainant and the respondent. No report shall be delayed more than sixty days after the date of the issuance of notice for commencement of the first hearing. "The Board shall be empowered at the conclusion of such proceedings and as partof its report, to suspend or revoke, for a period not to exceed one year, the license of any broker li- censed by the.City of Evanston who shall have been a respondent to any proceedings thus filed and found guilty of violation of any • applicable provision of the within ordinance. Any broker whose license has been suspended or revoked, or any complainant aggrieved by the decision of the Board, shall have full right to appeal from such order of suspension or revocation in accordance with procedures specified in the administrative Review Act of Illinois. The order of the Board shall be final. It shall serve a copy thereof upon the respondent, and any appeal may be taken thereafter. "In addition thereto, the Board may direct the Corporation Counsel to file with the Department of Registration and Education of the State of Illinois a complaint against any real estate broker found guilty of violating any provision of this ordinance, seeking suspension or revocation of the license issued to such broker by the State of Illinois. • "The Board may request the City Manager or the Chairman of the Community Relations Commission to make available such staff assistance as may be required to carry out its duties under this ordinance. "Section 25-50. Acting Without a License. "No person shall be liable for any commission or other com- pensation to any person or firm who acts as a real estate broker in the City of Evanston for negotiating the sale, lease, or rental of real estate located in the City of Evanston unless he is a real estate broker licensed under this ordinance. "Any person, association, co -partnership, or corporation who acts as a real estate broker in the City of Evanston while not • -8- • validly licensed pursuant to this ordinance is guilty of a mis- demeahor and shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense, and every day that a violation of this ordinance shall occur shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. "If an unlicensed broker violates Section 25-48, 1) through 14), such violation shall constitute a misdemeanor for which the fine shall be not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and every day that a violation thereof continues shall constitute a separate offense. "Section 25-51. Granting a License. "The applicant shall be entitled to the issuance of a real • estate broker's license upon the payment of the license fee herein - above provided. Said license shall be renewed annually, provided that said broker shall not have had his State or City license revoked for violation of this ordinance or the statutes of the State of Illinois. "Section 25-52. Continuation of Business. "Nothing contained herein shall prevent a broker whose license has been suspended or revoked, and who has filed an appeal in accordance with the Administrative Review Act of Illinois as provided herein, from continuing the operation of such real estate business until a decision on the appeal has been rendered by the court having jurisdiction of the cause." b -� • SECTION 2: If any section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect any remaining portion, section,or part thereof. SECTION 3: This ordinance shall take effect on January 1, 1968, after its passage, approval and publication in the manner provided by law. INTRODUCED ADOPTED • ATTEST: October 16 , 1967 October 23 , 1967 /s/ Maurice F. Brown City Clerk Approved as to form: /s/ Jack M. Siegel Corporation Counsel • -10- APPROVED October 25, 1967 /s/ James P. McCourt Mayor Pro Tem