Arbitration

According to Section 44 of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual, an arbitrable matter exists when there is a monetary dispute between two managing brokers of two separate offices as it relates to co-op commissions. By becoming and remaining a member of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, every member agrees to submit to arbitration by the Board’s facilities as defined in Article 17 of the Code of Ethics.

Additional Resources


Filing an Arbitration Request

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Before you file an Arbitration Request, please review the following:

  • All arbitration filings must be accompanied by a $500.00 filing fee. This fee is required before the Grievance Committee will review any arbitration request. If you would like to take advantage of the association’s free mediation services, click here to file a mediation only request. If you choose to file for mediation only instead of arbitration, any filing deadline for arbitration shall be suspended during any mediation conference period, beginning with the date of a mediation filing with CAR, and ending on the date the mediation conference is concluded, declined, or terminated.
  • If this matter is a commission dispute between two different brokerages (commonly a disagreement over the procuring cause of a transaction and subsequent cooperative commission), then any arbitration filing must be filed Designated Managing Broker to Designated Managing Broker. While an individual agent within an office cannot invoke arbitration against another brokerage or Designated Managing Broker of a separate firm for payment of a commission, they can be named as a person with vested financial interest in the outcome of the arbitration, and they have the right to be present throught the proceedings and to particpate but are not considered to be a party of the arbitration.
  • If an individual agent has an internal commission dispute with their own office over commissions owed to them, that individual agent may file an arbitration request against their Designated Managing Broker; however, the Grievance Committee may classify this type of arbitration filing as voluntary. An individual agent with a commission dispute involving their own office should consult their independent contractor agreement for further dispute resolution terms and options.
  • All arbitration filings are reviewed by CAR’s Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee looks to determine whether the arbitration request was properly filed and whether the matter at issue is related to a real estate transaction and is properly arbitrable.
  • If the Grievance Committee forwards your request for an arbitration hearing, CAR requires a mandatory mediation session prior to an arbitration hearing. Mediation allows for an informal conversation and an opportunity for each side to understand the other parties’ position. Therefore, once the Grievance Committee has reviewed your arbitration request and if they have determined that an arbitrable matter exists, a mediation conference will be scheduled. Often an agreement is reached during mediation which is acceptable to both sides. If the mediation conference is not successful, an arbitration hearing will then be scheduled. As we have realized a 90% success rate for mediations, we hope that we can help you avoid arbitration!
  • If the Grievance Committee dismisses your arbitration request or if you disagree with their classification of the arbitration (mandatory or voluntary), you have 20 days to appeal that decision to the Board of Directors of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.
  • The $500 filing fee will be returned to the complainant if the Grievance Committee dismisses the arbitration request, the complainant withdraws their arbitration request prior to the conclusion of any arbitration hearing, the parties resolve their dispute through any informal dispute resolution such as mediation, or settle the matter in any other way prior to the conclusion of any arbitration hearing.

Click Get Started to begin your filing. You may save your progress at any time by clicking Save and Continue Later on any page. You will have 30 days to complete your submission once you begin.