Agency Relationships

Washington Agency Relationships ## Statutory Framework: RCW 18.86 Washington's Law of Real Estate Agency (RCW Chapter 18.86) is the statutory backbone for all agency relationships in Washington real estate. Unlike the common law agency principles that governed real estate for most of the twentieth century, Washington enacted this statute to clarify exactly who a licensee represents, what duties are owed, and how agency relationships are created and disclosed. Washington recognizes three agency types: 1. Seller's agent: Represents the seller, owes full fiduciary-level duties to the seller, and must deal honestly with the buyer as a third party. 2. Buyer's agent: Represents the buyer, owes full duties to the buyer, and must deal honestly with the seller as a third party. 3. Dual agency: Representing both buyer and seller in the same transaction. Permitted in Washington but requires informed written consent from both parties before the dual agency relationship is established. Washington does NOT use an intermediary or transaction broker framework — if one brokerage represents both sides, it is a dual agent. No intermediary framework: Unlike Texas (which abolished dual agency and replaced it with the intermediary), Washington permits actual dual agency with proper written consent. This is an important state-specific distinction. ## In-House Dual Agency Because most brokers work within a firm, and because a firm's listing or buyer representation agreement creates agency at the firm level, all brokers within the same firm are technically on the same "side" as their firm's principal. When a listing broker and a buyer's broker from the same firm represent opposite parties in a transaction, the firm itself becomes a dual agent. Both the seller and the buyer must consent in writing…