What an Ohio Listing Agreement Must Legally Contain
Before an agent can advertise or show your house, Ohio requires a written agency agreement — and the statute is unusually specific about what has to be in it. One of the required items is a conspicuous statement that commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. It is on the page you signed. This article goes through what the law requires the document to contain, because knowing that changes the conversation you have before you sign it.
A plain grey metal real estate lockbox hanging from the lever handle of a weathered painted front door
Before an agent advertises or shows your house, Ohio requires a written agency agreement, and the statute lists seven things it must contain. Three matter most to you: an expiration date, a statement of whether the relationship is exclusive or nonexclusive, and a conspicuous statement that broker fees and commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable, and may be paid by any of several parties. That last one is a legally required disclosure most sellers read straight past.
The agreement has to exist before anything happens
Ohio puts the written agreement first in the sequence rather than treating it as paperwork to catch up on later. A licensee must enter into a written agency agreement before doing any of three things:
- Advertising or showing residential real property on behalf of a seller.
- Making an offer to purchase residential real property on behalf of a purchaser.
- Making an offer to lease residential premises on behalf of a tenant for a term exceeding eighteen months.
So if a conversation has reached the point where your house is being advertised or shown, there should be a signed agreement behind it. That is worth knowing simply because it tells you when the commitment actually happens — not at the handshake, and not when the sign goes up, but at the signature.
The seven required items
The statute sets out what the agreement shall contain. Some of it is boilerplate required of every agreement in the state; some of it is directly about your deal.
What a written agency agreement must contain, ORC 4735.55(C)
| Division | Required item | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| (C)(1) | An expiration date | No open-ended listing. The date is negotiable; its existence is not |
| (C)(2) | The fair housing statement required by Ohio and federal law | Boilerplate, but it is there by statute |
| (C)(3) | A statement defining "blockbusting" and stating that it is illegal | Boilerplate |
| (C)(4) | A copy of the HUD equal housing opportunity logotype | Boilerplate |
| (C)(5) | That the licensee is appointed as agent of the client, and whether the relationship is exclusive or nonexclusive | This is the sentence that tells you what you have actually signed up to |
| (C)(6) | The terms by which the broker is to be compensated | Not just the percentage — the terms |
| (C)(7) | A conspicuous statement that fees and commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable, and may be paid by seller, buyer, landlord, tenant, a third party, or split between brokers | The one people miss |
The statute also requires a place for both the licensee and the client to sign and date it, and requires the licensee to furnish the client a copy in a timely manner after signing. If you do not have your copy, ask for it — it is not a favour.
Weighing listing against something simpler?
It is a real choice and we will not pretend otherwise. If you want a number to compare against what an agent projects, we will give you one with no obligation and no follow-up calls.
The sentence about commissions
Of the seven, one deserves quoting in full, because it is a disclosure the law requires to be conspicuous and it is still the thing sellers most often do not realise:
A conspicuous statement that broker fees and commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable, and may be paid by the seller, the buyer, the landlord, the tenant, or a third party, or by sharing or splitting the fees and commissions between brokers.
Read the three claims in it. Commissions are not set by law — there is no statutory rate, and any suggestion that a number is simply "what it is" does not come from the Revised Code. They are fully negotiable. And they may be paid by a range of parties, or split between brokers.
We quote 5.5%–6% across this site as what a Cleveland-area listing commonly costs, because that is a useful planning figure and we would rather you budget realistically. But "commonly charged" and "fixed" are different things, and the statute is clear which one applies. If you list, the number on your agreement is a term you negotiated, whether or not you negotiated it. We have no stake in what you agree — we are simply not going to let the site imply a rate is compulsory when Ohio requires your own paperwork to say it is not.
One further note on currency. The page for this section shows it was last updated in August 2025 and records an amendment by House Bill 466 of the 135th General Assembly effective in October 2024. We have not compared the versions, so we are not attributing any particular provision to that bill — but this is an area that has moved recently, and the text above is what the section says today.
The second document: the brokerage policy on agency
Alongside the agreement there is a separate document, and it is the one that explains who works for whom. Every brokerage must develop a written brokerage policy on agency and give it to prospective sellers, purchasers and tenants. The statute lists what it has to cover.
The relationships and the duties
Who this brokerage represents
Whether dual agency can arise
Or another agent in the same office
The policy must state that a brokerage which has a purchaser as a client represents the purchaser's interests — even though the seller's agent or the seller may compensate that purchaser's brokerage. That is worth sitting with. Money moving from your side of the table to someone does not make them your agent, and a seller who assumes otherwise can say things to a buyer's agent they would never say to the buyer.
On timing, a licensee working directly with a seller must provide the policy at the time you enter the agency agreement — or, where no agreement is required, before advertising or showing the property — and obtain your signature acknowledging receipt. And if you decline to sign, the statute directs the licensee to note that refusal on the policy. Declining is contemplated, not forbidden.
Why a cash buyer is telling you this
Fair question. We compete with the listing path, so an article from us about listing paperwork deserves a sceptical read.
Our answer is that a seller who understands what they are signing makes a better decision either way, and we would rather compete against an informed choice. A good agent earns their commission on plenty of houses — we have said so elsewhere on this site and we will say it again here. What we object to is a seller signing an exclusive agreement they did not know was exclusive, on terms they did not know were negotiable, because nobody walked them through a document Ohio requires to contain both facts.
If you read your agreement, ask about the expiration date, and negotiate the compensation terms, and you then list — good. That is a decision. Our complaint is with the version where there was no decision.
Want a figure to negotiate against?
Knowing what a cash buyer would pay is useful even if you never sell to one — it is the floor under every other conversation. We will give you ours plainly, and we will tell you when listing is the better route.
Where this leaves your options
- Keep it. No agreement, no commission, no expiration date to track. Carrying costs continue.
- Repair, then list. The agency agreement still comes first if an agent is marketing it. Agree the expiration date with the repair timeline in mind, not against it.
- Rent it out. Note the eighteen-month threshold: a written agency agreement is required before an offer to lease residential premises for a term exceeding eighteen months on a tenant's behalf.
- List it with an agent. Expect 5.5%–6% commission plus closing costs — commonly charged, and by statute negotiable. Read all seven required items before signing.
- Sell it yourself. No agency agreement because no agent. You take on the marketing, the paperwork and the negotiation.
- Sell direct to a cash buyer. No commission, no listing agreement, no expiration date. Closing as fast as 7 days and typically around 21 days.
We will not claim a cash sale nets more — on a sound house in a decent market, a well-run listing frequently wins even after commission. Work out the net each way: sale price, minus commission, minus closing costs, minus repairs, minus every month you carry the house while it sells. Compare those figures. The commission line is the one this article should have changed, because it is a number you can argue about.
The dual agency disclosure requirement, in full
Whether at some time during the agency relationship the brokerage and its licensee may act as a dual agent, and the options and consequences for the client if a dual agency situation arises including the right of the client to terminate the agency relationship and seek representation from another source;
This article summarises ORC 4735.55 and 4735.56 as we read them and is provided for general information. It is not legal advice. We have not read the section defining the permissible agency relationships and the duties owed, and we have deliberately said nothing about how to terminate a listing agreement early, cancellation fees or protection periods — those are contract terms rather than statutory ones. Ask your agent to walk you through your own documents, and an Ohio real estate attorney if the stakes warrant it.
Before you sign anything, get a second number
Call or text 216-899-CASH. We will tell you what your house is worth to us, with no obligation — and if what you should actually do is negotiate a better listing agreement and go to market, we will tell you that too.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. A licensee must enter into a written agency agreement before advertising or showing residential real property on behalf of a seller. The same requirement applies before making an offer to purchase on behalf of a buyer, or an offer to lease residential premises for a term exceeding eighteen months.
The statute requires your agreement to say so, conspicuously. It must contain a statement that broker fees and commissions are not set by law, are fully negotiable, and may be paid by the seller, the buyer, the landlord, the tenant, or a third party, or by sharing or splitting the fees between brokers.
No. An expiration date is one of the items the statute requires the written agency agreement to contain. What that date should be is a matter for negotiation, but the agreement has to have one.
It has to be stated. The agreement must contain a statement that the licensee is appointed as an agent of the client, together with an indication of whether the agency relationship is exclusive or nonexclusive.
Every brokerage must develop a written policy on agency and give it to prospective sellers, purchasers and tenants. It has to explain the permissible agency relationships and the duties owed to a client, the brokerage's own policies on representation and cooperation, and how dual agency is handled.
The brokerage policy must tell you in advance whether that can happen and what it means for you — including, in the statute's own words, the right of the client to terminate the agency relationship and seek representation from another source. That right is something the policy is required to disclose.
The buyer. The brokerage policy must state that a brokerage which has a purchaser as a client represents the purchaser's interests even though the seller's agent or the seller may compensate that purchaser's brokerage. Paying someone does not make them your agent.
The licensee is required to obtain your signature acknowledging receipt unless you refuse to provide one. If you refuse, the licensee is directed to note that refusal on the policy. So declining is contemplated by the statute rather than forbidden by it.
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