Buyer Representation Agreements in California, Explained

The form an agent hands you before a showing is a contract, every line of it is negotiable, and California law already caps the worst terms. Sign a short, non-exclusive version first. Sign a longer one only after you have seen the agent work.

Why you are asked to sign before touring

Two layers of rules apply in San Francisco.

The NAR settlement practice changes, effective August 17, 2024, require an agent who is working with you to have a written buyer agreement before touring a home with you. A tour includes an in-person walkthrough together and a video walkthrough the agent conducts for you; it does not include watching a listing's marketing video. An agent hosting an open house for their own seller is not "working with" you, so you can visit open houses freely.

California's AB 2992 then added Civil Code section 1670.50, effective January 1, 2025. It requires a written buyer-broker representation agreement as soon as practicable and no later than when you sign an offer, for any property, listed or off-market. The agreement must state the compensation, the services the broker will provide, the conditions under which compensation is owed and how the agreement terminates. The Department of Real Estate issued a consumer alert and a licensee advisory in November 2024 explaining the change.

The point of both rules is the same: you should know what your agent will do and what it costs before anyone opens a door.

Clause by clause

The California Association of Realtors' Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement (BRBC) is the form most San Francisco agents use. Read these paragraphs:

California's three-month cap and the no-auto-renew rule

Section 1670.50 sets the limits for individual buyers:

• An agreement cannot last longer than three months from the date it was made. DRE regulations effective January 1, 2026 (Title 10, sections 2906.1 to 2906.3) define that as 90 calendar days, counted from the day after the last party signs unless the agreement sets a later start date; read the start and end dates on your form.
• An agreement cannot renew automatically. A renewal must be a separate writing, dated and signed by everyone, and is itself capped at three months.
• An agreement that violates these rules is void and unenforceable.

The cap does not apply when the buyer is a corporation, LLC or partnership. If you are buying through an entity, you are negotiating without the statutory backstop, so pay closer attention to term and renewal language.

Practical effect: an agent who is still working for you in month four has had to ask you to re-sign. That is your scheduled moment to renegotiate or leave.

Touring and single-property agreements as a trial period

The C.A.R. Property Showing and Representation Agreement (PSRA) is the short form. It is non-exclusive, covers up to three named properties, allows in-person or virtual showings, and runs no more than 30 days, or until a resulting transaction closes, whichever comes first.

Use it as designed: tour two or three homes, watch how the agent reads the disclosure package and talks about price, then decide. If an agent refuses to use the short form or a non-exclusive BRBC for a first outing, that tells you something.

What happens if the seller offers less than your fee, or you buy off-market

Your agreement sets a number. Any payment from the seller or the listing broker is credited against it. The questions to settle before signing:

• Shortfall. If the seller credits less than the agreed compensation, the standard structure leaves you paying the difference at closing. Ask for a cap on your out-of-pocket exposure, or a right to decline to offer on a home where the seller will not pay.
• Excess. If a seller offers more than your agreement, NAR's rules prevent your broker from collecting more than the agreement states. Decide in writing whether the excess reduces the price, is credited to your closing costs or is otherwise handled.
• Off-market and for-sale-by-owner. There is no listing broker to split anything with and often no seller offer at all. Your agreement still applies, so the compensation you negotiated is what you will owe unless the seller agrees to cover it in the contract. The off-market article covers how those deals surface.

Dual agency and designated agency in SF brokerages

Large San Francisco brokerages hold many listings, and sooner or later the home you want will be listed by your agent's own firm. Under Civil Code sections 2079.16 and 2079.17 your agent must disclose the agency relationship as soon as practicable and confirm it in the purchase contract, and the California Supreme Court's decision in Horiike v. Coldwell Banker holds that a brokerage on both sides is a dual agent with fiduciary duties to both parties, even when different salespeople handle each side.

Some brokerages describe an internal "designated agent" arrangement. Whatever it is called, in California the brokerage remains a dual agent. The BRBC asks for your advance consent to this. You can strike that consent and require a separate written decision each time it comes up, so you can decide per home whether to proceed or bring in another agent for that offer.

How to exit an agreement that is not working

• Read the cancellation paragraph. On the C.A.R. form either party can cancel by written notice without giving a reason. The non-exclusive version ends when the notice is received; an exclusive version may carry a notice period, which is why you should negotiate that number down before signing.
• Send written notice. C.A.R. publishes a cancellation form for buyer representation agreements; a dated email referencing the agreement works if the agreement allows it.
• Expect a protection-period list. Within a few days of cancellation the broker may deliver a list of properties they introduced you to. Buying one of those within the protection period can still trigger the fee. Check the list against your own records and dispute anything you found yourself or saw at an open house without the agent.
• If the broker will not cooperate, the agreement's mediation clause is the first step, and the DRE accepts complaints about licensees.

Redlines to ask for before you sign

• Non-exclusive for the first 30 days, or a PSRA for the first showings.
• Term of 30 to 60 days rather than the full three months.
• Compensation stated as a flat fee or a capped percentage, with explicit shortfall and excess language.
• Cancellation by written notice, effective within 48 hours, with no cancellation fee.
• Protection period no longer than 30 days, limited to properties on a written list delivered within 3 days of termination, and excluding homes you saw at open houses on your own.
• Dual agency consent struck, replaced by case-by-case written consent.
• Named individuals who will do the work, if you are signing with a team.

An agent who accepts most of these is confident in their value; one who refuses everything is telling you how the next three months will go.

What to shop for right now

• Agreement terms (medium savings). Term, exclusivity, cancellation notice, protection period and shortfall language are all negotiable and cost nothing to ask for. They determine whether you can walk away from a poor fit without owing a fee that, on a San Francisco purchase, can run to tens of thousands of dollars.