Which New York Real Estate Activities Require a License?

The exam method is to test conduct, not job title: Who is acting, for whom, what are they doing and what value do they expect?

Official source map

Real Property Law section 440 defines real estate broker and salesperson through listed activities. Section 440-a requires the license before acting, temporarily acting or holding out as a broker or salesperson. Section 441 ties the salesperson role to an associated broker. The Department of State FAQ applies these rules to rent collection, tenant placement and mortgage negotiation. The 77-hour curriculum includes licensed duties and exemptions in Subject 1. Sources were checked on August 27, 2026.

The four-part license test

Use these four questions in order.

1. Is the person acting for another?

Article 12-A's broker definition begins with work done “for another.” An owner handling the owner's own property presents a different starting point from a person handling someone else's property.

Do not stop there. Business entities, employees, tenant relocators, subdivided-land sales and other situations have specific rules or exemptions. NY-01-04 addresses those exceptions separately.

2. Is there a fee, commission or other valuable consideration?

Compensation is broader than a traditional percentage commission. A flat fee, salary, referral benefit, rent credit, gift or promised item of value may satisfy the fact pattern if it is exchanged for covered activity.

Look at why the value is given, not only what the parties call it.

3. Is the conduct listed in section 440?

Listing, selling, buying, exchanging, renting, negotiating and rent collection are central examples. The statute also reaches certain mortgage activity, tenant relocation and specified business or condominium transactions.

4. Does the person already have the required license and broker relationship?

A salesperson must be licensed and associated with a licensed broker. Passing the state exam does not itself authorize activity. An expired license or ended association cannot be treated as current authority.

The covered activity map

The exact statutory wording controls. This table is a decision aid, not an independent list of permissions.

Listing and offering property

Listing property for another for compensation is a core brokerage activity. The work can include seeking the listing, discussing terms, marketing the property and finding a buyer or tenant within the authorized role.

The representative broker accepts listings negotiated by an associated salesperson. A salesperson cannot convert a listing into personal business outside the brokerage merely because the salesperson found the owner.

Offering and attempting matter

Section 440 repeatedly uses words such as “offers” and “attempts.” That prevents an unlicensed person from arguing that no license was needed because:

• the owner rejected the proposed listing
• no buyer signed a contract
• the rental fell through
• the person only began negotiations
• payment was due only after success

The conduct can be regulated before the desired result occurs.

Negotiating a sale, purchase or exchange

Negotiation is more than delivering paperwork. It can include communicating proposed price or terms, responding to counteroffers, persuading a party to accept conditions or otherwise attempting to bring the parties to agreement.

Exam facts that point toward negotiation include:

• recommending a specific offer price on behalf of another
• discussing concessions with the other side
• relaying and advocating changes to material terms
• attempting to resolve objections so a deal proceeds
• presenting oneself as authorized to arrange the transaction

Purely mechanical transmission of a message can present different facts, but an unlicensed person should not be given discretion that turns delivery into negotiation.

A buyer-side activity can require a license

Brokerage is not limited to representing owners. Buying, offering to buy and negotiating a purchase for another for value are included. The property does not need to be listed by the person's own firm for buyer-side conduct to be regulated.

Rental and leasing activity

Rental brokerage is real estate brokerage. Covered conduct can include:

• offering property for lease or rent
• placing property for rent
• finding a tenant for an owner
• finding property for a prospective tenant
• negotiating rent, term or lease conditions
• collecting or attempting to collect rent for another

Calling a payment an apartment-finding fee, consulting charge or administrative fee does not change the underlying activity.

Showing property is not always a neutral task

A showing can involve access, factual information and scheduling, but it often leads to questions about price, availability, qualification and lease terms. If the person answers with discretion, promotes the property or negotiates on behalf of another for value, the facts point toward licensed work.

An unlicensed assistant should not be used as a substitute licensee at a showing.

Property management

“Property manager” is a job label, not an Article 12-A exemption.

The Department's current salesperson FAQ says a real estate management company needs a broker license when it collects rent or places tenants in vacant space for a landlord client. It contrasts that with services limited strictly to maintenance.

Use a task-by-task analysis:

A mixed management contract can contain both licensed and nonlicensed tasks. The presence of maintenance does not erase the rent-collection or leasing work.

Mortgage-related activity

Section 440 includes negotiating, offering or attempting to negotiate a loan secured or to be secured by a mortgage, other than the residential mortgage loan defined in Banking Law section 590.

The Department FAQ explains the practical divide:

• negotiating a mortgage loan other than a residential-property mortgage in New York requires a real estate broker license or salesperson license associated with a broker
• negotiating a residential mortgage loan on a one-to-four-family building requires registration with the Department of Financial Services

Do not conclude that an Article 12-A salesperson license alone authorizes residential mortgage-loan origination. The property type and separate Banking Law credential matter.

Also separate negotiation from a general explanation of common financing terms. The question should supply facts showing whether the person is arranging or negotiating the loan for another.

Tenant relocators

Section 440 defines a tenant relocator as a person or entity that, for another and for value, supervises, organizes, arranges, coordinates, handles or is otherwise responsible for relocating commercial or residential tenants from buildings that will be demolished, rehabilitated, remodeled or structurally altered.

The breadth of verbs matters. This is not limited to physically moving furniture. Coordinating the relocation business can fall within the definition.

An ordinary moving company transporting belongings under a moving contract presents different facts from an entity responsible for arranging tenant relocation for a redevelopment project.

Business sales involving real estate

For section 440, “interest in real estate” includes a business sale when the value of real estate transferred with the business is not merely incidental, subject to the statute's stated limitations concerning lease assignment and transactions regulated by securities law.

The exam question must therefore distinguish:

• selling only business assets
• assigning a lease
• transferring a business with real estate that has more than incidental value
• a securities-regulated transaction

Avoid treating every business broker as a real estate broker, and do not ignore substantial real estate inside a business transfer.

Condominium resales and subdivided lots

Section 440 expressly addresses performance of the listed functions in certain condominium resales originally sold under the General Business Law's real estate syndication-offering provisions. It also contains a special rule for persons employed to sell lots under Article 9-A.

These details show why a familiar employment label is not enough. When a problem names subdivided lands, condominium offering plans or employment by the developer, return to the exact statutory provision.

Holding out and temporary activity

Section 440-a does more than prohibit completed unlicensed brokerage. A person may not:

• engage in the business or occupation
• hold out as a real estate broker or salesperson
• act temporarily or otherwise in that role

“I only did it once” is not a safe defense under the statutory wording. Nor may a person market unissued status by claiming to be a New York broker or salesperson.

Clerical help versus licensed judgment

An office can use unlicensed staff for genuinely administrative work, but the staff member should not cross into solicitation, showing with brokerage discretion, negotiation, advice about transaction terms or other section 440 conduct.

A practical boundary is:

• clerical: follows fixed instructions without discretion over the deal
• licensed: solicits business, applies brokerage judgment, advocates or negotiates for a party

This boundary is explored fully in the later unlicensed-assistant guide. For this article, focus on the nature of the task rather than whether the employee receives an hourly wage.

Compensation does not need to be called commission

Section 440 uses “fee, commission or other valuable consideration.” That phrase reaches more than cash paid at closing.

An exam may use:

• a flat success fee
• free rent
• a gift card
• a share of profit
• a promised future benefit
• salary tied to selling subdivided lots under the statute's special language

Ask whether the item of value is connected to the covered service. Avoid assuming that delayed or indirect compensation avoids licensing law.

Five worked scenarios

Scenario 1: the paid apartment finder

An unlicensed person charges tenants $500 to locate available apartments and negotiates lease terms with owners.

The person acts for others, expects a fee and performs rental and negotiation activity. Those facts point to licensed brokerage, regardless of the “apartment consultant” title.

Scenario 2: maintenance-only company

A company changes locks, arranges plumbing repairs and cleans common areas. The owner alone selects tenants, signs leases and collects rent.

The stated services are maintenance rather than brokerage. If the company begins placing tenants, negotiating rent or collecting rent, repeat the section 440 analysis.

Scenario 3: no sale occurred

An unlicensed person offers to negotiate the purchase of a building for an investor in return for 1% of the price, but the owner rejects the offer.

The lack of closing does not end the issue. Offering or attempting to negotiate for another for value is part of the statutory definition.

Scenario 4: commercial mortgage negotiation

A person negotiates financing secured by a warehouse for a fee.

The facts describe a nonresidential real-estate-secured loan and point to the Article 12-A licensing rule. Do not apply the separate residential mortgage registration category merely because both transactions use the word mortgage.

Scenario 5: hourly leasing employee

An unlicensed employee of a management company shows vacant units, recommends rent concessions and negotiates lease terms. The employee receives an hourly salary.

Salary does not automatically make negotiation nonlicensed. The work is performed for another, valuable consideration exists and the employee uses discretion over rental terms.

Common misconceptions

“No closing means no license was needed”

No. Offers and attempts are written into section 440.

“A salary is never valuable consideration”

No. Compensation form does not by itself remove covered conduct, and the statute expressly addresses salary in its subdivided-lot provision.

“All property-management work requires a broker license”

No. Analyze the tasks. The Department distinguishes rent collection and tenant placement from strictly maintenance services.

“A salesperson license permits independent brokerage”

No. A salesperson performs the listed activity for or on behalf of the associated broker and under broker supervision.

“Only seller-side negotiation is brokerage”

No. Buying, offering to buy and negotiating a purchase for another can be covered.

“Any mortgage conversation requires the same license”

No. Distinguish general information, nonresidential mortgage negotiation under Article 12-A and residential mortgage activity regulated through Banking Law and the Department of Financial Services.

“Calling someone a consultant avoids the statute”

No. The actual conduct, relationship and compensation control.

Frequently asked questions

What real estate activities generally require a New York license?

For another and for value, the listed activities include listing, selling, buying, exchanging, renting, leasing, negotiating, attempting to negotiate, collecting rent, specified mortgage negotiation and tenant relocation.

Does a person need a license if the transaction never closes?

Potentially, yes. Section 440 expressly includes offers and attempts to negotiate, and section 440-a requires the license before acting.

Does collecting rent require a real estate license in New York?

Collecting or attempting to collect rent for another for value is included in section 440. The Department says a management company collecting rent for a landlord client needs a broker license.

Does finding a tenant require a license?

Placing tenants, offering property for rent and negotiating rentals for another for value are brokerage activities.

Can an unlicensed assistant show property?

Avoid using an unlicensed assistant to perform solicitation, negotiation or brokerage judgment. A showing commonly creates those risks, so the exact duties and supervision matter.

Can an owner sell or rent the owner's own property without a broker license?

Section 440's core broker definition concerns acting for another. Owner activity and statutory exemptions require a separate, fact-specific analysis, especially when an entity, employee or repeated business arrangement is involved.

Does a real estate license cover residential mortgage origination?

Resist the urge to assume so. The Department directs residential mortgage-loan activity on one-to-four-family property to Department of Financial Services registration, while Article 12-A addresses the nonresidential mortgage activity described in section 440.

Is a referral licensed activity?

A referral can involve separate compensation and timing rules, including sections 442 and 442-l. If the person also solicits, advises, shows or negotiates, analyze those acts independently. Avoid treating the word “referral” as an automatic exemption.

Can a person work under a broker before receiving a license?

Employment for genuinely unlicensed clerical work is different from performing brokerage. Association with a broker does not authorize unlicensed brokerage before the required license is issued.

What to do next

Read the Article 12-A guide and the broker, associate broker and salesperson comparison. Then open the License Law and Regulations study hub and use the free practice sampler to apply the actor, activity, compensation and license test.

Sources and verification notes

The statutory activity list, license gate and Department examples were checked on August 27, 2026. The four-part test, tables and scenarios are editorial teaching tools. Specific exemptions, other occupational licenses and business structures can change the result.

1. New York Real Property Law section 440. Current broker, salesperson and tenant-relocator definitions and listed activities.
2. New York Real Property Law section 440-a. Requirement to obtain the license before acting or holding out.
3. New York State Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson Frequently Asked Questions. Property-management, rent-collection and mortgage-activity examples.
4. New York State Department of State, Real Estate License Law booklet. Article 12-A and related Title 19 NYCRR regulations.
5. New York State Department of State, Real Estate Salesperson 77-Hour Curriculum. Subject 1 objectives for licensed activities and exemptions.
6. New York Real Property Law section 442-l. Current after-the-fact referral-fee restrictions.

This article provides general educational guidance. It does not reproduce live examination content or provide legal advice.