If you have started looking at houses in the last two years, an agent has probably asked you to sign something before showing you one. That is not a local habit. It comes from the settlement the National Association of Realtors reached in the Burnett and Moehrl commission lawsuits, which changed how buyer agents across the country work starting August 17, 2024.
Pennsylvania already had its own rules about written agreements, and they still apply. This guide covers both, in plain terms, so you know what you are signing.
What the Settlement Requires
Under the settlement, a Realtor who belongs to a multiple listing service and is working with a buyer must enter into a written agreement with that buyer before the buyer tours any home. The agreement must state the amount or rate of compensation the agent will receive, clearly and conspicuously. That amount has to be objectively ascertainable and cannot be open ended. The settlement itself gives the example of a term it prohibits, whatever amount the seller is offering. The association's guidance adds that a range, such as between two and three percent, is not allowed either. And the agent may not receive more, from any source, than the agreement says.
Touring means going inside the home, either in person or through a live virtual tour, and the rule covers homes of one to four units. You do not need an agreement to walk into an open house, or when the seller's own agent lets you in without representing you.
The settlement also took offers of compensation to buyer agents off the multiple listing service. A seller can still offer to pay a buyer's agent, and a buyer can still ask the seller to, but that now happens outside the listing service, usually as a term of the offer.
What Pennsylvania Already Required
Pennsylvania's Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act has said since 1998 that a licensee may not charge a consumer for a service unless the service and the fee are in a written agreement signed by the consumer. An agent can start working before the agreement is signed, but without one cannot collect a fee. A nonexclusive buyer agency agreement may be oral if the buyer receives a written memorandum of its terms.
The State Real Estate Commission's regulations list what a written agreement must contain. For buyers, that includes these points.
- A description of the services to be provided and the fees to be charged.
- That the commission and the length of the agreement were set by negotiation.
- That the broker may be paid a percentage of the purchase price.
- That the broker represents the buyer even when paid by the seller or the listing broker.
- Whether the broker may act for both buyer and seller, and what duties and fees would apply if so.
- The broker's continuing duty to disclose conflicts of interest, and notices about the Real Estate Recovery Fund and escrow.
The Consumer Notice Comes First
Before any of this, a Pennsylvania licensee must give you the Consumer Notice at your first substantive conversation about your real estate needs. It is a state form, headed THIS IS NOT A CONTRACT, that describes the relationships you can have with a licensee. It ends by making the point that matters most. Unless you select a business relationship by signing a written agreement, the licensee is not representing you, and a business relationship is not presumed.
Buyer Agent or Transaction Licensee
The two relationships a buyer usually chooses between are very different.
| Buyer Agent | Transaction Licensee | |
|---|---|---|
| Represents You | Yes | No |
| Duty of Loyalty | Acts Consistently With Your Interest | None |
| Confidentiality | Full | Limited |
| Searches for Homes for You | Continuous, in Good Faith | Not Required |
A buyer agent owes you loyalty and confidentiality and must tell the listing broker at first contact that it represents a buyer. A transaction licensee must tell you that it is not acting as your agent or advocate, and you should not share confidential information with one. It may not reveal that a seller will take less, that a buyer will pay more, or that either will accept financing terms other than those offered, but beyond that it owes you no duty of confidentiality. Every licensee, in either role, owes you honesty and must disclose known material defects.
What You Can Negotiate
Nearly everything. Commissions are not set by law, and the settlement requires agents to say so in their agreements. The amount or rate, how long the agreement lasts, whether it is exclusive, and what services the agent will provide are all terms you can discuss before you sign.
Pennsylvania does not give buyers a cooling-off period to cancel a buyer agency agreement, and while state regulations cap an exclusive listing agreement at one year, they set no maximum for a buyer's agreement. The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors' exclusive buyer agency form gives neither side an automatic right to end it unless that is negotiated. So read the end date and the termination terms as carefully as the fee.
If you would like the seller to cover your agent's compensation, you can ask for it in your offer. The seller can agree, decline or counter. Sellers can also advertise concessions on the listing service, such as a credit toward closing costs, but those cannot be conditioned on paying a buyer's agent.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
- Is this agreement exclusive, and for how long?
- How is your compensation stated, and who pays it if the seller will not?
- If the seller offers more than our agreement says, what happens to the difference?
- Can I end the agreement, and on what terms?
- Will you ever represent the seller on a home I want to buy, and what changes if you do?
- Does the agreement cover every home I tour, or only certain areas or property types?
Where the Settlement Stands
The federal court in Missouri granted final approval of the settlement in November 2024. On August 19, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed it. Objectors petitioned for rehearing on September 1 and 2, 2026, and the petitions were reported pending as of September 8. Separately, in April 2026 the association agreed to settle nationwide claims by homebuyers for $52.25 million, and said that agreement requires no further practice changes. The U.S. Department of Justice told the court in 2024 that the pre-touring agreement rule may harm buyers and asked that the settlement not be read as protecting it from antitrust review, so the rule is not beyond future challenge.
Sources
- Settlement Agreement, Burnett v. National Association of Realtors (W.D. Mo.) and Moehrl v. National Association of Realtors (N.D. Ill.), paragraph 58, and the Final Approval Order (November 27, 2024)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Burnett v. National Association of Realtors, No. 24-3444, with Spring Way Center, LLC and others as objectors-appellants (August 19, 2026)
- National Association of Realtors, Settlement FAQs, Written Buyer Agreements 101, and Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements
- National Association of Realtors, homebuyer class settlement announcement (April 10, 2026)
- Pennsylvania Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act, sections 606.1, 606.3, 606.6, 608 and 608.1
- 49 Pa. Code sections 35.201, 35.281, 35.284, 35.313, 35.316, 35.331, 35.332 and 35.336, including the Consumer Notice
- Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, Forms Changes 2024, and form pages for the Buyer Agency Contract (BAC) and Non-Exclusive Buyer Agency (NBA)
- U.S. Department of Justice, Statement of Interest in Burnett (November 24, 2024)
- Inman News, September 2 and 8, 2026, on the rehearing petitions
Talk to a Local Broker Who Knows This Market
Jonathan J. Nelson Real Estate works the Greater Pittston and NEPA market every day, residential, commercial, industrial, and land. If you are buying, selling, or investing, let's talk.
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