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The Housing Site
Illinois Fair Housing Initiative

Advertising

All advertising comes under the Fair-Housing Act: classified, and display advertising, Internet (on-line marketing), flyers, door hangers, open-house information, and multiple listing services (MLS).

Real Estate License Act 2000

(225 ILCS 454/) Real Estate License Act of 2000

(225 ILCS 454/) Real Estate License Act of 2000 on the Illinois General Assembly website

Public Act 093-0957

Amendments to Real Estate License Act 2000

Section 10-30. Advertising

  1. No advertising shall be fraudulent, deceptive, inherently misleading, or proven to be misleading in practice. It shall be considered misleading or untruthful if, when taken as a whole, there is a distinct and reasonable possibility that it will be misunderstood or will deceive the ordinary purchaser, seller, lessee, lessor, or owner. Advertising shall contain all information necessary to communicate the information contained therein to the public in a direct and readily comprehensible manner.

  2. No blind advertisements may be used by any licensee except as provided for in this Section.

  3. A licensee shall disclose, in writing, to all parties in a transaction his or her status as a licensee and any and all interest the licensee has or may have in the real estate constituting the subject matter thereof, directly or indirectly, according to the following guidelines:

    1. On broker yard signs or in broker advertisements, no disclosure of ownership is necessary. However, the ownership shall be indicated on any property data form and disclosed to persons responding to any advertisement or any sign. The term “broker owned” or “agent owned” is sufficient disclosure.

    2. A sponsored or inoperative licensee selling or leasing property, owned solely by the sponsored or inoperative licensee, without utilizing brokerage services of their sponsoring broker or any other licensee, may advertise “By Owner”. For purposes of this Section, property is “solely owned” by a sponsored or inoperative licensee if he or she (i) has a 100% ownership interest alone, (ii) has ownership as a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, or (iii) holds a 100% beneficial interest in a land trust. Sponsored or inoperative licensees selling or leasing “By Owner” shall comply with the following if advertising by owner:

      1. On “By Owner” yard signs, the sponsored or inoperative licensee shall indicate “broker owned” or “agent owned.” “By Owner” advertisements used in any medium of advertising shall include the term “broker owned” or “agent owned.”

      2. If a sponsored or inoperative licensee runs advertisements, for the purpose of purchasing or leasing real estate, he or she shall disclose in the advertisements his or her status as a licensee.

      3. A sponsored or inoperative licensee shall not use the sponsoring broker's name or the sponsoring broker's company name in connection with the sale, lease, or advertisement of the property nor utilize the sponsoring broker's or company's name in connection with the sale, lease, or advertising of the property in a manner likely to create confusion among the public as to whether or not the services of a real estate company are being utilized or whether or not a real estate company has an ownership interest in the property.

    3. A sponsored licensee may not advertise under his or her own name. Advertising shall be under the direct supervision of the sponsoring or managing broker and in the sponsoring broker's business name, which in the case of a franchise shall include the franchise affiliation as well as the name of the individual firm. This provision does not apply under the following circumstances:

      1. When a licensee enters into a brokerage agreement relating to his or her own real estate, or real estate in which he or she has an ownership interest, with another licensed broker; or

      2. When a licensee is selling or leasing his or her own real estate or buying or leasing real estate for himself or herself, after providing the appropriate written disclosure of his or her ownership interest as required in paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of this Section.

    4. No licensee shall list his or her name under the heading or title “Real Estate” in the telephone directory or otherwise advertise in his or her own name to the general public through any medium of advertising as being in the real estate business without listing his or her sponsoring broker's business name.

    5. The sponsoring broker's business name and the name of the licensee must appear in all advertisements, including business cards. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require specific print size as between the broker's business name and the name of the licensee.